How supermodel Kendall Jenner plans to build an empire by selling her own tequila

How supermodel Kendall Jenner plans to build an empire by selling her own tequila – the Kardashian-Jenner family is arguably the most famous in the world and has proven the value of a 10-figure amount.

By Megan Sauer

The shapewear brand Skims, owned by Kim Kardashian, Kendall’s sister, was recently valued at $4 billion. Her little sister, Kylie Jenner, sold most of her makeup brand Kylie Cosmetics in 2020 at a valuation of $1.2 billion.

In the celebrity-driven premium beverage business, attaching the Kardashian-Jenner moniker to a bottle of tequila would be perfect branding. After all, Jenner and her four sisters have 1.6 billion followers on Instagram . That’s why it was so surprising that when Kendall, 28, founded her premium tequila brand, 818, she rebelled against family tradition and launched the brand anonymously.

In March 2020, she appeared at the prestigious World Tequila Awards, with her new Añejo, Reposado and Blanco without any extravagant action or any mention of her last name, Kardashian-Jenner. There was also no big launch party or an eye-catching campaign on Instagram and TikTok (although that would come later) . At her place, her tequila bottles were simply labeled “818,” a nod to the zip code of Calabasas, California, where Kendall was born and raised. «We wanted to receive honest opinions; “That the liquid and the brand stood on their own and that people loved it without me having to participate in it,” explains the young woman.

Her 818 Reposado took the top award in the category; the Aged, the bronze. When Jenner finally announced, almost a year later, that she was the one behind it all, 818 had won 16 awards in six contests.

Only then did she launch the Kardashian-Jenner public relations machine, following the classic family playbook of leveraging their enormous fame as a free publicity force. Currently, her sister Kourtney is into vitamins and wellness, Kim into clothing and makeup, Khloe into jeans, and Kylie into cosmetics . Kendall , part of the new class of influential supermodels that includes Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber, has landed on the cover of Vogue and has walked the runway for the world’s biggest fashion houses. (And now she debuts on our Forbes 2024 30 Under 30 list .) With 818, she’s carving out her own corner of the Kardashian-Jenner business world: alcohol.

But why tequila? Jenner attributes this to her parents, who she claims drank it frequently when she was a child and fueled her passion for it as she became an adult. During the pandemic, Ella Jenner says that she organized blind tasting tests for her family and friends , comparing her favorite tequilas with her new product. “With modeling, I was part of someone else’s vision,” Jenner told the audience at the ‘Forbes Under 30’ summit in October in Cleveland. «I was a character and I became what people wanted me to be. When I became the founder and owner of my own business it was a great way to get to know myself again.”

Kris Jenner, Kendall’s mother and matriarch of the Kardashians, also has high hopes.

Tequila was one of the alcoholic beverages that grew the most in revenue last year, with sales increasing by 17% ($886 million in total), according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. In total, Americans drank 6 billion dollars in 2022. Jenner wants to get his share of it by creating a tequila for the youngest, Generation Z.

The opportunity helped him attract veteran beverage executive Mike Novy from rival brand Casa Dragones, where he was president. The couple first partnered with Mexican distillery La Cofradía to make their tequila, but switched to Grupo Solave of Guadalajara as the brand grew. “Some celebrity brands lack authenticity,” says Novy. “They may be good for driving awareness, but will they really drive a consumer’s emotional attachment to your brand?”

Jenner says, “My hand is in virtually every aspect of the business.”

So are her social media contacts: Jenner has 300 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. With an award-winning liquid and global fame, Jenner sold more than 123,000 cases of 818 in 2022. Bottles of 818 start at $30, while the aged Eight Reserve costs about 150 dollars. Forbes estimates 2022 sales to be around $25 million. Jenner declined to comment on the sales or her involvement in the business.

But as the tequila market grows, it gets crowded. Dozens of established brands, such as José Cuervo, Don Julio and Patron, market leaders, have been selling tequila for decades. And Jenner is far from the only celebrity to have entered the market. Stars like The Rock, LeBron James, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Eva Longoria and Carlos Santana all have brands. In 2017, George Clooney sold Casamigos to Diageo for $1 billion .

Brian Sudano, managing partner at data and consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corporation, says the biggest challenge 818 faces is standing out : “Don’t expect Casamigos to reproduce. To capture the U.S. market, a brand must sell at least 250,000 cases, he explains, but to be considered a strong national brand it would have to sell 500,000 cases.

Teremana, which The Rock launched in 2020, reported in April that annual sales had surpassed 1 million cases, up from 600,000 the previous year. Novy, 818’s chief operating officer, says the company hopes to become a “quarter-million case brand” within the next two years.

Last year, 818 ranked 16th globally and 14th in the United States by total sales value, according to Euromonitor data. Jenner’s team, however, is quick to cite another study, conducted by marketing research firm IRI data, showing that 818 was one of the top 10 tequila brands by dollars generated in the $25 and up category. in 2023.

Matthew Barry, a director at research firm Euromonitor, sees potential for 818. He attributes this to Jenner’s influential social following and her influence on a younger audience that wants to be like her and drink what she drinks . «The Rock and Kendall Jenner are the two best-known characters in the sector. And Kendall is probably the biggest name these days,” says Barry.

Jenner says she’s not intimidated by the growing competition: “I consider it a healthy challenge. We obviously know that there are a ton of amazing tequila brands on the market. “It just pushes us to want to do better.”