From $0 to $600K per month Selling Tea at 22 Years Old | Gretta Van Riel's Ecommerce Story

Gretta Van Riel was 22, fresh out of uni, and already allergic to corporate life. Working a digital marketing job in Melbourne, she felt boxed in by bureaucracy—so she built her escape hatch on nights and weekends. Her spark? A simple frustration: detox products felt synthetic, but tea was natural, beautiful, and trusted. She started blending her own teas, friends raved, word spread, and suddenly her “side hobby” was getting expensive to give away.

THE $0 SHOPIFY LAUNCH THAT LIT A FIRE

Gretta Googled “how to start an online store,” found Shopify, and built a one-product site in eight hours. First night live: four sales—two from strangers who discovered her on Instagram. That single clue changed everything. She went all-in on IG, partnering with influencers before it was fashionable. Result? SkinnyMe Tea rocketed from $0 to $600K/month in six months.

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE…THEN FOUR TIMES

She repeated the formula with The 5th Watches, launching to an 8,000-person waitlist and hitting $100K on day one—then $1M in a single day a year later using scarcity (“only sell on the 5th”). Next came Drop Bottle, built after growing a 900K-follower “detox water” audience—later crowned one of Oprah’s favorites.

HER PLAYBOOK IN THREE BLADES:

1. Build the audience first.

2. Launch early, iterate fast—even if it’s messy.

3. Build a brand, not just a store.

Watch the full video here from the Foundr Youtube Channel