How To Win In The Wellness Industry: Affiliate Marketing, Influencers & Partnerships

1. Clever affiliate marketing 

The global affiliate sector is projected to reach $27.78 billion in revenue by 2027, reflecting an 83% growth since 2017 and whether your brand is listed in a major retailer or is direct-to-consumer on owned websites, affiliate marketing is an essential tool for brands looking to drive direct sales.

The rise of TikTok Shop has further fuelled the growth of affiliate marketing, with the one-stop ecommerce integration providing a seamless in-app shopping experience where creators play a key role in driving sales through links and sponsored content. Clever affiliate marketing converts consumers from discovery to purchase by allowing brands to build visibility and credibility through trusted sources. 

Affiliate marketing played a pivotal role in our launch of Humantra into the UK market and helped us position the brand as a leader in hydration. With wellness trends predicting that 2024 was set to be the year of hydration, we secured editorial in authoritative titles, to include national coverage in Metro, Evening Standard, and Men’s Fitness, with headlines reading “These are the best electrolyte drinks to stay hydrated”.

In 2 months alone, we drove an exponential growth in sales and community, with 1.5K+ conversions, 3K+ link clicks, and most importantly, 500+ transactions through affiliate links. 

2. Consumer Pop-ups 

Creating real-world touchpoints through consumer pop-ups is a proven way to engage audiences and convert interest into purchase. For ecommerce products it’s a great chance for brands to get consumer feedback, create authentic interactions and build brand fans. 

Just take our one-day workshop pop-up at The Yards, Covent Garden for Humantra where we focused on brand visibility within our identified target demographic, by encouraging passers-by to sample & purchase products. With the lifestyle & wellness workshop drawing an estimated 16,000 in footfall, we generated 19K+ event page views to drive visitors, along with 100+ influencer and ambassador social posts and 17 media features – amplifying niche community social reach and impact beyond the pop up. 

3. Influencer collaborations  

Whether it’s a nano, micro or mega influencer partnership, it continues to be one of the most effective ways to reach niche communities. For wellness brands, it’s not about working with just any influencer—it’s about selecting those whose audiences align with brand values where the partnership feels authentic. 

We spoke with Mischa Joslin, Managing Director of our dedicated influencer marketing agency, summer. to find out why bringing on an agency could be the best investment a brand can make. 

4. Leveraging strategic partnerships 

Think beyond traditional partnerships and get creative! If you’re working to a lean budget, partnerships are a great way to introduce your product to a brand-new audience in a seamless & authentic way. 

From Lululemon’s post-run club to our collaboration with Tangle Teezer’s Shuffle Club, our strategy integrated Humantra directly into the running community and allowed the brand to connect with an engaged fitness community in a setting where hydration was the key concern. Looking further afield from the fitness space, we saw an opportunity to introduce the brand to the festival scene through our partnership with QUAY at Primavera Festival in Barcelona. Rather than a standard sponsorship, we embedded the brand within QUAY’s influencer trip offering hydration samples to influencers & press festival-goers, reinforcing its relevance for an on-the-go lifestyle. 

Our advice to wellness brands? Use a combination of targeted strategies—affiliate marketing, consumer pop-ups, influencer collaborations, and strategic partnerships—to create momentum, build credibility, and drive engagement, and most importantly sales.