Summary
CHALLENGE
- Faced rising competition from new brands imitating their products and strategies.
- Needed to keep growing and stand out in a crowded men’s grooming market.
- Wanted marketing spend that only cost money when it drove real sales.
SOLUTION
- Adopted a performance-based affiliate model built on nano- and micro-influencers.
- Recruited partners through Facebook ads, Instagram scouting, and a branded UpPromote registration form.
- Ran separate 30% and 20% commission programs, plus a 10% coupon for every partner.
- Supported partners with free samples, reference videos, and product images.
RESULTS
- Countered rising competition with a cost-effective, performance-based affiliate model.
- Pays affiliates only for the sales they generate, protecting the budget.
- Maintains a loyal base, with 30–32% of customers being repeat buyers.
LESSONS
- Shift to performance-based pay to control marketing risk.
- Recruit through multiple channels to find partners who fit.
- Match commission rates to each partner type’s contribution.
- Prioritize nano- and micro-influencers for low-cost, authentic content.
Tribal Chimp makes easy-to-use grooming products for men, led by a best-selling hair styling powder that adds volume and texture with little effort.
The brand has grown across the U.S. and Europe, backed by localized warehousing and marketing. They’re built on high-quality, problem-solving products that bring buyers back.
That focus shows in their loyalty: 30–32% of Tribal Chimp’s customers are repeat buyers. But as the brand grew, a new problem appeared.
How did Tribal Chimp stand out in a market full of imitators?
As Tribal Chimp grew, so did their competition. New brands entered the space, mimicking their strategies and launching similar products.
The question was how to keep growing and stand out. The answer was affiliate marketing built on nano- and micro-influencers, paid only when they drove sales, so the brand never spent ahead of results.
After experimenting with other affiliate tools, Tribal Chimp settled on UpPromote for their simplicity and ease of use.
We must have tried a few apps before, but finally decided to use UpPromote. We’ve been very happy with the service… and haven’t found any reason to move to another app
Mayank Bhogle, co-founder of Tribal Chimp
With the tool in place, the real work became finding the right partners.
How does Tribal Chimp recruit the right partners?
Tribal Chimp uses several paths to find partners who fit the brand, casting a wide net while still getting personal.
Cast a wide net with ads and a branded form
The brand runs Facebook ads to reach a large pool of influencers.
They also built a branded registration form with UpPromote, asking applicants for their website, Facebook, and Instagram so the team can see exactly who’s signing up.
Scout and connect one-on-one
Alongside ads, Tribal Chimp scouts Instagram directly, targeting nano-influencers with 1,000–10,000 followers or micro-influencers with 10,000–50,000, depending on the campaign.
When someone feels like a great match, the team reaches out for a one-on-one chat to build a genuine relationship and check that the influencer’s goals align with the brand’s.
How does Tribal Chimp reward different kinds of partners?
Tribal Chimp’s partners don’t all contribute the same way or at the same scale, so it tailors rewards by type.
Separate commission programs for influencers and affiliates
Using UpPromote’s multiple programs, Tribal Chimp pays influencers a 30% commission to encourage long-term collaboration.
Affiliates who join through the registration form, often loyal customers sharing the brand in their own networks, earn 20%, fairly compensating their smaller-scale reach.
Auto-generated coupons and full referral tracking
Every partner also gets a 10% discount code, auto-generated by UpPromote the moment they join, with no manual work for the team.
One partner, the Texas barbershop @honeyhandzz, shared a Sea Salt Spray tutorial with its code. Partners can also use standard affiliate links, and UpPromote tracks every referral from links or coupons in real-time reports.
How does Tribal Chimp support their partners?
Tribal Chimp knows partners promote best when they truly understand the products, so they keeps them informed and equipped.
When a flash sale or campaign launches, the brand updates influencers so they can plan their content. They also send free sample products and explain how each one works and what it does for hair health.
We send them a message about everything—how the product is used, what effect it has on the hair… we also send them reference videos of people who have worked with us in the past
Mayank Bhogle, co-founder of Tribal Chimp
To make content easier, Tribal Chimp shares reference videos from past collaborators and uploads product images through UpPromote Media Gallery for partners to use directly. UpPromote also lets merchants send bulk emails or use in-app chat to stay connected.
Why does Tribal Chimp bet on nano- and micro-influencers?
For Tribal Chimp, smaller creators are the edge. They cost far less than big-name influencers while producing authentic, relatable content.
I would advise other merchants to focus on nano and micro influencers because those are the guys who are going to work for you at a very low cost
Mayank Bhogle, co-founder of Tribal Chimp
That low-cost, performance-based approach is how the brand keeps growing against a field of imitators.
