Silky Gem: Turning Resilience and Tradition into Social Sales
About Silky Gem
Silky Gem isn’t just a candy store – it is the story of Gia Huynh’s grit and artistry. Rooted in Vietnam, her parents taught her that everything worth having requires hard work. She worked long days in a nail salon and spent nights crafting candies in her apartment. Within months, her crystal candies went viral on social media, and the orders overflowing her living room turned into Silky Gem, a premium candy brand that sold more than 2 million pieces and 160,000 collection boxes in just 18 months. In 2023, she opened America’s first crystal candy store in Gaithersburg, MD, inviting visitors into a glittering world of chandeliers and gem‑like confections.
Silky Gem’s candies are inspired by Mứt Rau Câu, a traditional Lunar New Year treat made from sea moss agar and fruit. Each jewel‑like candy is handcrafted, elegantly packaged and tied to the Vietnamese belief that sweets bring health, wealth, and good fortune. Gia sees the brand as a “celebration of art, craftsmanship, and the joy of culinary delights”. That commitment to storytelling and community attracted a loyal audience – but the company needed a way to turn that enthusiasm into scalable sales.
The Challenge
Silky Gem’s meteoric rise came from organic word‑of‑mouth. Videos of Gia’s crystal candies regularly went viral, and fans flocked to her website to admire the shimmering treats. Yet the team saw a gap: many visitors loved the story but didn’t convert. Discount codes and pop‑ups felt off‑brand for a company built on craft and premium quality. Silky Gem needed a frictionless way for fans to bring friends into the experience and nudge them toward purchase – while preserving the authenticity of Gia’s journey.
The Solution: Shop with Friends
Enter Shop with Friends, a social shopping app that lets customers create and share interactive polls with friends via group chat. The tool embedded seamlessly into Silky Gem’s Shopify store; setup took less than 5 minutes and required no intrusive banners. Now when someone is browsing, they can send a poll asking “Which one should I get?” to a group of friends. Friends vote directly from their phones and can buy their chosen flavor right from the poll, turning group chats into a storefront.
The Results: Poll‑Driven Sales
Silky Gem’s community embraced polling. In just a short period:
- 2,000+ polls created – fans turned their group chats into mini focus groups.
- US $12,000+ in incremental revenue from poll‑driven purchases.
- 8.99 % conversion rate for poll creators, with many purchases happening within 13 minutes of sending a poll.
- Hundreds of additional buyers converting after voting on a friend’s poll, creating a ripple effect of referrals.
Poll‑driven conversions exceeded Silky Gem’s normal site conversion rate by multiple factors. Friends trusted recommendations from each other more than ads, and the ability to vote made them feel invested in the purchase decision.
Why It Works
Silky Gem’s success with Shop with Friends comes from the alignment between brand and tool:
- Authentic storytelling meets social proof – Gia’s origin story of resilience and tradition resonates with shoppers. When customers share a poll with friends, they’re not spamming them; they’re inviting them into the Silky Gem narrative. A vote from a friend acts like a personal recommendation.
- Frictionless experience – Polls are sent in seconds and integrate natively into group chats. Voters never need to leave the conversation to select their favorite flavor. The buying flow is short and mobile‑friendly, enabling purchases to happen within minutes.
- Community‑driven urgency – When multiple friends weigh in on a candy flavor, there is momentum to act. The social aspect adds excitement – poll creators often purchase right away to show appreciation for their friends’ input.
Silky Gem’s Takeaway
For Gia Huynh, the greatest joy has always been sharing her art with others. Shop with Friends transformed that joy into a scalable growth engine. By inviting customers to create polls, Silky Gem amplified word‑of‑mouth without compromising its boutique feel. It’s not just about new revenue, though an extra $12 K in sales is impressive; it’s about empowering a community to take part in the story of an immigrant single mother who turned homelessness into a thriving business. “Silky Gem represents more than just candy—it’s a symbol of resilience and hope,” Gia explains. With Shop with Friends, that symbol now spreads through every poll shared in a group chat.
Ready to Sparkle?
If you’re a Shopify brand that thrives on storytelling, Silky Gem’s success shows how social polling can turn passionate fans into high‑intent customers. When the conversation is authentic and the tool matches your brand’s values, referral‑driven sales can scale without sacrificing the human touch. Are you ready to let your customers shop with friends?