The Hollywood-food crossover prevails as more celebrities flock to announce new cookbooks, lines of cookware and ghost kitchens nationwide. Take for example Stanley Tucci’s latest GreenPan Cookware collab, Chrissy Teigen’s array of swanky yet efficient cookbooks, Pauly DelVecchio’s (a.k.a. DJ Pauly D from MTV’s “Jersey Shore”) Italian Subs and Selena Gomez’s line of Our Place multifunctional cookware. The list offers just a taste of how vast celebrity-food partnerships have become in recent years. And it underscores the trendy business venture’s place in pop culture, especially as countless celebrities are now launching their own food, drinks and snacks.
“What does a celebrity actually know about making a good cookware set?” asked Bon Appetit’s Megan Wahn. “What the heck does it mean if you’re the chief creative officer of a beverage company? What does a singer know about making hot sauce or granola?”
Not much, nothing really and not much. After all, celebrities live to entertain — on-screen, off screen, on the covers of tabloids and in snarky headlines. Their whole public persona is also a tool of profit, both for themselves and for those who exploit their popularity. Simply put, celebrities (both their face and name) are the driving force behind so many of these food products. It’s less about whether a specific item tastes good and more about how much money and online buzz it will generate. Think about it: a plain, simple energy drink is, well, just plain and simple. Once you pair it with a celebrity endorsement then suddenly, that same drink transforms into something sexy and lucrative.
That’s the case with Kim Kardashian’s latest collaboration with the vitamin and supplement business, Alani. The reality TV star, businesswoman and aspiring lawyer has her own energy drink flavor that’s essentially a healthified rendition of pink lemonade. Called Kimade, the drink boasts vitamin B6 and B12 and features a blend of tart lemons and sweet strawberries, making it “the ultimate sip of sweet with a dash of sour!”
Of course, no Kardashian-backed product is complete without an elaborate photoshoot. As Kim shows us, Kimade can be enjoyed during a workout sesh while wearing a white bodysuit, matching white kitten heels and white acrylic nails. It can also be enjoyed outdoors, namely during a ski excursion that calls for a skin-baring outfit — white puffer jacket paired with matching colored bikini bottoms. Or after a long day of surfboarding in your favorite pink bikini!
A pack of six Kimade beverages can be purchased for just $18. Clearly the enticing price and the promise of a good time were enough to intrigue consumers because Kimade is currently sold out on Alani’s official website.
Other noteworthy celebrity-backed foods include Ed Sheeran's Tingly Ted Hot Sauce, which is made in partnership with Kraft Heinz. According to the company’s website, Ted is a grumpy bear who is also Sheeran’s sidekick and co-creator of the “first tingly sauce known to man (and bear, of course)." For just $13, customers can buy not just one but two Tingly Ted signature sauces: the classic Tingly sauce and the Xtra Tingly sauce, which amps up the spice level.
There’s also Jason Mraz’s Granola (launched in collaboration with Michele's Granola, Mraz’s now sold out Mystical Magical Matcha Granola flavor is named after his newest album, “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride”), Taika Waititi’s eponymous caffeinated canned beverage brand Taika, Mariah Carey's Cookies (unfortunately, they are not available via online order at this time) and Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills Coffee Concentrate.
Amid the digital age, celebrity endorsements are proving to be incredibly powerful as companies seek ways to hike profits and expand their customer base. Social media, in particular, serves as a catalyst for good business, allowing both companies and celebrities to attain free PR. Users try a product and then spotlight it on their social media, which increases publicity and encourages others to follow suit.
A product doesn’t necessarily have to taste good in order to garner this treatment. It just has to look enticing enough. Take for example McDonald’s Grimace Shake, the berry-flavored milkshake that became an internet sensation from June 12 to July 9 of this year. The shake went viral on TikTok with the #GrimaceShake trend, where users filmed themselves drinking the shake and then finding themselves in sinister situations. The trend failed to portray the short-lived shake in a favorable manner, but it certainly benefited McDonald's financially. According to the fast food giant’s quarterly earnings report, net sales were up 14% and net income increased to $2.31 billion, compared with $1.19 billion a year earlier.
Marketing psychology also plays a key role in the effectiveness of celebrity-backed products. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business studied people’s eye movements and pupil dilation when they came across mock advertisements of snack foods that featured either celebrities or generic models. They found that people are more likely to choose products that are endorsed by a celebrity rather than a non-celebrity. That decision is also made pretty quickly.
“Viewers had less pupil dilation when choosing a product that was advertised with a celebrity, an indication that they were spending less time deliberating their choice and were more confident about their decision,” the findings explained.
Celebrities help build “consumer confidence,” meaning consumers associate the high-profile traits of A-listers with the products they are touting. That doesn’t mean celebrities can make consumers choose a product they absolutely hate. But they certainly aid in hyping up the visuals of a specific food, snack or drink. It’s why Kim’s Kimade is packaged in a slim pink can alongside funky typography or Sheeran's Tingly Ted Hot Sauce is sold in a cartoonish-looking squeeze bottle.
Food marketing basically plays into two of our key senses: sight and taste. Sight is what lures consumers in. Taste is what makes them stay.
The fact that celebrity-backed foods are already increasing in quantity and variety is reason to believe that similar endorsements are yet to come in the future. As for whether companies will soon place more emphasis on their Hollywood endorsers and forgo taste is something only time can tell. What’s certain though is that food companies are capitalizing off of celebrities and vice versa. It’s a symbiotic relationship that won’t be perishing anytime soon.
