🩲 How Parade Turned Customers Into Co-Creators (and Built a $40M Brand)

Before brands talked body diversity.
Before size inclusivity was more than a marketing checkbox.
Before ads dared to show stretch marks, scars, and real skin…

There was Parade.

Loud. Colorful. Unapologetic. Real.

In 2019, while lingerie was still built on lace, fantasy, and impossible beauty standards, Cami Téllez launched a radical idea:
Create a brand where every body wasn’t just accepted, it was celebrated.

🎯 Speaking with Gen Z, not to them

Parade didn’t just “target” Gen Z.
It was Gen Z

No airbrushed bodies. No glossy TV spots.
Just raw, joyful self-expression, shot by and for the community.

It wasn’t about selling underwear.
It was about making self-love normal, not aspirational.
From day one, Gen Z saw themselves in Parade, and they didn’t just buy the brand, they built it.

📦 Product-first, but never product-only

Yes, the underwear is soft, ethical, and made from recycled fabrics.
But what really went viral was the vibe: “I like my body. Period.”

From Pride campaigns to bold color drops, Parade turned values into a movement.
With creator collabs, partnerships, compostable packaging, and unapologetic storytelling, it built a community that sells and sticks.

📊 The results speak volumes

Parade sold over 500,000 units in its first year and secured more than $40 million in Series B funding. But the real growth engine wasn’t just product or capital, it was people. Hundreds of thousands of customers became storytellers, sharing their own Parade moments online. At the heart of it all, a community-first approach where co-creation isn’t a tactic, it’s the business model.

💡 What brands should take away

Gen Z doesn’t want to be marketed to.
They want to be invited in.
They follow brands that take a stand, and let them help shape the story.

Parade gave them the mic and the mirror.
The result? A brand they didn’t just buy from… but belonged to.

🌀 The btrend takeaway

At btrend, this is exactly the playbook we’ve built for brands.
We connect you with the creators and communities that matter, not the ones who just post, but the ones who move culture.

Creators who can make your audience see themselves in your product.
Campaigns that feel less like ads, and more like movements.
Growth driven by authenticity, inclusivity, and real stories, just like Parade proved works.

If you’re ready to stop talking at your audience and start building with them,
btrend is where it starts.

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📩 hello@btrendapp.com

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match – create – monetize