How Taste Republic Grew Retail Sales with Creator Partnerships
The Challenge
Taste Republic, a gluten-free pasta brand, wanted to expand awareness and drive in-store sales at national retailers like Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Publix, Costco, and Walmart. Early campaigns showed promise, but managing partnerships manually limited scale and reach. The brand needed a way to build an authentic creator community while streamlining campaign management and measuring results across retail activations.
The Approach
Using partnrUP’s creator marketing platform, Taste Republic activated creators across food and lifestyle categories to share recipes, reviews, and in-store experiences. The platform enabled the team to manage creator recruitment, contracts, and payments in one place, while tracking performance in real time. This efficiency allowed Taste Republic to expand into larger retail programs and test partnerships with both micro-creators and prominent names like @jenselter’s @idreamaboutfood account.
The Outcome
Fresh Pasta at Scale
Taste Republic grew awareness, engagement, and retail sales by streamlining creator partnerships with partnrUP.
Mentaiko Pasta Creation
Miso Jen showcased a Japanese-inspired mentaiko pasta recipe using Taste Republic gluten-free linguini, highlighting product versatility and authentic food storytelling.
Creamy Gochujang Recipe
Derek prepared a bold Creamy Gochujang Pasta, positioning Taste Republic fusilli as the foundation for globally inspired fusion dishes.
Spicy Tortellini Spotlight
Gavriella created a spicy tortellini recipe with Taste Republic’s gluten-free four cheese pasta, emphasizing taste and quality indistinguishable from traditional pasta.
Retail Visibility
Campaign activations also featured Taste Republic products prominently at Publix, Costco, and Walmart locations, reinforcing the brand’s availability across leading retailers.
Campaign Structure
Taste Republic first partnered with a handful of creators to promote its products at Sam’s Club, tasking them to purchase items in-store and share their experiences online. The success of these early campaigns quickly established creator marketing as the brand’s most effective strategy, driving the lowest cost per application submission.
Momentum built as Taste Republic expanded to a nationwide program at Whole Foods, supported by authentic recipe content and in-store visibility. Based on this success, the brand increased its marketing budget to collaborate with well-known creator @jenselter via her @idreamaboutfood account, broadening reach and credibility even further.
By maintaining continuity with its original creator pool while expanding to new voices, Taste Republic built a scalable program that balanced authenticity, reach, and sales impact across major retailers.
