The Affiliate Playbooks of Goli Nutrition, Cakes Body, and Tarte Cosmetics

In the last three editions, we’ve covered a mini-series about the what and how of the affiliate program on TikTok Shop:

• The affiliate program powering discovery
• The tools and agencies helping brands scale
• The creative systems behind repeatable growth

This week, we’re getting straight to the point: real brands, real results, real affiliate systems that convert...

... because over 80% of GMV on TikTok Shop comes from affiliates.

We’re breaking down the real playbooks behind Goli, Cakes Body, Neuro & more—brands doing millions in GMV by engineering smart affiliate systems...

... another proof showing you that working with affiliates at scale is the inevitable to succeed on TikTok Shop.

Let’s unpack the tactics behind the leaderboard.

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​Goli Nutrition​

Core tactic: Tiered commissions + gamified incentives

Goli was one of the first U.S. brands to launch a full-blown gamified reward system for TikTok Shop affiliates—and they didn’t hold back. In their June 2025 campaign, top sellers weren’t just earning commissions. They were chasing BMWs, Range Rovers, G-Wagons, and a $1M cash prize. No cap.

Watch this video: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefarmers91/video/7410856477025520926

No voiceover. No talking head. Just her drinking Goli, adding on-screen text to explain how it makes her feel and what it helps with.

Completely organic, yet it pulled in $1.03M in revenue and sold 76,160 units. Proof that you don’t need fancy edits or a script to go big. Just clarity, relatability, and a product that solves something real.

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TikTok Shop Data as of June 28, 2025:

• Sales volume: 3.1M units
• Total revenue: $70.17M
• Affiliates: $45.58M (65%)
• Brand-operated: $24.58M (35%)
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Partnered with 4,900 creators, resulting in 177,000 videos posted in 30 days.
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Why it works:

Gamified campaigns drive competition and urgency. Instead of flat commissions, Goli made affiliates feel like they were playing to win.

Targeted outreach to Discord creator communities helped them recruit fast at the beginning, scale smart, and dominate discoverability.

Pairing ad spend with viral affiliate videos gave them even more lift.

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Cakes Body​

Core tactic: High-volume lo-fi content + affiliate-powered bundles Cakes Body turned TikTok Shop into a full-time content machine—collaborating with over 6,000 creators and running up to 120 livestreams in a single day. Their secret weapon? Speed, authenticity, and smart bundling.

This video racked up 5.4M views with a lo-fi GRWM that sold 3,000+ units and drove $87,000 in revenue organically: https://www.tiktok.com/@sam_joness_/video/7491348874599157022.\

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TikTok Shop Data as of June 28, 2025:

• Sales volume: 1.1M units
• Total revenue: $37.31M
• Affiliates: $36.44M (97.65%)
• Brand-operated: $739K (1.98%)
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New product launch (April 2025): Sticky Cakes → 65K+ units sold on TikTok Shop alone.

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Why it works:

Gamified bundle deals gave creators a strong reason to post—and shoppers a reason to act fast.

A “post without approval” mindset meant more content, faster, with zero bottlenecks.

Speed and volume (100+ videos/month) created momentum the algorithm rewarded.

Unboxing videos became their breakout angle: first impressions, raw transformations, and stretch-mark honesty helped build viral trust at scale.

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Tarte Cosmetics​

Core tactic: Scaled micro-influencers + paid boosts + live shopping

Tarte leaned all the way into TikTok Shop by combining a generous affiliate program with daily livestreams and premium creative standards. They engineered virality at scale.

This video alone garnered $620.46K in revenue and 17K units sold: https://www.tiktok.com/@allure_fashion/video/7462092504784112942

Yes, this is backed up by ads. But that’s the point. Affiliate + ad = scale. When a creator video hits, Tarte puts paid behind it to go even bigger.

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TikTok Shop Data as of June 28, 2025:

• Sales volume: 3.7M units
• Total revenue: $121.51M
• Affiliates: $95.13M (78.29%)
• Brand-operated: $26.05M (21.44%)
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Why it works:

Micro > macro: Scaling with smaller creators built trust and authenticity—no glam squad needed.

Commission rates of 15–20% made it worth posting, even for part-time creators.

Paid boosts extended reach without guessing—only top performers got the spend.

Livestreams stacked urgency with bundles, demos, and limited-time offers—$750K+ days weren’t rare.

TikTok-only SKUs + influencer validation (think @mikaylanogueira) made Tarte the go-to beauty buy on the app.

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Final take:

These brands didn’t get lucky.

They got serious about affiliate. And it paid off millions in GMV, tens of thousands of creator videos, and systems that grow whether a post goes viral or not.

So what now?

Stop waiting for perfect. Start watching what converts.

Then amplify with ad spend. Scale with more affiliates. And repeat.

This isn’t a “wait and see” channel anymore. It’s Hunger Games out here—and the brands with the fastest creative engine win.

See you at the leaderboard.

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