Indiana, USA – If TikTok Shop rarely turns a profit on its own ledger, why are the most competitive D2C brands still building on it? That’s the case Tyler Brechbiel, co-founder of TBAR Partners, is making to CFOs who would rather not hear it. The agency, launched in June 2025 by two college baseball teammates, manages TikTok Shop for companies including Ridge, Grüns, Vita Coco, HexClad, and David Protein, reporting more than $5 million in monthly gross merchandise value across its brand portfolio. The agency’s core argument: the right measure of TikTok Shop’s value starts off the platform.
“TikTok Shop by itself as its own P&L does not look good,” Tyler says. “You’ll be negative, you’ll be break-even, maybe at best a single-digit profit margin.” The agency’s case extends the accounting outward, to Amazon purchase spillover, retail foot traffic effects, and the volume of creator content TikTok Shop generates for Meta campaigns. Tyler cites data indicating that around three to four TikTok Shop sales generate one additional Amazon purchase. TBAR also routes creator-made video into paid Meta campaigns, with one brand getting hundreds of pieces of content that outperform other UGC by over 20%.
TBAR does not work with startups or brands without an established base, as those companies lack the resources to absorb TikTok Shop’s demands during the ramp period. Tyler advocates building affiliate tiers from scratch, focusing on L2 creators who are bought into the brand’s mission. The agency sends hundreds of samples per month per client, concentrating intensive support on the roughly 20 creators who engage with coaching.
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Top brands on TikTok Shop generate around 50,000 creator videos per month, and TBAR’s brief-to-community system is designed to make that output frictionless. TBAR uses AI for mass affiliate outreach, but emphasizes that relationships require a human touch. The agency is also preparing for the next cycle of social commerce, planning to operate on YouTube Shopping and Instagram Shop from the outset. “Social commerce is expanding really fast, and you do not want to be late,” Tyler says. “The platform’s only getting harder.”
