What I love about this story, is the serendipity of it all. The wildly successful billboard and merch you've probably spotted across your socials were a happy accident. It all came about because Kati knew from day one the uphill battle that she was going to have normalizing the conversation around gut issues. Many people along the way echoed "no-one is ever going to buy a food product for IBS". The billboard, "Hot Girls have IBS" came from the TikTok trends. The magic lies in the way IBS and hot girls is such a polarising thing, but it doesn't have to be. People went crazy for it. There was a line of people taking selfies at the infamous billboard. BelliWelli started selling the merch based on this, and to this day they can’t keep it in stock.

This episode is so much fun, Katie is a marketing genius and shares so many learnings around how she built her communities, and grassroots initiatives to get the word out there about the brand, and the billboard that went viral.

Katie Wilson, founder of BelliWelli, knows firsthand the daily struggles of living with digestive issues. When her own gut health woes took over, she decided to do something about it—and in the process, she created a thriving wellness brand that’s making waves in the functional food industry. BelliWelli is more than just a snack bar; it’s a movement centered around a topic that affects over 70% of U.S. adults but is rarely discussed: gut health. Let’s dive into how Katie took her passion project from a home kitchen to a million-dollar brand, using a combination of grassroots marketing, community building, and a viral billboard campaign.

A Gut-Friendly Solution Born in the Kitchen

Katie's journey with BelliWelli started as a personal quest for a tasty, gut-friendly snack. Frustrated with how many foods triggered her symptoms, she and her husband began experimenting in their kitchen, consulting with experts over Zoom to perfect a recipe for an IBS-friendly bar. These little squares were gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and low-FODMAP—basically everything her digestive system needed.

After sharing the first batch with a few online communities dedicated to digestive health, Katie quickly realized there was an unmet demand for tasty snacks that didn’t mess with your gut. What started as a hobby, with her giving away a few extra bars here and there, rapidly escalated. One morning, she woke up to hundreds of orders—way more than her tiny kitchen could handle. Three months in, sales were in the thousands, and it was time to find a co-packer and turn this passion project into a full-fledged business.

Building Community Through Facebook Groups

Katie’s secret weapon for growth? Facebook groups. She recognized that there were thousands of online communities full of people just like her—suffering in silence and desperate for solutions. Katie started “camping out” in these groups, sharing BelliWelli's story, asking for feedback, and connecting with potential customers.

To scale things up, she took a bold step: buying Facebook groups. Katie would invest between $500 and $1,000 per group, depending on the number of members, and then merge them into one big community. In doing so, she was able to grow a massive, engaged audience of over 300,000 people—all potential customers who were passionate about gut health. The community quickly became the heartbeat of BelliWelli, driving everything from product decisions to marketing strategies.

A Viral Billboard That Changed the Game

Katie always knew that one of the biggest hurdles in growing BelliWelli would be normalizing conversations around digestive health. “Hot girls have IBS” started as a tongue-in-cheek TikTok trend, but it soon became a slogan that would change everything. Katie decided to take a chance on a $7,000 billboard—space that nobody else wanted. It simply read, “Hot girls have IBS.” The reaction was immediate and wild. People flocked to the billboard, snapping selfies and sharing them on social media, which only fueled the buzz around the brand.

What started as a quirky marketing gamble turned into a merchandise line that BelliWelli could barely keep in stock. The “Hot girls have IBS” slogan helped break down the stigma around gut health, inviting people to talk openly about their experiences.

Fundraising and Launching Through the Ups and Downs

In the midst of all this growth, Katie faced personal challenges as well. She was pregnant while fundraising, keeping the news private while raising BelliWelli’s first million dollars. And if that wasn’t enough, she went into premature labor just two weeks before the official launch. With her baby in the NICU, Katie found herself working from the hospital, making it through with the support of her family, friends, and the incredible medical staff who became a memorable part of BelliWelli’s origin story.

Prioritizing Community and Customer Connections

Katie has always placed a strong emphasis on connecting with customers in a genuine way. She continues to email 50 customers a night, sends voice notes on Instagram, and often chats with members of the BelliWelli community as if they were old friends. For her, this isn’t just about customer service—it’s about treating people like they’re part of the BelliWelli “girl gang.”

Even as the company has grown, Katie refuses to hand off these customer interactions to someone else. It’s her way of staying connected to the people who have helped build BelliWelli from the ground up. She believes that authentic, grassroots engagement is a crucial part of the brand’s DNA.

The Power of Letting the Community Lead

From the very beginning, Katie relied heavily on feedback from her Facebook groups to guide BelliWelli’s direction. This wasn’t just lip service; the community played a genuine role in shaping product launches, branding decisions, and marketing strategies. “We literally let them make all the decisions,” Katie says. “They’re the ones we’re making this for, so we’ve got to go with their suggestions.”

It wasn’t until several months after launching that BelliWelli even began focusing on traditional marketing. For the first stretch, everything was done organically, with a heavy reliance on community-driven growth.

Katie’s Tips for Building a Grassroots Brand

Katie’s journey with BelliWelli proves that you don’t always need a huge budget or fancy strategies to build a successful brand. Here are her key takeaways for building a grassroots business:

1. Start with Passion: Don’t wait for the perfect time or ideal conditions. If you’ve identified a problem that you’re passionate about solving, dive in and learn as you go.
2. Leverage Online Communities: Whether you’re buying Facebook groups or joining existing ones, find your people. Your target audience is out there; you just need to know where to look.
3. Engage Authentically: Customers can tell when you’re being genuine. Whether it’s through emails, DMs, or voice notes, prioritize personal connections.
4. Don’t Be Afraid of Quirky Marketing: A bold campaign, like a “Hot girls have IBS” billboard, can help you stand out. Don’t shy away from humor or a bit of controversy if it aligns with your brand.
5. Let Your Community Guide You: Listen to what your audience wants and use their feedback to shape your business decisions. They’re your biggest advocates and your most valuable source of insights.

Katie’s story is a powerful reminder that starting a brand doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive—it just takes a little bit of creativity, a whole lot of hustle, and a genuine desire to make a difference. BelliWelli isn’t just a bar for gut health; it’s a movement, and Katie has made sure every step of the way that her community is leading the charge.