Marley Mauvais is a 29-year-old fruit influencer and plant-based content creator who lives in New Jersey.
Instead of mimicking other people's paths to success, Marley encourages fellow entrepreneurs to carve out their own niche. Especially online, she says being authentic to yourself is the best way to gain traction and build a community.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more storiesI used to cook for my family a lot, and I enjoyed taking photos of the spread and posting them on Twitter and my personal Instagram page.
The brand started by accident, but it grew because there was a living person behind it. People went through my moods, highs, and lows with me, and I think that worked to my advantage to build an authentic community.Mauvais began a website after her followers expressed interest in buying her signature food products.I was inspired to launch a website in March of 2019, after people kept asking for more information or where to find the products in my posts.
I live and work in New Jersey, so I travel to New York City every weekend to purchase my exotic fruits. In terms of equipment, I use my phone to record videos and take photos, with lighting and tripods I purchased on Amazon. As far as influencing, I am slowly working my way into paid sponsored posts and deals with more food brands. The brands I have worked with so far have sent me boxes of stuff and told me I was free to do what I want with it. But that was when I only had 1,000 followers. Now I am over 40,000.
Usually I wake up before sunrise, and then make whatever I'm feeling that day. Every single post has been spontaneous. I realized that I'm not as productive without having the space to be spontaneous. Everything that has ever been on my page came from a place of 'I'm in the mood to make this today.' What I have learned is that posting more than once a day on Instagram is horrific for your timeline especially as you grow.
I don't need to read this article to know that people out there will watch ANYTHING.