Case Study — The Ordinary
First to market. Top 8 in beauty.
£6.8M in year one.
The Ordinary joined TikTok Shop in January 2025 as one of the first major skincare brands on the platform — ahead of the wave of competitors that followed. The move was deliberate: capitalise on existing brand momentum and establish a dominant presence before the category became crowded. A Joint Business Plan agreed directly with TikTok formalised the ambition, setting a £6M GMV target for the financial year.
Scale consistently month-on-month to hit £6M GMV across the financial year, break into the top 10 in the UK beauty category — sitting at 12th at the midpoint — and deliver a Super Brand Week in partnership with TikTok targeting $1M (£750k) in a single week. Growth had built steadily through the brand's first months on the platform. From October 2025 onwards, it had to accelerate.
Taking over as Account Director in October 2025 — at the point where steady platform growth was shifting into a higher gear — the focus was on four priorities: positioning the account for its biggest commercial moments, maintaining a LIVE programme aligned to revenue targets, making product launches count, and protecting momentum when the inevitable challenges hit.
Q4 & Super Brand Week
The centrepiece of the year was a co-funded Super Brand Week with TikTok, targeting £750k GMV across seven days. Q4 preparation ensured the account, LIVE schedule, affiliate programme, and inventory were in the strongest possible position going in. The week delivered £880k — exceeding the target — and represented the highest single-week GMV in the account's history to that point.
LIVE Strategy
Strategic oversight of the LIVE programme ran throughout the account — ensuring the right volume of sessions, the right products featured at the right points in the commercial calendar, and the right host arrangements to make each LIVE as effective as possible. Liaison between the account management team, production, and TikTok's own representatives kept LIVE output consistently aligned to the commercial targets of the account.
NPD Launches
Product launches were treated as platform moments — not afterthoughts. The standout was Volufiline, which was driven to £651k GMV in its first month on TikTok Shop, earning recognition from TikTok as the strongest NPD launch on the platform in 2025. Subsequent launches were built around the same playbook.
Navigating Challenges
Significant stock issues in the Christmas period constrained growth at a critical time. Rather than conceding ground, every available lever — LIVE scheduling, affiliate activity, available inventory prioritisation — was used to maintain platform momentum while the supply chain stabilised. A mini Super Brand Day in February helped re-establish the growth trajectory into the final quarter of the year.
The Results
The Ordinary entered TikTok Shop before the skincare category arrived. By the end of the year, they weren't just in the market — they were defining it. First-mover advantage only holds if you execute. This account did.
Lets build a successful partnership.
Whether you're an agency looking for senior white-label support or a brand ready to scale your paid social — I'd love to hear about what you're working on.
Get In Touch