Dive Brief:
- Step aside, lemonade. Beyoncé's latest food and beverage investment is in cold-pressed watermelon startup WTRMLN WTR.
- The three-year-old company says its annual revenue is set to triple 2015's, on par with the rise of bottled water.
- The company did not reveal how large Beyoncé's stake is in the startup.
Dive Insight:
Beyoncé's move aligns with a number of trends, as Fortune points out. Celebrity endorsements and investments in foods and beverages have been a constant. Whether they're successful, however, is another story.
"The overall message to marketers is be careful, because all of us, celebrities or not, have positives and negatives to our personalities, and those negatives can easily transfer to a brand," research leader Margaret C. Campbell, who teaches at CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business told Forbes.
Beyoncé has been focusing her personal brand on health and wellness. "This is more than an investment in a brand, it’s an investment in female leaders, fitness, American farmers, and the health of people and our planet," she said in a statement. The move makes sense, though whether it can lead the startup to successful longevity is unclear. What happens when Beyoncé's next new product becomes more important? Increased brand exposure will be key for WTRMLN WTR, but making it last beyond Beyoncé's "halo" effect will be the true test.
Last year, Beyoncé stepped into the home delivery meal service game when she and her personal trainer teamed up for a vegan venture, dubbed 22 Days Nutrition. If the artist keeps to her brand, she could keep the conversation going about health and wellness while driving consumer trends, an enviable task for the industry.
And she wasn't the only celebrity with an announcement investment this week: Guayusa-powered natural energy drink Runa verified Leonardo DiCaprio as an investor.