Gen Z knows how to build a brand and it starts with 'the power of TikTok' — seriously

Emmy Rener, who graduated high school in March 2020. grew up in a world where people bought things from Instagram over TV commercials and discovered new brands from tags on a post instead of a magazine ad. So when she was at home during the pandemic and taking a gap year before college, she started Sophisticated Spreads. a curated cheeseboard business, on the idea that she could get it off the ground with the help of influencer marketing. Sophisticated Spreads is a very Instagrammable idea, and a lot of its growth was dependent on customers taking photos of their charcuterie boxes and posting them on social media. This power was highlighted best when actress Sofia Vergara posted a mini Modern Family reunion picnic featuring one of the Sophisticated Spread's platters. "From [Vergara's] endorsements, and the TikTok I made about her I think I’ve gained over 20,000 followers on TikTok and upwards of 5,000 followers on Instagram," Rener said. Ultimately, her dream endorsement would be from Lizzo — who she would send a vegan cheeseboard, of course — . and she hopes to one day get the attention of TikTok creators like Tinx, Fibula and Remi Bader