Why more celebrity-led brands are shutting down
Shortly before this summer’s World Cup, where Lionel Messi made a global splash at the tournament, his hydration drink Mas+ shut down less than two years after its debut. Months later, the news was followed by a similar announcement by Unwell, the functional beverage brand by influencer and podcaster Alex Cooper. Unwell, a line of electrolyte, energy and protein drinks, will be discontinued this fall following the rollout of its Halloween-themed flavors.
Celebrity-backed brands, once seen as surefire bets due to their founders’ built-in audiences, are increasingly facing a reality check as the market matures and consumer fatigue sets in. The high-profile exits of Mas+ and Unwell underscore a critical disconnect between mass market demand and the creator-led economy. While celebrity name recognition provides the awareness asset needed to drive initial trials, it does not necessarily guarantee the consumer trust required to win in competitive categories such as beverage or beauty. As the initial buzz fades, these brands are discovering that retail is indeed a velocity business, and no amount of social media following can replace product-market fit and operational discipline needed to grow a business long-term.
Failed brands have been on the rise among uber-famous celebrities in the past few years. In fact, not even Kim Kardashian is immune to failed startups. In 2025, after several pivots and relaunches, her beauty business Skkn quietly closed operations to consolidate the products under Kardashian’s Skims banner. And earlier this year, musician Gwen Stefani’s beauty brand Gxve Beauty shut down, after Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty was discontinued last year.
In the case of Más+, it was billed as a better-for-you alternative to Logan Paul’s Prime and tailored to athletes’ needs. The brand launched in partnership with Mark Anthony Group, the parent company of White Claw, which helped it build deep, strong distribution in its first year.
But despite the early hype and wide availability, Mas+ struggled to hit its long-term sales goals in such a saturated category. Like many celebrity-backed consumer products, the initial hype and marketing push brought attention to the product. However, once the buzz died down, it was much harder to convince everyday consumers to make repeated purchases.
Sunny Bonnell, founder and CEO of branding agency Motto, said these days, the issue with brands built around a public figure is that, often, there is a lack of focus, especially in overly crowded product categories.
According to Tastewise’s consumer intelligence data, functional beverages, in particular, are growing over 29% year over year in 2026. As such, the beverage category’s explosive growth continues to attract many new players trying to capitalize on demand. As of May 2026, The New Consumer reported that dozens of new beverage companies and products had already launched in the U.S. this year alone.
“Alex Cooper has obviously built an enormous cultural equity around her voice, her point of view and has a big audience,” Bonnell said. “But that does not automatically equate to the audience wanting to buy a beverage from her.” She went on to say that “there is a big difference between having attention and having permission to enter a category.”
There are, of course, nuanced factors that can torpedo a brand’s chances of succeeding. Bonnell pointed to the early trademark litigation Más+ was caught up in. “Ironically, that was with another celebrity brand,” she said, referring to Prime filing a lawsuit against Messi’s brand last year alleging its creation hurt Prime’s sales. “That can create some stigma around a brand and take attention away from it,” Bonnell said.
Mark Gallo, a beverage sales and distribution manager who’s previously worked for Anheuser-Busch and Heineken, agreed that a famous figure’s following is purely an awareness asset.
“And retail is a velocity business,” Gallo said. “Those are not the same currency.”
For instance, the celebrity’s name helps convert the first purchase and drive trials. However, the product’s taste, effectiveness and price point drive the second purchase. “Most celebrity brands are a ‘me too’ formulation at a usually a premium price, so there is no second purchase,” he said.
To a degree, Gallo said the lack of celebrity or influencer could be considered an asset. “The founders that are doing actual operator work, like distributor meetings, retailer meetings and content for the brand, are at an advantage,” he explained.
Both Mas+ and Unwell were brought to market through partnerships with beverage giants, rather than the traditional founder-led startup model. In the case of Unwell, the brand was launched in late 2025 as a joint venture with multinational CPG Nestlé.
Bonnell said that these recent high-profile examples are further proof that plug-and-play celebrity brands will not survive without the right product-market fit and execution plan.
As such, Mas+ bearing the name of Messi, who boasts 516 million followers on Instagram alone, is not enough for a national beverage brand to cultivate repeat customers.
“On paper, these brands have all the ingredients to succeed commercially,” she said. “But it takes more than a famous name and face to convince consumers to buy your product.”