The list of celebrity-backed spirits is getting longer. Just a few of the launches this year include Jason Mamoa’s vodka, Jennifer Lopez’s ready-to-drink cocktail, and an Eiza González-backed tequila. But often behind the big names are a suite of new innovation houses that are quietly fueling the recent rush of celebrity spirits.
The converging influence of social media platforms, big acquisitions of celebrity-backed spirits by strategics, and the spirit category’s recent growth have made jumping into spirits ownership an attractive revenue stream for entertainment figures. Esquire ranked every celebrity spirit and liquor in 2021 the roster landed at 63 bottles, nearly double the number available three years prior; in 2020, an app dedicated to celebrity alcohol brands, Grapestar, debuted with over 200 spirit expressions.
A-listers in particular have been attracted to agave spirits following the acquisitions of George Clooney’s Casamigos and Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana Tequila, two top selling agave spirits. Within a group of 26 leading celebrity tequila brands that NIQ is tracking, growth is up 22% in off-premise dollar sales from last year, rivaling numbers of the overall category, it reported last month.
Several of the splashiest launches have been developed with hospitality and spirits entrepreneurs, who have revealed themselves to be celebrity spirit whisperers of sorts. Entrepreneur Ken Austin has been in the deal room with Avion Tequila, which was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2018; Proper No. Twelve, launched with UFC champion Conor McGregor; and Teramana Tequila. James Morrissey, CEO of Global Brand Equities, has also found a niche bringing to market Post Malone’s Maison No. 9 rosé, comedian Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino tequila, and A$AP Rocky’s Mercer + Prince whisky. Sovereign Brands CEO Brett Berish is also known for collaborating with artists like Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.
Over the past few years, other portfolios have sprung up, specializing in pairing distillers with celebrities, and building on traditional or new infrastructure to launch brands.
Celebrity Spirit Matchmakers
One of those companies is Dallas-based WES Brands, which formed soon after several of its founding members were part of the $610 million sale to Diageo of Aviation American Gin.
The company’s founding member and new president and COO, Sean Penn (no relation!) spent nearly three decades building spirits brands with Diageo North America and Milestone Brands.
“I think there are a lot of similarities between beverage alcohol and celebrities,” said Penn. “They’re both in their own ways forms of the entertainment industry.”
The company is focused on the growth of its actor-backed brands: Mark Wahlberg’s Flecha Azul Tequila and Jamie Foxx’s BSB Flavored Whiskey. A number of other industry veterans recently joined the company in executive positions, including CEO Shawn Thurman, previously executive vice president of national accounts at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. The new CEO aims to leverage the national distribution network to propel the portfolio’s growth.
Other agencies have come from the creative space, where high profile entertainment figures have historically been partners of beverage alcohol campaigns. Spirits of the Night was co-founded by Casey McGrath, who before launching the agency last year was hailed by Billboard as music’s most sought after matchmaker while running creative agency, Night After Night. After running campaigns pairing artists Anderson Pack with Jameson Irish Whiskey and 21 Savage with Avion Tequila, the matchmaker saw a niche for an offshoot “Drinks Drops” company that could leverage a pandemic-boosted alcohol e-commerce infrastructure and a growing thirst for collectable spirits.
The New Sneaker Drop
As shelves become saturated with celebrity-backed spirits, these agencies are focused on testing the market, often in slow or limited product rollouts. That process allows brands to find footing with distributors and control inventory, but also allows the celebrity themselves to develop a presence in-person in key markets or rev up their fan-base.
Flecha Azul Tequila sold 32,000 cases in 2022 through a staggered approach until about August, when it came online in most markets.
“We’ve experienced a lot of flash sell-out situations in markets because of the explosive nature of the brand and how fast it’s sold out of retail as well as on-premise,” said Penn.
The flys or flops of celebrity-backed spirits have largely depended on how engaged the celebrity is, and with the reopening of bars and restaurants, much of that activity is not just via social media anymore.
“Beyond the virtual interaction that the celebrity can create for us with their platform, there’s the up close and personal touch that they can have, so it’s important that the celebrity penetrates the marketplace, not just at the customer level with our retailer partners or our restaurant and bar partners, but also with the consumer,” said Penn.
Pairing a celebrity to a brand also dictates the size and scope of the release. McGrath saw the rise of high-end spirits in the pandemic as an opportunity to bring the “sneaker drop” model into the spirits world.
“We took that trend, along with the beefed-up infrastructure for home delivery, and some of the loosening of the legislation as well to do some e-commerce-only limited-edition high-end collectible spirits for celebrity partners where they wouldn’t need to jump right all the way into a large multimillion dollar raise,” he said.
His first release, Four Walls Whiskey, was a collaboration with Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton, who are part of the cast of the longest-running live-action American comedy, Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The pilot release sold out, boosted by the actors’ longstanding fanbase, plus a podcast launched in 2021. McGrath is now planning a mass market release in the fall, timing with the podcast’s live show tours and other in-person events.
A second collaboration, between family band Kings of Leon and family-owned Willett Distillery will follow a different trajectory. Limited runs of Kiamichi whiskey were priced from $149 to $1,149. More releases, with increased volume and frequency, are expected, but the brand is still aligned towards special occasions.
“It’s rare and precious liquid, and that concept is so specific that it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a mass market release,” McGrath said.
What’s Next?
While celebrity-backed brands like Teremana Tequila are celebrating major sales milestones, their biggest influence on the spirits industry may be yet to come, according to Penn.
“Each of these celebrities are artists in their own minds, and they can bring something new and different to the table and challenge traditional marketing norms,” he said. “It makes traditional marketers think about different ways that they can create brand awareness for consumers and generate more interest around a brand.”
Free from the parameters of traditional commercial endorsements and backed by an eager fan base, entertainers may find more creative freedom in brand ownership, which may even generate new categories that fall between the lines of traditional spirit categories, added Penn.
Celebrities do have the power to lure consumers into new categories: 82% of consumers influenced by celebrity owned or endorsed brands agree they would try a category they don’t normally drink if they like the celebrity, according to recent NIQ data. But that’s based on the 7% of consumers who say their drink decision is influenced by a celebrity endorsement or brand ownership.
In Drizly’s 2022 Retail Report, “celebrity owned” climbed into second place among special product attributes last year, with 54% of retailers identifying star power as a reason to carry a product – up from third place last year. However, the staying power of that product remains important, according to McGrath, who has a long list of criteria before pushing a brand into mass market release. Artists have to commit to a challenging first few years of opening markets and products have to demonstrate a demand.
“They have to not only have that volume as a measure of success, but healthy growth with somewhere to go,” he said. “And then to be able to eventually be a brand that can stand on its own without the association of the artist so that they aren’t the death blow of being a piece of artist merch, they have to stand alone on their own merit.”