The rich and famous are looking to become even richer and only slightly more famous by diversifying their portfolios. Celebrity startups are suddenly a thing, from makeup to whisky and beyond, here are a few of the hot industries for those looking to invest their acting paychecks in a long-term business venture.
CBD and THC
With CBD sales soaring around the world and in the UK, there’s an increased market for these products and celebrities are looking to cash in. If you want to buy CBD oil there are plenty of businesses that sell it in a refined form, but celebrities are putting CBD into all sorts of products. Goop, owned by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, is a lifestyle brand that has entered a collaboration with marijuana dispensary MedMen to distribute CBD vape pens, patches and bath bombs. Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars and Frozen fame has started a skincare line, Happy Dance, which is entirely CBD based. CBD is a non-psychoactive form of cannabis known for its calming effects, but there’s a whole other side to the business in the US. As more states legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use, the demand for legal forms of THC is being met with more new businesses. It’s not surprising that many stars of the hip-hop community are jumping on the “Mary Jane train.” Snoop Dogg has created Leafs by Snoop and his own strain named “Dogg OG.” Jay-Z has created a Monogram cannabis line and Ice Cube, despite his increasingly squeaky clean image, has created an homage to iconic Friday movies with Friday Kush. Hip-hop isn’t the only subculture known for its marijuana use, so it was only fitting that Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong both created their own marijuana-based businesses.
Organic Living
People are looking to increase their health and decrease unwanted chemicals across the board and these celebrity brands are here to help. Little Spoon is a new organic baby food delivery service backed by tennis megastar Serena Williams. Actress Jessica Alba has been on to the clean living trend since she established The Honest Company back in 2011. She also started the line as a company geared toward baby products including a diaper delivery service, ones that were free of synthetic fragrances and potentially harmful chemicals, but she parlayed that success into a company that now offers a huge line of household products including the Honest Beauty line which is now available worldwide. In fact, whether it is recycled yarn from Pharrell and his company Bionic Yarn or recycled fabric from designer Stella McCartney, celebs are offering consumers lots of ways to be environmentally friendly.
Technology
While many people are interested in living a healthier life, nearly all people use technology, so celebrities know that technology can be a great investment. Indian actress, singer and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas has invested in dating app cum social network Bumble. Bumble sells itself as a women-centric app that has unique safety features. Another Indian-born actor and producer, Canadian Akshay Kumar is investing in GOQii, the company that not only offers a smartwatch and connected app but is connected to a network of physicians and health experts and offers a secure cloud setup to maintain your medical records for access anywhere. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is betting that smart speakers are just the tip of the iceberg with his investment in Smartron. He’s trying to corner the Indian market with smart home devices and apps from voice-activated speakers to home security. More and more celebrities are planning for the long-term with traditional investments but also promising startups. Ashton Kutcher deserves an entire segment for himself. The self-effacing actor has invested in startups for everything from mattresses to flower delivery. If the message that most celebrities send us is to invest in what already aligns with your branding and image, Kutcher’s message may be more applicable to the every man who doesn’t have a personal brand with which to align his investment strategy: diversify.
