Founded in 2021 by Philipp Riedl and his co-founders, Vetain is a Germany-based brand that specializes in premium plant-based supplements and protein products.
The idea for the company came from a personal struggle Philipp faced as a fitness enthusiast. Like many gym-goers, he relied on whey protein to fuel his workouts, but it caused skin problems and digestive discomfort.
He switched to plant-based protein to solve those issues, but the options available were disappointing, artificial-tasting, gritty, and overly processed. Philipp saw an opportunity to create something better: a plant-based protein that was clean, natural, and enjoyable to consume.
Vetain stands out with their commitment to health, taste, and sustainability. Their supplements are free from soy, gluten, and lactose, making them safe for people with allergies or dietary restrictions. Besides, all of their products are also packaged in eco-friendly and paper-based tubes.
Enter a competitive market through affiliate marketing
It was a challenge for Vetain to enter the competitive supplement market in Germany. Established giants like Abbott, Nestlé Health Science, and Glanbia already held most of the market, leaving little room for smaller players. As a new brand, Vetain faced a critical challenge: how to build awareness and earn the trust of their target audience.
Traditional advertising seemed like an option, but the high costs and uncertain results made it a risky move for a startup. Vetain couldn’t afford to gamble with their limited resources.
Instead, the team saw an opportunity to collaborate with quality influencers and micro-influencers who could genuinely connect with their followers through their trusted voice. However, relying solely on paid promotional posts wasn’t a viable solution. Not only would it be costly, but it would also be difficult to measure the true impact of these collaborations.
In that case, Vetain turned to affiliate marketing. Using affiliate programs to manage influencers would help the brand ensure a secure return on investment. Unlike traditional paid posts, Vetain only pays affiliates when they bring sales. With this model, no money was wasted, and every euro spent directly contributed to growth.
They explored platforms like GoAffPro, Social Snowball, and Simple Affiliate, but none offered the level of automation they were looking for. Then, they found UpPromote to be the perfect fit.
We tried GoAffPro, Social Snowball, and Simple Affiliate. But none of them were very good because I missed a lot of stuff. We wanted to automate a lot of things, especially the payment and commission systems with different tiers and all that.
Philipp Riedl – Founder of Vetain
UpPromote’s advanced automation tools made managing Vetain’s affiliate program simple and highly effective. The brand implemented strategies to motivate and engage affiliates, such as personalized coupons, performance-based bonuses, and a tiered commission structure. These initiatives strengthened their affiliate team and became a key driver of the brand’s growth.
The Vetain affiliate program proves to be a major sales driver, contributing an impressive 40% to their total sales. We will now explore the details of their approach and how UpPromote has helped along the way.
Partner with the right influencers: Quality over quantity
At Vetain, selecting the right influencers goes beyond just follower count. The team sets a baseline of 5,000 followers, but they dig deeper to ensure the influencers they work with have a high engagement rate, exceptional content, and a strong connection to the supplement niche.
Follower count alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Many influencers have large audiences, but if their engagement is low or their content isn’t good, it’s not worth it, Philipp explained.
This careful vetting process allows Vetain to build long-term partnerships with influencers who create genuine connections with their audience and have the potential to grow alongside the brand.
The results speak for themselves. Vetain’s network of micro-influencers and influencers collectively generates an average of 8,000 referrals per month. That’s an impressive number!
This is Laura – the health & wellness micro-influencer behind talkingholistics (5.1K followers). She shared her yogurt bowl recipe using Vetain protein powder, along with her exclusive discount code for her followers.
Invite more people to the program with an MLM network
With Multi-level Marketing (MLM), influencers are no longer just earning from their own sales – they can also benefit from the performance of people they drive to the program.
Vetain used UpPromote to set up a commission network for all their partners. Influencers who invite others to the program become the upline. For every sale their downline generates, the upline earns 10% to 20% of the sales value.
Of course, Vetain is committed to maintaining the integrity of their program, so they’ve implemented some rules to ensure every new member aligns with their values. For instance, recruits must have a minimum of 5,000 followers, and every potential partner must be pre-approved by the Vetain team before joining.
