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Katie Sturino has 806,000 followers on Instagram. Her 1-year-old Instagram broadcast channel, which she’s named JUGs, standing for “just us girls,” has 5,000 members. Sturino likened the members to her internet besties, noting that, “If you [as an Instagram follower] feel like we should be text friends, then [become a JUGs] subscriber.”
“I started it because you are rewarded by Instagram for using its new features,” Sturino said, adding, “What I realized is that the people who were in there were very supportive and really wanted to engage with me.” Sturino has been in the public eye since her days of being “momager” to her late Instagram-famous rescue dog, Toast, circa 2014. Her body-care brand, Megababe, best known for its Thigh Rescue Anti-Friction Stick, launched in 2017.
JUGs members are happy to answer survey questions and “give real feedback,” Sturino said. While many creators use their broadcast channels to share shopping links, Sturino focuses on “check-ins, videos I’m not posting to my Stories or surveys for Megababe,” she said.
On February 3, Megababe launched its Skincare Deodorant in three new scents: Santal, Peachy and Coco. Sturino’s broadcast channel had already previewed them.
It’s a strategy that, based on its effectiveness the first time she used it, Sturino plans to continue to employ. In November 2024, Sturino shared a Google Form with the JUGs inquiring about their interest in testing out Megababe’s soon-to-launch deodorants. It also asked which scent they’d be most interested in trying and whether or not they’d be willing to create social content about their experiences testing out the new scents. In addition, it asked testers to leave honest reviews on the brand’s website. The form was filled out by close to 400 members of the broadcast channel. Ultimately, 150 applicants were randomly selected and 50 of each of the brand’s new scents were sent out.
“Previously, we offered JUGs early access to our Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale. We wanted to take the opportunity to engage with the group on a deeper level this time, bringing them in on the launch early,” Sturino said.
All JUGs were given three hours to pre-shop the new deodorants before they launched to the public. They were also offered a discount code of 20% off their entire purchase. It was an effective strategy: “JUGs were responsible for 20% of our DTC sales on launch day,” Sturino told Glossy.
Santal sold out in the first week, and now, Peachy and Coco are also sold out on Megababe’s website — each has an option to join a waitlist. A restock is coming soon, Sturino said, and all three scents are still available to shop on Ulta Beauty.
The new scents feature the same formula as the brand’s existing “Smoothie Deo,” which has a fruity coconut, lime and bilberry scent and uses enzymes to fight body odor.
“Megababe was the first brand to merge skin care and deodorant with the launch of The Smoothie Deo, which is clean and effective, smells incredible, and is packed with skin-care ingredients like fruit enzymes. The launch of Peachy, Santal and Coco offers new scents and new skin-care stories but in the same beloved, tried and true formula,” said Kate McPherson, Megababe’s co-founder.
Megababe plans to continue to lean into its deodorant business, McPherson said. Including scent variations, it currently offers 13 deodorants.
“We’re expecting significant growth in our deodorant business of roughly 40% this year, with a large portion of that growth coming from these new launches,” McPherson said.
The brand will debut an OOH deodorant campaign, with assets on buses and digital billboards, come spring. “This is the first time we have executed an out-of-home campaign focused on deodorant,” McPherson said.
