Fact
Influencer brands aren't promo products, they're real businesses
Harley argues that creator-owned brands (Kylie Cosmetics, Jeffree Star, Drake's OVO, Yeezy) are deeply misunderstood as mere brand extensions. They're built by people who understand their category cold, and unlike Michael Jordan licensing his name to Nike in the '80s, today's stars can own 100% via Shopify.
“If Michael Jordan started the Jordan brand today, he would own 100% of it, just like Yeezy does, just like Drake owns OVO, just like Kylie owns Kylie Cosmetics. But because the Jordan brand started in the mid-'80s, he was a licensor of his brand to Nike. He received a royalty. The royalty was substantial, but he had no choice but to work with Nike on this deal because fundamentally Nike had add the means of manufacturing and the means of distribution.”
Idea
Clout Kitchens: influencer-branded cloud kitchens
Stu pitches 'Clout Kitchens', delivery-only cloud kitchens fronted by food influencers, the way Kylie Cosmetics and Fenty paired a celebrity name with a behind-the-scenes incubator. The influencer brings distribution and recipes; the operator handles formulation, marketing, and execution.
“So something that I've been thinking a lot about, which I'm calling— are you ready for it— Clout Kitchens, is influencer-based cloud kitchens. Okay. And so if you look at the, the, the expansion of influencer marketing, and not just influencers as a pay-to-play scheme that startups are, or large corporates are working with to hawk their products, but instead actually having these influencers build real businesses.”
Steal thisPair a food influencer's audience and recipes with a cloud-kitchen operator to launch a delivery brand with near-zero startup cost.