Influencer Trips of 2025 Recap: Who Did It Better (or Butter?)

Influencer trips have been dominating our feeds for years! Sometimes in ways we love, sometimes… not so much.

In 2025, brands really leaned into this trend, rolling out trips that had creators, fans, and even the press talking. In this blog, we’re breaking down three brand trips that stood out this year, and what we loved, what missed the mark, and most importantly, what small business owners can take away from them (because we know not everyone has a Fortune 500 budget!).

So you can see what worked (and what to avoid) if you’re thinking about planning your own influencer-focused campaign.

Kerrygold Influencer Trip of 2025

Back in May, the famous butter brand created their own influencer trip to Ireland. They brought in influencers from around the world to Ireland for the B.T.S. look at the butter making process — from meeting local dairy farmers, to the factory tour, to trying the product themselves...and even making custom yellow crocs.

The response? The audience and influencers LOVED this trip. They not only created this amazing experience for the influencers, but they made it a unique experience.

What We Loved About This Trip:

It Was Educational

They took a really unique approach to this trip, in that it wasn't just for entertainment, but they took this as an opportunity to inform their trip attendees by showcasing their story.

They Really Went B.T.S.

Who doesn't love a behind-the-scenes look at any industry, and visiting cows in the process? By taking them inside their process, they made it feel like an exclusive experience.

It Was Different

Not a ton of food brands step into this concept, especially outside of the wellness category. They took a bold move, being the first to really dive into this experience, and it worked. People were shocked and everyone seemed to want an invite.

It Was On Brand

Everything felt aesthetic, homey, rooted in their product heritage, but not overly polished. You could tell that people weren't given anything scripted to post, or had major guidelines on what they needed to film because there were so many unique angles and takes in the content, AND even those unpolished, goofy moments when guests accidentally stepped in cow...you know.

What We'd Change About this Trip:

Honestly, not a thing! The only backlash we noticed was (1) more posting from their page about the trip, but we disagree with this. They left most of the posting for the influencer, which made it feel more authentic and less flashy. (2) They wanted more everyday people and not just those with big audiences attending. I think this is the backlash everyone will see with influencer trips, but they are called influencer trips for a reason. They are meant to be an experience for people who work in that industry. They invited influencers with food backgrounds, so I think they really chose the best fit.

Trippin with Tarte 2025

Tarte hosted two trips in 2025, Necker Island and a shorter trip to Key Largo, and they are currently on one as we are writing this blog in December of 2025, which we can't wait to see!

Tarte has been known as the original brand trip, so let's dive into what they did this year.

What We Loved About This Trip:

Giving Back

On each of their trips, they also focus on donating and giving back to a variety of charities. On their Necker Island trip, they donated a million dollars to disaster relief for the Carolinas and California, both going through huge natural disasters this year. I think this is such a great way to showcase how they give back as well.

It's Detailed

They think of everything, and it 'wows' the influencers just as much as the audience. This makes it easy to post about and show up in our feeds more and more. It falls right in line with their fun, luxe feel of their brand.

Listening To Their Audience

In previous years, they have faced major backlash for their trips, despite really being a huge leader in this space since the early 2000s. One thing they have really paid attention to is listening to the feedback from their audience and making it known. Going back to the giving back piece of it, this brand trip was scheduled right as the LA wildfires broke out, so they did focus a lot of their content around giving back and even set up a self-care kit set-up that their visitors could join in on to create to give to the Westwood Recreation Center shelter.

What We Would Change:

There's one major thing we'd change about this trip is to make it different. We've seen the same version of this trip a few times, so it would be amazing to see a bit of a change-up in their trips so they don't blend together.

Waterboy

In June of 2025, Waterboy, a drink stick electrolyte brand, took a group of influencers to Tulum. At the same time, they also introduced their new social media manager, Madi, who took over posting.

This is one trip that had a lot of negative backlash about "the unserious posting" style, the page feeling a "little bit too much like a personal Snapchat story" to "not promoting the product in the right way."

What We Loved About This Trip:

Their Promotion Leading Up to The Trip

This campaign was a standout for us because they built in public—and made their audience a part of the story. They didn’t just bring influencers; they brought “regular” people along too, turning the trip into a community event. They launched a challenge asking followers to create content using the hashtag #waterboyintulum, then let the audience vote on the top 10 participants who would actually join the trip. It was fun, interactive, and gave the campaign a sense of inclusivity that made it one of our favorite influencer strategies of the year.

It Generated Buzz

Is all press good press? In this case, we actually think so! They are a lesser-known brand compared to their competitors like Gatorade and LiquidIV, so I think this did make them get seen. People were posting reactions left and right about this, and now a lot more people know the name.

The Itinerary Matched Their Branding

Waterboy is supposed to be the go-to hangover cure and great for prep and post workout to fuel electrolytes, and that's exactly how they planned their days — a night of drinking followed by a 9 am Pilates class, showing how their product can fit into both vibes (and bridge the gap between both).

What We Would Change:

We'd change two major things about this trip. (1) Since they started their social media manager on the first day of the trip, it didn't allow her to establish a connection with the audience, or likely get any time at all to strategize how to promote this experience. (2) Secondly, overall strategy and storytelling. Prior to this, they have been great at storytelling and promoting how their product fits into their customers' lifestyles, their founder stories, and beyond. But this trip felt more like a highlight reel and we didn't get to see a lot of how the product was integrated.

Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners

Now, we know that the average small business owner likely doesn't have the Trippin' With Tarte-like budget to send influencers to fun parts of the world on a week-long experience. So, what can we do instead?

Local Influencer Events

Chances are, if you are near a city, there are influencers local to you that you can connect with. That means no expensive hotel costs, no crazy airfare. There are influencers near you that you can invite for an experience. Think pop-up events, PR boxes, or even inviting them to go B.T.S. with your brand for a day of fun.

Tap into the Nano & Micro-Influencers Space

Nano and micro influencers don't get the credit they deserve. Even though they have smaller audiences, they often see the same engagement rates. Which means their audiences are dialed in and ready to be influenced! If working with a major influencer isn't in the budget, working with a nano or micro influencer could be a great option, less cost, but you could still see ROI.

Create Experiences

Any brand can create an experience. In fact, every customer touchpoint IS an experience. How you chat with customers in the DMs, how you handle your customer service, what it's like to visit your storefront, it's all an experience for your audience. How are you taking it from an average interaction to making it a moment that your audience will connect with and remember you by?

Need help with your influencer strategy? That's exactly what we built On-Call by Social Savvy for. Anything you need help with, we are only a call away.