Hype & Holdings: The New Era of Celebrity Endorsements

In the past decade or so, it feels like every celebrity had a beauty brand, then a tequila brand, now a non-alcoholic adaptogenic botanical elixir (electrolytes optional). We move fast here.

The Olympian on the Wheaties box or LeBron’s Sprite Cranberry cans (formative for my generation) feels like a thing of the past. Instead of hearing “[Celeb Name] for [Brand],” we’re hearing “[Brand] from [Celeb Name]” much more often.

So is the celebrity endorsement dead? Or did it just get promoted?

We were shook when we found out Alix Earle made a controversial $1M off a busted Gymshark deal. But Selena Gomez becoming a literal billionaire from Rare Beauty? (the same fate most likely facing Earle as well with her expertly-marketed upcoming skincare brand) That’s business, baby! Public favor upheld. 

Part of this shift feels inevitable. Relevance cycles are ruthless now. If public favor turns on Sprite, LeBron feels it and vice versa. Taylor Swift famously avoids traditional endorsements for this reason. When partnerships are risky and attention spans are short, ownership can function as insulation… or at least a faster path to cashing out.

Technology and social media have also shrunk the distance between celebrity and consumer. Parasocial relationships have created massive purchasing power. I’d argue this traces back to the Kardashians, who perfected the “peek behind the curtain” model and monetized it into lip kits, protein snacks, and spiked seltzers from people who famously do not drink. 

Perhaps influencer marketing absorbed the endorsement job. Influencer partnerships have the bones of traditional celebrity ads, but with more editorial freedom and perceived authenticity that customers have grown to expect. In many ways, influencers became the more effective advertiser, which freed celebrities up to move upstream into ownership.

As I was drafting this, I’m fairly certain four more celebrities launched something collagen-adjacent. So instead of just theorizing, I followed the money and spoke to Rachel Hirsch, podcast host and writer behind the top-ranked Substack, 2% club, founder of VC Wellness Growth Ventures, and lifestyle extraordinaire (IG: @rachhirsch)

Q: Have you noticed a shift from celebrity endorsements to celebrity-owned or equity-based brands in your deal flow?

A: “Yes, but we’re still early.

We’re in the first real innings of celebrities and influencers understanding what ownership actually means. Equity is easy to say. Governance, dilution, capital calls, long timelines, and downside risk are different conversations.

What’s shifting now is expectations. Consumers assume celebrities will have equity. That’s no longer novel. Ownership is table stakes.

The next evolution is financial skin in the game.”

Q: Does celebrity equity de-risk an investment?

A: “No. Equity alone doesn’t de-risk anything.

If anything, it can introduce concentration risk tied to one personal brand. Relevance cycles are short. Reputations can shift overnight.

What actually feels more meaningful to me is when the celebrity writes a real check. When they put capital in alongside investors, not just equity granted for likeness or promotion.

Cash in is different energy than equity granted. It signals conviction and long-term commitment.

And we still underwrite the same way: if the celebrity stepped back tomorrow, would the business hold?”

Q: What separates durable celebrity brands from PR-driven moments?

A: “Durable businesses have strong operating teams. Period.

Not just an incubator optimized for growth marketing and launch velocity. Not just paid media arbitrage dressed up as brand.

You need real operators who understand margin structure, supply chain resilience, retail strategy, and product roadmap.

Celebrity awareness can open the door. Operators build what happens after.

The brands that last are businesses first, celebrity-backed second.”

Q: Where is this heading over the next few years?

A: “Celebrity brands are a dime a dozen now. The novelty phase is over.

So I think we’ll see:

• Fewer passive equity deals
• More celebrities putting capital in
• Stronger operator pairings from day one
• And investors being much more disciplined about fundamentals

Star power may drive the top of funnel. But in this market, fundamentals drive survival. And capital is paying attention.”

Thanks, Rach! 

The sheen of a celeb owned brand has worn off to the point where equity means no more than endorsement. We made a circle! Actually, not a circle, more like a pendulum.

Because I think we might start swinging and enter the fatigue phase.

There’s only so many celebrity-founded brands the market can hold before consumers start asking different questions. Rachel’s underwriting question is the one that matters most: if the celebrity stepped back tomorrow, would the business hold? 

There’s also a broader cultural layer here that likely fueled this shift in the first place. Celebrities have infrastructure, advisors, lawyers, finance bros, suits. As Rachel said, this is about expectations. Consumers assume celebrities will have equity. It’s no longer shocking that an already-made person has the mechanisms to make more. As the wealth gap widens, that dynamic seeps into branding and PR too.

Meanwhile, when average consumers are stressing about grocery prices, another protein-dusted, collagen-adjacent slop product that doesn’t align with a personal brand can feel thin. Audiences are more skeptical and less dazzled by the word “founder.”

So what do we do now? What do celebs do now? We still need the top of the funnel, so what is the move? 

In addition to Rachel’s point about founder funding, I don’t think celebrity ownership disappears. But passive ownership might. As with much of PR right now, the move is authenticity. A celebrity putting real cash down, taking on real downside risk, is standing on business quite literally. If endorsement was polish and equity was power, maybe the next evolution is proof. 

The money is watching. And as Rachel said, “capital is paying attention.” In an era defined by new power (volatile trend cycles and shifting hierarchies), authenticity is structural.

Who knows where we swing next, but the advantage belongs to the ones who see it coming and build for it before the rest of us catch up.

What do you think, are we peak celebrity brand, or is another evolution loading? I’ve heard a lot about fiber, maybe PinkPanthress Prunes? Jacob Elordi’s steamy Overnight Oats? Someone update the deck.

Chat soon, 

Sarah