Danielle Brown, founder of HealthyGirl Kitchen and New York Times bestselling cookbook author, has used her own health transformation to garner a community of millions, changing perspectives on plant-based eating. Her journey demonstrates that meaningful growth and personal engagement go hand in hand, as she maintains direct connections with her massive online community while expanding her business.

A Health Transformation Leads to Purpose

Danielle’s shift to plant-based eating started in her first year of college, prompted by significant health issues. “I felt super sick, and I suffered from chronic GERD,” she recalls. “I was suffering from hormonal acne and breakouts. I was super fatigued from living this college lifestyle of waking up early for class and maybe going out at night, drinking alcohol, eating unhealthy, not focusing on nourishing foods, and not understanding nutrition.”

The switch to plant-based eating brought clear results. “After four months of eating a plant-based diet and replacing meat, dairy, eggs, and fish with whole grains, nuts, seeds, potatoes, beans, protein like tofu, fruits, and vegetables, my heartburn disappeared and never returned,” Danielle shares. “My skin cleared up. I had more energy than ever before. I used to take three-hour naps daily, but now I have energy all day.”

This improvement motivated her to support others. “I knew that I had to help other people the way I help(ed) myself,” she says.

Strategic Growth Through Digital Platforms

In 2018, Danielle began creating content with a clear purpose. “I became a certified holistic health coach and started posting recipes for my clients I was helping one-on-one because they would ask me, ‘Hey, Danielle, do you have a breakfast recipe? Do you have a dinner recipe?'” she explains. “And I thought, why not just post it on Instagram so everyone can find my recipes.”

Her growth strategy involved multiple platforms working together. “I created this marketing funnel for myself,” Danielle details. “I joined about 20 different Facebook groups. I would post my healthy recipe ideas in these groups and link to my recipe blog to generate traffic.” .”

This approach proved successful: “From Facebook, people would click the link to my blog. I was getting thousands and thousands of people a month visiting it. Once people found my blog, I would have a pop-up that said, ‘Follow me on Instagram.’”

The lockdown in 2020 created new opportunities. “My wedding was canceled in 2020 because of COVID, and I was locked inside with nothing to do,” she remembers. “I thought, why not create healthy recipe videos on TikTok?” 

Direct Community Engagement at Scale

With millions of followers, Danielle maintains personal connections with her audience. “I answer all of my DMs myself. I edit and film all my videos myself,” she emphasizes. Many people assume I have an editor. At this point, no one touches my Instagram besides me. Even the closest people on my team cannot access it directly.”

She prioritizes daily interaction with followers. “I can’t answer every message, but I’m in my DMs every day answering as many as possible,” Danielle shares. “I love engaging with what I call ‘super fans’ – the people who always message me. Sometimes, creators get to a point where they think they’re too good to answer their community on Instagram. I never want to feel like I’m at a point where they don’t deserve my answer.”

This commitment extends to her content strategy because she believes that’s “the number one thing you can do as a content creator” to stay “relevant and relatable.” 

“I do that just by being authentic and not reinventing the wheel,” Danielle shares. “People just want content they will benefit from, gain value from, and learn how to cook healthy AND realistic recipes.” “

While managing her expanding business with a dedicated team, Danielle directly oversees her content and community. 

“I have an amazing team at HealthyGirl,” she explains. “I have a senior content and community manager, an incredible management agency, and an intern. I also have a photographer for my blog who takes all my pictures. I couldn’t do it without everyone who helps me every day.” 

She adds context for her audience: “People will often see content creators and them posting their life, and it seems perfect, but know that every successful content creator has a team around them.”

This philosophy shapes her brand partnerships. “I probably turn down half of the partnerships I’m offered; I would even say more because I want my audience to trust me,” Danielle reveals. “I want them to know that when I recommend a product, it’s [something] I use myself. Maybe it’s a new product I am trying for the first time, but the ingredients are clean, and they know I would eat it and feed it to my kids. I’m very particular  about my partnerships, which have created a strong credibility and trust between my audience and me .”

Managing Growth and Platform Changes

Success brings its own challenges. “One is handling the hate because it’s inevitable once you have that many people in your audience,” Danielle admits. “You’re going to get people who don’t like you. And I’m a huge people pleaser and want everyone to like me… If I have one person who’s mad at me in my life or upset with me, I can’t sleep that night.”

Danielle notes that changes in social media platforms can also present hurdles. “Maybe one day, a certain type of content performs well on TikTok, and then the next, you get no views on it,” Danielle explains. Her response remains steady: “Just consistency and not worrying about followers… You must ask yourself, ‘Am I putting out valuable content without worrying about the followers?’”

Innovation in Plant-Based Food

Recently appointed Chief Culinary Officer at Oshi, Danielle combines personal values with market opportunity. 

“I told my management team, if there’s ever a vegan salmon that comes out, I need to be a part of it somehow,” she shares. “[Oshi representatives] flew from Israel to meet with me and brought me Oshi salmon on dry ice on the plane so that I could sample it. We met in this little Airbnb, cooked the salmon for me, and I was blown away.”

Her plans for Oshi address multiple needs: “Our goal would be to become the number one fish alternative for those who have a fish allergy, individuals who are ethical vegans and do not want to harm animals, those who are environmentally conscious and want to preserve marine life, you name it. ,” Danielle explains. “Many people don’t eat fish or limit their fish consumption because of the risk of heavy metal exposure. For example, tuna and the risk of mercury exposure can be very harmful to one’s health. And Oshi would solve that issue.”

Environmental impact drives her vision: “Our current demand for fish and seafood products has reached unprecedented levels, leading to significant depletion of marine wildlife in our oceans,” she explains. “Overfishing disrupts the natural food chain, depriving species such as bears of their essential food sources, which can result in starvation, population decline, and eventual extinction. It becomes a continuous cycle of ecosystem degradation. Oshi is committed to addressing and solving this critical issue.”

“Every day, my mission is to impact as many people as possible by teaching people how to nourish themselves with plant-based meals and lead their best lives through a healthy lifestyle,” she concludes. “If I can teach people how to teach their kids how to eat healthy and feed them healthy food, then we start to create a ripple effect which changes the world and the trajectory of our world’s health.”