But did it work well w Kin? I am not sure about now, but at the start of their merger it did not and very much felt like brand that is not doing well attaches celebrity name as bandaid. And this is at no fault to Bella. I don’t know her well but she always been incredibly sweet and has such radiant energy. I really like her and I just wish she had better people around her. I also wish people would learn that lots of followers / fame + idea does not automatically translate to success. The biggest example of this is Beyoncé. All of her stuff (but her music) continuously flops. The whole celeb brand culture is all just very lazy
Completely agree with your point on celebs being used as band aids for bad brands. Bella seems like the best but ultimately there’s only so much she can do with a bad team with bad taste.
Thanks for the mention, Jake! The Kelly Slater brand is interesting, and as you say, it looks to be executed well a la Humanrace. In a theoretical scenario in which I'm his manager, I would've had him do a collab with an established sun care brand. He's certainly not pivoting to "beauty founder" in his day to day life, so I question how this brand will grow over time? Vacation is a little too kitsch for Kelly's personal brand, but to the benefit of Vacation, he could definitely provide the legitimacy angle if they were to ever launch a hardcore performance sunscreen (vs. the lifestyle/fragrance slant). Hmmm.. I think honestly I would try to get him a fat check for a partnership with a brand like Khiels to do a huge performance sunscreen push with one product. Kelly's fanboys (dad surfers) aren't really the type to shop d2c, but probably a lot of them have a big ol bottle of Facial Fuel, do you agree? Plus this would open him to Equinox, though rumor is that they are pivoting to Aesop.
We all owe you the world for dropping so many gems 💎 I think the partnership angle is very intriguing and I’d love to actually speak with him or someone from Freaks of Nature as to why they chose to go direct to consumer solo over a partnership. The distribution he could have easily gained would have been a huge head start.
Also let me just say if the rumors are true Equinox is transitioning to Aesop I am going to die happy… I am getting so sick of the Grapefruit smell every morning and their facial moisturizer is not as light as the one I use at home.
I don’t care about Kelly Slater at all, but the packaging / branding for Freaks of Nature looks cool so I’m in. Agree on the Bella botch but do we forget how rough Skims had it at the start, with the Kimono name and the quick pivot? Everyone was quick to write her off then. Now, obviously Yolanda is no Kris Jenner…
Great deep dive here— I love how you unpacked the strategic implications of each launch. In terms of Bella’s brand, I would’ve loved something more direct and concise. There’s definitely something behind the “alcohol is bad for your skin” belief that I’d hope her team would latch onto in a way that felt simple and easy to grasp, but instead they chose to wade into the murky waters of typical, forgettable, vague perfume marketing. I definitely agree that the team could’ve looked at their competitors more, understood and better positioned what makes them unique, and designed their site and product accordingly.
Loved this read and all of the discourse that followed! I think the true marker of success here with Freaks of Nature was that I was excited about it just from looking at the products / site, without even knowing who Kelly Slater was (sorry!!! outing myself there). I think that’s what makes rhode stand out (shameless plug for the post I just made about it) — it truly feels like a child of Hailey’s and has the USP / actual product efficacy to stand on its own.
I also think there’s something to be said about when a celebrity makes a SECOND brand with a new name (Fenty doesn’t count). At that point, I’m really fatigued and it all starts to feel exponentially more artificial.
I loved this newsletter! Completely agree that Bella’s brand has been botched (I also don’t like the logo, the golden logo? It’s kind of giving Word Art). The differentiation of having it be alcohol free is a dumb one to me. It means the fragrance likely won’t have “throw” or sillage. It won’t project and will stay close to the skin. No one else will be able to smell it but you. I have fragrances like this—there’s an oil version of Bois de Balincourt that I dab on my neck when I want to smell it for myself. But most fragrance-heads want something other people can smell.
I love that if you search "Kelly Slater sunscreen" you uncover that he's very anti-suncreen. All the media outlets are pivoting to "he's learning to love sunscreen". Also it shows up he's anti vax. Also the packaging is akin to Pharrell's Humanrace. The internet never forgets.
But did it work well w Kin? I am not sure about now, but at the start of their merger it did not and very much felt like brand that is not doing well attaches celebrity name as bandaid. And this is at no fault to Bella. I don’t know her well but she always been incredibly sweet and has such radiant energy. I really like her and I just wish she had better people around her. I also wish people would learn that lots of followers / fame + idea does not automatically translate to success. The biggest example of this is Beyoncé. All of her stuff (but her music) continuously flops. The whole celeb brand culture is all just very lazy
Completely agree with your point on celebs being used as band aids for bad brands. Bella seems like the best but ultimately there’s only so much she can do with a bad team with bad taste.
