Forbes Europe Editor Alex Wood and fitness influencer and entrepreneur Pamela Reif speaking at the … [+]
Pamela Reif, is one of Germany’s most famous influencers and has turned her million-strong social media following into the seeds of a health and fitness business empire. Reif told the Forbes Under 30 Summit Europe about her journey from influencer to entrepreneur.
The 23-year-old star from Karlsruhe in south west Germany found fame early with her posts about her health and fitness routine building a loyal fanbase. “I was basically just a teenager at school. … Instagram was becoming cool [so] I started uploading pictures of my food, my accessories, gym selfies–I was just doing it without any plan or strategy. It grew from there. I never clicked the private button,” said Reif, who now has 4.4 million Instagram followers.
After building her Instagram following to 500,000 her hobby quickly became a business when she was approached by brands with advertising and sponsorship deals. Since then Reif has expanded her business empire to a YouTube channel with 1.5 million subscribers, an online fitness program “Pamstrong” (including its own fitness app) and product deals with hair-straightener brand GHD, Calzedonia and Swedish fashion label Nak-d.
Reif, who was featured on the cover of Forbes DACH magazine, revealed in the September interview that one of her latest ventures, Açai bowls, produced with Swiss startup The Rainforest Company have sold over 750,000 units since the launch of the line in 2018.
The German social media star’s success follows in the footsteps of influencer maven Kylie Jenner, who in November sold a controlling stake in her cosmetic startup to Coty Inc in a $600 million deal.
Reif has also faced challenges and spoke of her frustration about being judged solely for appearance and social media success. “[They] just see the outer shell and don’t see the work I’m putting into it.”
Reif, who still lives in her hometown, had a balanced view on the fickle nature of social media fame and internet negativity. “I have a very stable personality. … You just never know when it’s going to be over. You have to live with the fact that people follow you and you only have a certain period of time when you are on trend.” She adds, “My social media community is super positive. If you don’t like me, you don’t follow me. It’s as simple as that.”