Influencer Brands are Kind of Weird

Photo Courtesy of PRIME

When I talk about how more and more corporations are partnering with content creators, it usually stays like that. It’s a sponsorship, a commercial cameo, or a full-on partnership between the brand and the creator. But another thing that has been happening at the same time is creators starting their own brands and companies. Now I’m here to hate on all influencers and say that they are not allowed to enter the business world, but the sheer amount of influencer brands is a lot more than you think. And when you really think about, why do they even exist?

Let’s start with arguably the biggest and most recognizable influencer brand: Prime Hydration. Prime is a hydration beverage similar to Gatorade or Powerade founded by YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul. It launched in 2022 to huge popularity due to its association with the two but has since declined significantly in popularity, partially due to controversy over its ingredients. Even with this decline, Prime has sponsorships with Arsenal F.C., the UFC, and the WWE. The reason I think Prime is so strange is because KSI and Logan Paul are listed as co-founders of the company. Now do we really think KSI and Logan Paul decided on their own to create a competitor to Gatorade because they “wanted something better?” Prime is majority owned by Congo Brands, and as much as KSI and Logan can say it was their idea, I feel like it’s highly likely Congo approached them with the idea, and while they certainly do have executive roles in the company, their more spokespeople than anything else.

Feastables is a chocolate brand from Mr. Beast. One of the big selling points of Feastables is that it’s only made with 5 ingredients and that it’s ethically produced. This product also had some controversy regarding Mr. Beast’s promotion of it, asking fans to “clean up” store displays of it. Feastables has had some partnerships, such as being a part of a Zaxby’s meal or partnering with the Charlotte Hornets for a season, but they’ve remained relatively limited. In terms of actual authenticity around Feastables, I think it’s a bit better presented than Prime. Mr. Beast does do a lot of philanthropy work, so promoting something ethically sourced still fits his brand. He also does have a toy line under “Beast Lab,” and that along with Feastables matches the predominantly younger audience he has. Mr. Beast has also been open about how much of a businessman he actually is when it comes to funding his channels, so it doesn’t come as that much of a shock that he would venture into things like these.

From left to right: Chandler Hallow, Karl Jacobs, James Donaldson (Mr. Beast), and Nolan Hansen promitng Feastables (Photo courtesy of Feastables)

Another thing with influencer brands is that they don’t always have to be around a content creator. Some examples of influencer brands with mainstream celebrities would be Beats by Dre (before Apple’s purchase of it), SKIMS, and Mint Mobile with Ryan Reynolds. The issue with influencer brands however is how much they rely on the influencer. If KSI or Logan Paul fall into controversy, it affects Prime as a business, and the same thing goes for Kim Kardashian and SKIMS. Ownership also becomes an issue. Ryan Reynolds used to own Mint Mobile, but then its parent company was bought by T-Mobile. He still has a creative role with Mint Mobile, but is no longer an owner, and he didn’t really have much say in this because he was barely even an owner to begin with, just a minority owner who Mint Mobile used as a spokesperson, as is typical with most influencer brands.

Mike Sievery and Ryan Reynolds announcing T-Mobile's acquisition of Mint Mobile (Photo courtesy of T-Mobile)

There are a ton of other influencer brands that have come and gone, and to a degree have created a stigma around influencer brands. Regardless of what you think of influencer brands, it’s clear that with the right influencer and the right audience, they can be just as or even more successful than some of their competitors, proving once again how important influencers and content creators are to the business world.