Through Shopee’s Affiliate Program, local businesses are expanding their customer base by partnering with everyday content creators, while simultaneously unlocking fresh income streams for Filipinos nationwide.
Manila, Philippines – A common hurdle for Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is having a high-quality product but struggling to get it noticed. With limited marketing budgets, reaching new audiences can be difficult, and traditional advertising often fails to connect with the right target market.
Shopee’s Affiliate Program addresses this gap by bridging the divide between local sellers and digital creators who can showcase products to relevant buyers, driving the journey from discovery to final checkout directly on the platform. The majority of these affiliates are everyday people who integrate products into their daily routines, review them on camera, and share authentic feedback. This provides MSMEs with an efficient channel to scale their reach and partner with creators whose followers align with their brand, while giving creators a reliable way to monetize their content.
The impact of this approach is clear. Shopee has seen affiliate-driven traffic and sales surge by over 1.5 times, proving the program’s vital role in customer acquisition for local businesses. The success stories of three homegrown brands—Herah, B Coffee Co., and Hyperbrands—illustrate how this works in action.
Herah: The Power of Authentic Demonstrations and Creator Discovery
Herah, a local innerwear brand focused on everyday comfort and fit for Filipina women, faced a common digital retail challenge: their high-quality essentials were hard to fully appreciate through standard, static product listings alone.
The turning point came when an affiliate creator posted a simple video showing how to clean Herah’s reusable nipple covers using ordinary dishwashing liquid. This straightforward, practical demonstration gave shoppers immediate clarity on product care and triggered a sudden, substantial boost in sales.
The success of the video was driven by authentic, real-world utility rather than a massive follower count. Recognizing this potential, Herah leveraged Shopee’s Affiliate Program to identify niche creators, monitor their performance metrics, and pinpoint the exact content styles that drove conversions. This strategy proved so successful that the brand eventually established an internal team dedicated solely to managing its growing network of creator partnerships.
“Hindi ka mapapahiya when you recommend Herah. When someone recommends us to their friends, family, and followers, they’re putting their own reputation behind the product. We want to make sure we deserve that trust,” said Ryan Uy, CEO of Herah.
Dentalight and Moochie: Strategic Data Testing and Optimization
Hyperbrands, the company behind pet-care favorites Dentalight and Moochie, takes a similar community-first approach by collaborating with affiliates who are pet parents themselves. These creators share firsthand, authentic reviews on whether a specific treat delivers on its dental claims or if a pet food line lives up to its nutritional promise—building a unique layer of trust that only comes from real-world experience.
To maximize these partnerships, the Hyperbrands team relies heavily on Shopee’s back-end performance data. By analyzing every piece of affiliate content, they track exactly what resonates with shoppers, pinpoint the specific video formats that convert into sales, and constantly refine their marketing strategy based on concrete metrics rather than guesswork.
This data-driven experimentation frequently yields surprising results, with several creator videos vastly outperforming expectations. For Hyperbrands, this reinforces the immense value of giving affiliates the creative freedom to test new ideas and find what truly clicks with fellow pet lovers.
“Those moments remind us that there is always more to learn. Even when we think we have found a winning approach, creators bring fresh ideas that encourage us to keep experimenting and exploring,” said Luis Gan, CEO of Hyperbrands.
B Coffee Co.: Driving Category Education and Purchase Consideration
B Coffee Co. demonstrates a different facet of affiliate marketing success. Launched in 2020, the Filipino-owned coffee capsule brand set out on a mission to democratize premium coffee, offering barista-quality brews at the press of a button for a fraction of the cost of a café visit. However, for consumers unfamiliar with the mechanics of home espresso systems, understanding how a capsule machine fits into their daily routine was just as critical as learning about its technical specifications.
To overcome this hurdle, the brand turned to digital creators. Instead of merely reciting product features, affiliates filmed themselves crafting their own morning beverages at home. These relatable step-by-step videos demystified the brewing process, transforming an unfamiliar appliance into an accessible, everyday household essential.
“A product listing can explain what a coffee machine does. A creator can show why you would want one beside your laptop or on your kitchen counter,” said Miguel Guerrero, CEO of B Coffee.
Because consumers can make a purchase immediately after discovering an item through creator content, the gap between initial inspiration and final checkout is virtually eliminated. “For an emerging brand, keeping the moment of inspiration and the point of sale within the exact same user journey is incredibly powerful,” Guerrero emphasized.
To sustain this momentum, B Coffee Co. has actively utilized Shopee’s KOLLAB initiative—a specialized networking event designed to connect local enterprises with digital creators—allowing the brand to build fresh partnerships outside its established circle.
Expanding Partnerships Through Strategic Connectivity
While Herah, Hyperbrands, and B Coffee Co. have successfully unlocked distinct advantages through creator collaborations, many other MSMEs often struggle with where to begin. Shopee addresses this through its KOLLAB platform, which gives businesses direct access to vetted creators to explore collaborative marketing opportunities.
Throughout 2026, Shopee hosted over 30 KOLLAB events nationwide, successfully bridging the gap between more than 100 brands and over 500 creators and affiliates.
Crucially, the initiative has expanded outside Metro Manila. By holding regional editions in Cebu and Davao, KOLLAB collaborated closely with local creator networks, enabling businesses to tap into regional influencers who possess deeper community ties and stronger cultural relevance within their specific markets.
“Through our Affiliate Program and initiatives like KOLLAB, we’re making it easier for MSMEs to connect with the right creators and turn content into real business results. We’ll keep investing to make these opportunities accessible to more businesses and creators across the country,” said Jack Ng, Head of Commercial, Shopee Philippines.
