Case study
Leonidas
Food, Community, TikTok, Belgium, France, Chocolate
By taking over Leonidas' TikTok strategy, Socialsky transformed a nearly invisible account into a delicious conversation hub for 18-35 year-olds: from 2,967 to over 14,000 followers, more than 19 million impressions in one year, and organic videos exceeding 180,000 views.
Context
Leonidas, a Belgian chocolate institution founded over 110 years ago, is present in 1,300 stores across 41 countries. A beloved brand, recognized and deeply rooted in Belgian culture... but nearly absent from TikTok. In 2025, Socialsky takes over the complete TikTok strategy with a clear mission: make Leonidas a desirable brand for 18-35 year-olds in Belgium and France, without betraying the brand's DNA.
Challenge
In the food and confectionery universe, TikTok imposes its own rules: the algorithm rewards authenticity, entertainment and universal subjects. It punishes overly institutional or "catalog-like" content. The challenges were multiple:
- Starting from almost zero: 2,967 followers, a highly product-centric feed, no human storytelling, and the TikTok link not even present on the official website.
- Rejuvenating the image without renouncing the heritage: Leonidas is a love brand with 110 years of history. It had to be modernized, made accessible and spontaneous, without becoming outdated.
- Finding the right creative angle for a product as universal as chocolate, in a TikTok universe saturated with food content.
- Reaching two distinct markets (Belgium and France) with a single coherent French-language editorial line.
Solution
Socialsky built Leonidas' TikTok strategy around a central principle: speak to the audience in its own codes, not in those of a heritage brand.
- Continuous Creative Lab: parallel testing of multiple creative angles (product presentation, trends, street interviews, challenges, engagement questions) to identify high-performing formats before amplifying them.
- The "audience-first" approach: broad, universal and emotionally strong subjects, always linked to the commercial calendar: Manons, Candlemas, Easter, Christmas, spreads.
- The product as a conversation starter: instead of selling, the videos invite reactions, debate and sharing. The Manons video doesn't "present" a product: it triggers a debate about everyone's favorite Manon.
- Surgical amplification: targeted micro-boosts (€50 to €100 per video) on organically validated content.
- Native community management: complicit tone, assumed responses, genuine proximity with the community.
Results
In one year of collaboration (January 2025 to January 2026), Leonidas went from TikTok ghost to reference chocolate brand on the platform. Community growth: from 2,967 to 14,067 followers in 12 months. The Candlemas video: +480 new followers, best recruitment performance. Reach & Engagement: +19 million impressions over the year. Best organic video: 181,755 views, 3,983 interactions. 4 videos exceeding 67,000 views. Hook rate between 35% and 54% across all videos. Audience quality: target reached with 75-84% women, main age group 25-34 years. Cross-border reach confirmed: Belgium and France reached.
2 967 → 14 067
TikTok Followers
19M+
Impressions
181,7K
Monthly Reach
+480
Candlemas Video (+followers)
35-54%
Hook Rate