🌎 Mom life, abroad: how expat moms are growing audiences & businesses
TL;DR: From French school lunches to Chinese postpartum care, American moms abroad are having a moment. TikTok is full of expat creators breaking down parenting styles from around the world, and people can’t stop watching. Hashtags like #americanmomabroad and #expatmom are pulling in millions of views as these moms share the messy, magical reality of raising kids [and building careers] far from home. Think part travel vlog, part parenting confessional, part cross-cultural commentary [with a side of "wait, they feed toddlers what for lunch?"].
This week we spotlight three American moms who are building audiences based on their lives overseas and a couple themes emerged: 1) These mothers are using their everyday parenting moments to teach audiences about new cultures, and 2) Tapping into a hyper-specific identity and niche is fueling community growth, brand deals, and businesses.
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Isabelle Bertolami, American mom living in Provence
Isabelle is an American mom living between Paris and Provence. Originally from Massachusetts, she moved to Paris after meeting her husband while on vacation. A registered dietitian, Isabelle gained a following after her videos breaking down French school lunches, French after school snacks, and French baby products went viral.
Her content primarily consists of short-form videos about life as an American mom in France, often exploring the contrasts between French vs. American parenting, food culture, and vlog / lifestyle content. Inspired by French postpartum and baby care traditions, Isabelle co-founded Propre Baby, a brand offering French-style alternatives to baby wipes and diaper creams. She also co-hosts The CouCou Podcast, a biweekly show with fellow American mom in France, Kimberly Wheeler, where they discuss everything from parenting to everyday mom life.
→ What to watch: Honing in on your niche
Isabelle’s viral videos hit the sweet spot of the internet: dietitian, American, mom, and expat. She took the momentum and turned it into Propre Baby, a brand that brings French baby rituals to U.S. parents who want a little more je ne sais quoi in their daily routines. It’s a perfect example of what happens when you actually know your niche audience [like, really know them] and build from that insight. Business growth? Oui, chef.
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Marissa in China, American mom living in China
Originally from the U.S., Marissa now lives in Wuhan, China with her husband and son. She first went viral on TikTok by documenting traditional Chinese postpartum practices, but has since grown her largest audience on YouTube—amassing 464k subscribers—by simply crossposting her short-form videos to YouTube Shorts, where she averages around 2 million views per video.
Marissa’s content largely falls into 4 main buckets: vlogging her daily life in China, highlighting Chinese food culture, motherhood and family life, and cultural differences / life as an expat. She’s especially good at capturing the everyday nuances of life in China—things most viewers wouldn’t typically think about, like the popularity of American fast food chains or filing taxes as an expat.
→ What to watch: The impact of a crossplatform strategy
Marissa turned her first wave of TikTok wins into a million-plus following across platforms [not bad for someone just sharing day-in-the-life content from China]. TikTok is still her main growth engine, with short, punchy vignettes about parenting and expat life that rack up views fast. Then she gets scrappy: repurposing those hits for TikToks into Instagram and Facebook Reels and YouTube Shorts. Lately, she’s been experimenting with longer-form, think vlogs and Q&As that give her audience a deeper peek into cultural differences and mom life abroad. A multi-platform strategy with personality? We love to see it.
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Ryan Norville, American family living in Paris
Ryan is a Paris-based floral designer who has worked with brands like West Elm, Glossier, Audible and Elf Cosmetics to name a few. A born-and-raised New Yorker, Ryan was working in corporate beauty and fashion until she was let go from her last office job. From there, she began monetizing her Instagram and started exploring floral design as a hobby. That hobby quickly turned into a career as brands began hiring her for floral projects—everything changed when an Instagram executive tapped her to build an installation for their Met Gala party.
After having kids, Ryan and her husband decided to leave New York for Paris, citing the rising costs of healthcare and childcare in NYC. Now, she documents her life in Paris on TikTok, sharing everything from applying for and renewing her visa to opening her own flower studio in the city.
→ What to watch: Process-forward storytelling
Whether she’s sorting out visas, learning French, balancing entrepreneurship or launching her flower studio, Ryan brings her audience along for every beautifully chaotic moment. Her process-first storytelling has done double duty, building a loyal community online and acting as a living, blooming portfolio that kickstarted her career as a floral designer [who needs a résumé when you have reels?].
Behind the paywall
What started as side hustles are quickly becoming serious businesses. Around the world, mom creators and brands targeting parents are building subscription boxes that blend trust, utility, and storytelling—and they’re cashing in. This isn’t just parenting content anymore. It’s recurring revenue and a global strategy disguised in cute packaging.
Inside:
3 standout brands who are leaning into subscription boxes to further connect with their target audiences
5 learnings for marketers and brands on how to optimize reoccurring subscriptions and why they resonate so much with consumers
Why this trend matters now—and what it signals about the future of niche commerce
Read the full piece on Substack here: https://mtdeco.substack.com/p/mom-life-abroad-how-expat-moms-are