For some context: I run a small international snack brand called Pop Snax, which I started about two years ago.
In the beginning, operations were run straight out of my apartment — snacks literally took up every inch of space. Over the last year, things grew steadily, and I eventually moved into a shared warehouse space.
Then last Sunday, something completely unexpected happened.
The Viral Moment
A large influencer randomly ordered one of my mystery snack boxes back in August. I had no idea who he was at the time and didn’t think anything of the order.
Turns out, he unboxed it on stream and YouTube.
Within hours:
- Website traffic exploded
- Shopify notifications wouldn’t stop
- Over 300 orders came in within two days
At first, I was genuinely confused. I asked one of the customers how they found my store — that’s when I learned about the unboxing video.
The video is now at 850K views.
I cried on and off for the first two days. It was one of those surreal “this is actually happening” moments, and I had no idea what I’d done to deserve it.
The Reality Behind the Hype
While all this was happening, I was still working a full-time job.
That meant:
- Answering customer emails
- Packing orders
- Handling fulfillment
- Working late into the night
All while trying to keep up with a sudden surge in demand.
It’s been exciting — but also chaotic.
What This Exposed
This viral moment gave me my first real taste of heavy demand at scale.
It also exposed how under-resourced I am as a solopreneur.
I don’t have:
- A team
- Fulfillment support
- Systems built for volume
I’m still figuring out how to:
- Maintain momentum after the viral wave slows
- Improve packaging
- Manage costs
- Run ads
- Deal with platform headaches (looking at you, Amazon 😅)
I’ve started leaning heavily into AI tools to offload as much manual work as possible and reduce burnout.
Final Thoughts
I know growth isn’t linear. The viral spike won’t last forever.
But this experience has been validating — and eye-opening.
It showed me what’s possible, and also what needs to change if I want this business to survive and scale.
If you’ve ever had a product or business go viral:
- How did you handle the surge?
- Were you able to sustain it afterward?
Happy to answer questions about what I’m dealing with right now.