If you are thirsty, you possibly can drink plain water. It has zero calories, quenches thirst and provides hydration.
But what fun can be in that? And who would that impress?
NO. You need an iconic and unusual drink. Something with the status that only a celebrity sponsor can bestow.
This appears to be the dominant branding strategy among beverage startups. Crunchbase data evaluation shows that beverages are an extremely star category for enterprise investing.
WITH Beyonce Down Naomi Osaka Down Leonardo DiCaprioa large percentage of better-funded beverage startups have at least one big name among their investors. These kinds of startups are also concentrated in the densely populated Los Angeles area.
To illustrate the connections of celebrity investors and hydration-focused corporations, we have compiled a list of 10 venture-backed brands, including their famous sponsors.
Sure looks healthy
Perhaps it says something about our times that A-list celebrities have chosen to donate their names and money in exchange for a pretty healthy range of drinks.
They do not advertise alcoholic beverages or even products high in sugar and calories. Or relatively, two of them – Liquid death AND ZenWTR — are best known for plain water.
Others select soft drinks. The most famous name here is the non-alcoholic craft beer producer Sports brewingwhich has raised the most enterprise funding of any company on our list. It’s a distant second From Soyproducer of non-alcoholic aperitifs, considered a pop star Katy Perry as co-founder.
In fact, the only one that may create a buzz is To leadmanufacturer of sparkling drinks containing THC and CBD distillate. But even Cann’s founders add a healthy twist to their flavor, touting the organic agave used as an alternative of sugar and the drink’s ability to assist “rise above the stress of everyday life.”
Why do drinks need celebrity endorsers?
Even though we have change into accustomed to the concept of celebrity-endorsed drinks, deep down there’s still something strange about the strong connection between branding and thirst quenching. After all, most Americans have tap water that is protected to drink or easily filtered.
Yet a good portion of our disposable income still goes to drinks. Last yr, U.S. retail sales of packaged soft drinks exceeded $246 billion, up 7.5% yr over yr. Beverage marketing company data. That works out to over $700 per American per yr.
Meanwhile, the hottest packaged drink by volume is plain old water, which can explain why we see marketing-savvy celebrities, including Travis Kelce and Beyoncé dipping her toe into space. This is not a latest phenomenon either, with the BMC estimating that water sales have outpaced carbonated beverage sales by volume for at least eight years.
Personally, I admit that I used to be fooled by the choice of drinks really useful by celebrities. While filtered tap water could also be a cheaper and more practical option, it’s hard to compete in a world where carbonated, low-calorie, probiotic, heavily advertised options are also available, all artfully packaged and perfectly chilled.