Moms drive up sales for unhealthy children’s snacks on TikTok — by being its ambassadors

Notice an uptick in ‘junk food’ snacks for children seeping into your feed? An increasing number of moms are cashing in on the affiliate marketing boom on TikTok by advertising sweets. First of a two-part special.  

MANILA, Philippines — If it seems like most short-form videos of children’s snacks start with heaps of chocolate and sweets bursting — literally — from their packaging to spill out onto plates off-screen, that is by no accident, according to TikTok affiliate marketer Janina Diwa.

Immediately grabbing viewers’ attention to keep them from scrolling up is an important strategy used by affiliate marketers, who earn money for every sale of the products they promote, Diwa said.

But the truly successful affiliate marketers have had to go beyond attention-grabbing spiels and video gimmicks, which almost any TikTok influencer today can pull off, Diwa said.

The 33-year-old “mom influencer” said that she noticed more videos of her affiliate marketing content going viral after she started promoting products aimed at a specific type of audience: fellow mothers like her.

Since she started creating 30-second videos of chocolate snacks, baby items and other “mommy-friendly” products in April, Diwa now earns an average of “five digits” monthly from affiliate marketing — now her main source of income.

”Mothers like us know the weakness of other mothers — when we see people promoting products that make us think, ‘I want my child to experience this and taste this, too.’ That kind of envy is used by promoters, and it works,” Diwa said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started the online shopping craze, TikTok has been jampacked with influencers-slash-affiliate marketers promoting everything from food items to the latest trends in clothing. 

But the affiliate marketing boom has also fueled a different kind of trend on TikTok: mothers like Diwa promoting and encouraging other parents to buy snacks high in sugar and salt content for their children. 

While one expert on families’ consumer behavior said that mothers tend to be discerning in food purchases, the lack of a platform requirement for affiliates to disclose the nutritional content of