We have to set some rules and let our influencers know – that the referred one must meet certain criteria. For example, they need to have a minimum of 5,000 followers. And before inviting anyone, influencers should check with our team to confirm if that person is eligible to join.
Philipp Riedl – Founder of Vetain
Motivate affiliates with a tiered commission structure
Vetain understands that affiliates perform best when their efforts are recognized and rewarded. Instead of a fixed rate commission program, they implemented a tiered system where influencers earn more as they generate higher sales.
With UpPromote’s auto-tier commission, Vetain easily built a 5-tier commission structure for their influencers. Each milestone unlocks a new level of commissions, with influencers automatically upgraded to the next tier.
| Programs | Sales requirements | Commission rates |
| Stufensystem Stufe 1 | €0 – €3000 | 10% |
| Stufensystem Stufe 2 | €3000 – €7500 | 12.5% |
| Stufensystem Stufe 3 | €7500 – €15000 | 15% |
| Stufensystem Stufe 4 | €15000 – €25000 | 17.5% |
| Stufensystem Stufe 5 | More than €25000 | 20% |
For example, an affiliate starting out in Tier 1 earns 10% commission on sales. As their performance improves and they surpass €3,000 in monthly sales, they move up to Tier 2, receiving a 12.5% rate. At the highest level – Tier 5, top-performing affiliates enjoy a generous 20% commission rate.
This tiered system especially works for micro-influencers. While they may begin with smaller sales volumes, the structure encourages them to grow and rewards their progress along the way.
Further boost influencer performance with rewarding bonuses
In addition to their competitive commission tiers, Vetain takes it a step further by offering performance-based bonuses to reward outstanding affiliates. These bonuses provide an extra layer of motivation, encouraging influencers to go above and beyond their targets.
UpPromote lets Vetain create and manage various bonuses based on specific sales goals. The system automates the process by tracking performance, applying the preset conditions, and awarding bonuses only when the target is met.
At Vetain, bonuses are awarded monthly based on sales performance. An influencer who generates €15,000 in sales within a single month receives a €300 bonus. The more they achieve, the more they earn – the bonus increases to €500 when sales hit €30,000.
With UpPromote, Vetain automates the payment workflow for commissions and bonuses. Vetain selects the payment date and cycle, and the platform consolidates all earnings – bonuses included – before transferring the total directly to influencers via PayPal.
Auto-payouts via PayPal guarantee accurate and prompt payouts, freeing Vetain from the burden of manual calculations and administrative tasks.
Provide partners with coupons and ready-made resources
The Vetain affiliate program primarily targets influencers and micro-influencers, a group highly familiar with leveraging coupon codes to engage their audiences and drive sales.
With the help of UpPromote, Vetain can automatically generate unique coupon codes for each influencer based on predefined discount rates. Every new partner receives their personalized coupon code upon joining the program, which allows them to start promoting their supplements immediately.
This system has proven highly effective, with UpPromote’s analytics dashboard revealing that over 90% of Vetain’s referrals come from coupon codes.
Moreover, Vetain provides a curated selection of marketing resources, including high-quality product images, logos, and brand guidelines. Partners will have everything they need to create impactful and professional campaigns.
What’s more, thanks to the seamless integration between UpPromote and Klaviyo, the team can send detailed briefings to new influencers via email.
After onboarding, influencers are added to a private WhatsApp group where they can collaborate, ask questions, and receive prompt support from both their peers and the Vetain team
Results
The brand’s collaboration with quality influencers and micro-influencers has driven a large amount of referrals and sales for Vetain.
- 40% of total sales come from affiliate marketing
- The program generates over 8,000 referrals per month on average
When asked for advice for those new to affiliate marketing, Vetain emphasized the importance of using automation tools like UpPromote to streamline program management. The brand also highlighted that offering performance-based commissions and tiered rewards is an effective way to retain affiliates and keep them motivated to drive higher sales.
Ellie Tran, a seasoned SEO content writer with three years of experience in the eCommerce world. Being a part of the UpPromote team, Ellie wants to assist Shopify merchants in achieving success through useful content & actionable insights. Ellie's commitment to learning never stops; she's always eager to gain more knowledge about SEO and content marketing to create valuable content for users. When she's not working on content, Ellie enjoys baking and exploring new places.