Thanks for the mention, Jake! The Kelly Slater brand is interesting, and as you say, it looks to be executed well a la Humanrace. In a theoretical scenario in which I'm his manager, I would've had him do a collab with an established sun care brand. He's certainly not pivoting to "beauty founder" in his day to day life, so I question how this brand will grow over time? Vacation is a little too kitsch for Kelly's personal brand, but to the benefit of Vacation, he could definitely provide the legitimacy angle if they were to ever launch a hardcore performance sunscreen (vs. the lifestyle/fragrance slant). Hmmm.. I think honestly I would try to get him a fat check for a partnership with a brand like Khiels to do a huge performance sunscreen push with one product. Kelly's fanboys (dad surfers) aren't really the type to shop d2c, but probably a lot of them have a big ol bottle of Facial Fuel, do you agree? Plus this would open him to Equinox, though rumor is that they are pivoting to Aesop.
We all owe you the world for dropping so many gems 💎 I think the partnership angle is very intriguing and I’d love to actually speak with him or someone from Freaks of Nature as to why they chose to go direct to consumer solo over a partnership. The distribution he could have easily gained would have been a huge head start.
Also let me just say if the rumors are true Equinox is transitioning to Aesop I am going to die happy… I am getting so sick of the Grapefruit smell every morning and their facial moisturizer is not as light as the one I use at home.
Great read! I think celeb-brand fatigue is so real and if you’re going to do it, do it right and take your time.
Also Orebella branding is giving me video game vibes from 2007 (not in a good way).
Celeb fatigue is so real. Hahaha totally agree the branding is so like mid 2000s and not intentionally
Have we considered the possibility that it looks like an amateur project because Bella actually did-it-herself?
HAHAHHAHAHAHA maybe she took a break from riding horses to make a Shopify account.
I don’t care about Kelly Slater at all, but the packaging / branding for Freaks of Nature looks cool so I’m in. Agree on the Bella botch but do we forget how rough Skims had it at the start, with the Kimono name and the quick pivot? Everyone was quick to write her off then. Now, obviously Yolanda is no Kris Jenner…
Honestly great point on skims that did have a notoriously rocky launch.
Great deep dive here— I love how you unpacked the strategic implications of each launch. In terms of Bella’s brand, I would’ve loved something more direct and concise. There’s definitely something behind the “alcohol is bad for your skin” belief that I’d hope her team would latch onto in a way that felt simple and easy to grasp, but instead they chose to wade into the murky waters of typical, forgettable, vague perfume marketing. I definitely agree that the team could’ve looked at their competitors more, understood and better positioned what makes them unique, and designed their site and product accordingly.
Love the deep dive! I also gasped when I saw the font choice. Totally agreed with all your points.
Thank you Ale!
Good read! I'll be buying that sunscreen (and not the perfume).
Word on the street is the founder is coming on the newsletter 👀👀👀 stay tuned
!
Loved this read and all of the discourse that followed! I think the true marker of success here with Freaks of Nature was that I was excited about it just from looking at the products / site, without even knowing who Kelly Slater was (sorry!!! outing myself there). I think that’s what makes rhode stand out (shameless plug for the post I just made about it) — it truly feels like a child of Hailey’s and has the USP / actual product efficacy to stand on its own.
I also think there’s something to be said about when a celebrity makes a SECOND brand with a new name (Fenty doesn’t count). At that point, I’m really fatigued and it all starts to feel exponentially more artificial.
I didn’t know who he was either in full transparency. Totally agree on your Rhode take and will go read
LMK if you have more thoughts to discuss ;)
Fan of the deep dive format 🙌🏼 Great read this morning.
Really appreciate you reading! There will be more installments in this series very soon.
I loved this newsletter! Completely agree that Bella’s brand has been botched (I also don’t like the logo, the golden logo? It’s kind of giving Word Art). The differentiation of having it be alcohol free is a dumb one to me. It means the fragrance likely won’t have “throw” or sillage. It won’t project and will stay close to the skin. No one else will be able to smell it but you. I have fragrances like this—there’s an oil version of Bois de Balincourt that I dab on my neck when I want to smell it for myself. But most fragrance-heads want something other people can smell.
Yeah the golden logo is puzzling. Agree that scent is mainly for the people around you, not the wearer.
I love that if you search "Kelly Slater sunscreen" you uncover that he's very anti-suncreen. All the media outlets are pivoting to "he's learning to love sunscreen". Also it shows up he's anti vax. Also the packaging is akin to Pharrell's Humanrace. The internet never forgets.