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Creator Economy - Disruption as an opportunity
The creator economy is no longer hype - it is a global ecosystem worth billions that will dominate the marketing world in 2025. Influencers such as Shirin David, Bibi, Knossi, Pamela Reif and Rezo are not just advertising figures, but entrepreneurs who are building their own brands and turning entire industries upside down. For companies, they are both competition and opportunity: their reach and authenticity make them unbeatable partners - if the strategy is right. Data-driven influencer marketing is the key to discovering this disruption as an opportunity for yourself and, in the best-case scenario, building your own standing thanks to the creator economy. Discover five examples of how these German influencers have turned into serious companies.
1. The Kardashians: Reality TV Pioneers and Brand Empire Builders
The Kardashian family, rising to fame through Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2007, transformed reality TV into a multi-platform empire, leveraging series and social media dominance to build iconic brands. With over 2 billion combined Instagram followers, they’ve mastered authentic audience engagement. Kim’s Skims, launched in 2019 with Jens Grede, disrupted shapewear, hitting a $4 billion valuation by 2023 and expanding with a London store in 2026 and a Nike partnership.
Kylie Jenner's Kylie Cosmetics, founded in 2015, grew 1.5x in two years under Coty’s majority stake, dominating beauty with Lip Kits. Brand strategists helped Skims and Kylie Cosmetics capture market share from Nivea and L’Oréal through data-driven campaigns targeting young women. Despite controversies, like Kim’s SKKN acquisition struggles, per Vogue Business, their reality TV roots fuel brand authenticity just as much as their omnipresence on all social media platforms.
2. Pamela Reif: becoming a millionaire through workouts
The German influencer Pamela Reif turned fitness content into a global business. With over 9 million Instagram followers and YouTube workouts that have billions of views, she founded Naturally Pam and made a big name for herself in the fitness and lifestyle food segment. According to Forbes , she was already one of the 30 most influential Germans under 30 in 2020. She has also managed to make a name for herself outside Europe as a popular face for beauty and cosmetics in China.
3. MrBeast: From YouTube star to business empire
With over 380 million YouTube subscribers, MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) is the undisputed king of the platform. Since his first video in 2012, he has evolved from gaming content to elaborate challenges and philanthropic stunts, such as "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life". According to Business Insider, his company Beast Industries generated 473 million US dollars in revenue in 2024 and expects almost 900 million in 2025. His brands include Feastables (chocolate), Lunchly (snacks) and Beast Games, an Amazon Prime show with 50 million views in 25 days. There is virtually no way around him if you want to compete with the big players.
The Creator Economy can also be your turbo!
The creator economy is also a disruptive turbo for brands in 2025 - if you think long-term with brand strategists. Christian Wolf with More Nutrition, MrBeast, Shirin David, MontanaBlack, and Pamela Reif show how creators can dominate markets with strategic expertise and at the same time help established players to succeed.
Data-driven influencer marketing helps you to find exactly these strong partners who can build a brand together with you and ideally realize the next hit. With IROIN® by Stellar Tech, you can easily find top influencers with Discovery, manage relationships with Portfolio, and maximize success with Campaigning.