Spiceology Uses TikTok Shop to Reach Home Cooks Before Store Visits

Spiceology is adding TikTok Shop to its consumer sales and discovery strategy, aiming to reach home cooks online before they encounter the seasoning brand in a grocery store. The move reflects a broader channel approach for the company: maintain grocery distribution while building direct-to-consumer opportunities, despite the costs associated with both.

CEO Darby McLean said TikTok Shop fees, affiliate payments and small-parcel shipping put pressure on the brand’s margins. Grocery sales also carry substantial costs: retailer and distributor fees together account for about 50%, she said. McLean described the two channels’ profit profiles as close, even though the products move through them in very different ways.

That comparison makes operational and marketing efficiency important, McLean said. She argued that consumer packaged goods brands should be available through both grocery and direct-to-consumer channels in 2026, so shoppers can choose how they discover and buy products. Some customers want products delivered to their homes; others prefer to find them in stores.

A shift from chefs to home cooks

Spiceology began by supplying seasonings to restaurants and food-service businesses, with marketing focused on chefs and restaurant groups. When many dining establishments closed during the pandemic, the company shifted its sales and marketing toward consumers. It now targets everyday home cooks rather than concentrating primarily on professional kitchens.

McLean reported that restaurant and food-service sales account for 39% of Spiceology revenue, retail for 35% and ecommerce for 27%. The figures are rounded. The mix illustrates why the company is working across multiple routes to market rather than treating online sales as a replacement for retail.

Spiceology’s consumer outreach includes organic content on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The brand also uses social platforms to show how customers cook with its seasonings and to provide recipe ideas and product detail. McLean said online content can explain taste and usage in more depth than packaging can, or than a brief moment of attention in a grocery aisle allows.

In her view, discovery increasingly takes place before shoppers enter a store. A consumer may first encounter a product on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook, then recognize it on a later grocery trip. For Spiceology, social content can therefore support both ecommerce purchases and awareness that carries into retail.

The company says it has retained a substantial share of its purchasers: 76% buy another Spiceology product within a year, according to the brand. That reported repeat-purchase figure gives the company a reason to keep investing in ways to introduce its products to potential customers, while its channel mix spans food service, retail and ecommerce.

TikTok Shop gets a dedicated budget

Spiceology is selling through TikTok Shop and supporting the channel with advertising and creator partnerships. McLean said the company has assigned TikTok Shop its own budget rather than diverting investment from other channels, with the goal of reducing friction for consumers who discover products on the platform.

The number of creators working with the brand varies according to whether a campaign is active. At the time McLean discussed the program, Spiceology was working with about 35 microinfluencers. She said creator content was also helping send consumers to stores to buy the products. The company can see that effect by region, but McLean did not provide further figures.

The strategy puts social commerce alongside, rather than in place of, grocery distribution. Spiceology faces margin pressure in both settings, but McLean’s account emphasizes the different roles each can play: online channels offer room for richer product discovery, while retail remains a way for shoppers to find and purchase the seasonings in person.