By Cayley Smith
Among all the buzz about TikTok Shop, Made by Mitchell stands out as a shining example of how to move products on the platform, build community and keep that community coming back to re-engage.
Launched in 2020 and founded by Mitchell Halliday, known on social media as @mmmmitchell, the Made by Mitchell brand sells makeup products including eyeliners, concealers, blushes and palettes ranging in price from $10-$70. Made by Mitchell was an early TikTok Shop adopter when the platform launched in the U.K. in 2021. But, since June 2023, it has upped the ante, going live every single day for a minimum of six hours per day, according to Halliday. In early 2024, the brand brought on seven team members dedicated to working on TikTok Shop livestreams.
When you join a Made by Mitchell livestream, you can expect to see a host doing a GRWM (“get ready with me”), interacting with viewers by answering questions, swatching products or packing orders in real-time, while showcasing products that will be sent directly to customers.
“It’s a lot of repetition, and it’s a lot of being OK with repeating yourself,” Halliday said, regarding the successful strategy of Made by Mitchell’s hosts. He compared speaking to a live audience to being at a train station: “There’s constantly different people in a train station, so every five minutes or so, you’re talking to different people.”
Made by Mitchell livestreams are loosely segmented into 30-minute increments and, at times, incentivize community members to stick around for giveaways at the end of a 30-minute block. “It’s really important … to interact with and also reward the people sitting there watching — because those are the people interacting the most,” Halliday said. “It’s always about giving back to the community and not just a hard sell.”
In June of this year, due to its popularity and momentum on the platform, Made by Mitchell was approached by TikTok to host a livestream with a sales goal of $500,000. TikTok facilitated the subsidization of discounts and promoted the event. The initial sales goal was doubled in only 12 hours. “We really didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into when TikTok asked us to go live for 12 hours,” Halliday said. “It was truly the most insane day of my life.”
The sales day’s success followed a landmark week for the brand in 2023 when it sold $2 million worth of products.
“We went from doing $2 million in a week … to then, a year later, … doing half of what we did in a week in just twelve hours,” Halliday said. “It shows the growth of our channel and also [consumer] trust in TikTok Shop.” Made by Mitchell expects to do a total of £40 million (approximately $50 million) in sales on TikTok Shop in 2024 and over £50 million (approximately $62.5 million) across all channels. Notably, the brand also sells in person and online at Boots UK as well as multiple other retailers across the world.
TikTok Shop is a force to be reckoned with, and it has big potential from here — that is, assuming TikTok is not banned. Annual social commerce sales per U.S. consumer are projected to hit $1,223.70, nearly doubling the 2023 average of $627.80, according to Emarketer.
When asked about Made by Mitchell’s existing and potential retail partner’s feelings about its presence on TikTok Shop, Halliday said, “There [were] some teething problems at the start because [TikTok Shop] was very new and people were scared by it — and they had every right to be scared of it because it’s a machine and it’s grown so quickly. But we’ve always tried to drill into our retailers’ [minds that] there wouldn’t be the same demand for Made by Mitchell without TikTok.”
He added, “Based on our success on TikTok Shop, we’ve now gained traction [with] a U.S. retailer, … [and] at the start of next year, we will be going into over 500 stores in America.”
For Made by Mitchell, TikTok Shop is not only a lucrative platform for driving sales, but it has also proven a powerful tool for community building.
“We can move product, we’ve built a community, and we keep our community coming back — and that is the most important thing as a brand,” Halliday said. “I want every person to come back [to our account], whether they’re shopping, watching a live, watching an educational video or asking a question. … I always say, ‘If you put customer above community, community will never be built.’”
