Why Celebrities Turn To Alcohol

The new side hustle that's become popular in Hollywood

“Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion f — ing dollars. I don’t need money.” George Clooney

Actors. Rock Stars. Celebrities. Many seem to be turning to lucrative side gigs. And the trend appears to be alcohol makes the best side hustle.

I’m not talking endorsements or featuring in an alcohol commercial. They are buying or starting their own alcohol companies. But for some, such as George Clooney, the side hustle becomes bigger than the main job.

The focus for most is premium spirits which makes sense as it is not only is it a good fit for their brand but the premium spirits market is booming. According to Euromonitor International, the luxury spirits market is expected to grow to over $US100 billion globally by the end of 2020 — up from just $US64 billion five years ago.

Consumers are prepared to pay “premium” prices for liquor when they see their favorite celebrity not only drinking it but owning part of the company. And on the flip side, stars are seeing this as a great investment opportunity — ahead of traditional celebrity investments such as restaurants, fragrances, or clothing.

Amongst premium spirits, tequila is usually the spirit of choice. It can be brought to market relatively quickly — around 18 months, and for these health-conscious celebrities, it is considered a healthier option as its sugar-free.

While there are many celebrities associated with premium alcohol brands, I have only looked at cases below where they are actively involved as owners.

George Clooney- Casamigos Tequila

This success story that may have kicked started the alcohol business side hustle was purely an accident. Clooney was on holiday in Mexico with his director friend — and husband of Cindy Crawford — Rande Gerber, when they decided to make tequila for their friends based on their tastes. The main criteria were ensuring they wouldn’t get a hangover.

After two years and 700 samples they had a tequila, they were happy with and started distributing it to their friends — but it soon expanded.

Rande Gerber said;

..the distiller called and said, ‘Hey guys, we have a little problem: In the past two years, we’ve been sending you about a thousand bottles a year. Either you’re selling it or you’re drinking way too much — either way, we can’t keep calling it samples. You guys have to get licensed and do this right.’

They certainly did it right.

In 2017, Clooney and partners sold Casamigos to alcohol giant Diageo for $1 billion. Not bad for a product that was supposed to be just for their close friends!

Ryan Reynolds- Aviation Gin

Reynolds liked the taste of Aviation Gin so much he became an owner in 2018. Since then, the gin brand has been closely aligned with Reynolds’ personality. Using humor and a quirky sense of fun — Reynolds has moved well beyond influencer to create much of the brand content and marketing. He wants everyone who interacts with Aviation Gin to know — he is behind the brand.

This satirical post showing his Amazon review was retweeted 12,000 times and gathered almost 1 million likes across Twitter and Instagram. Reynolds and Aviation received further coverage on sites such as CNN, People, and Business Insider.

Aviation is continually innovating their marketing while remaining true to their brand values. In December 2019, they created what I think is the “Inception” of ads. An Aviation Gin ad within a Samsung ad within a Netlflix ad. If you haven’t seen- its a brilliantly creative piece of advertising. And of course, it went viral.

Much of the success of Aviation Gin is down to the Ryan Reynolds brand. By association, consumers of Aviation Gin are hoping they will be seen to have a fun, quirky personality.

Bob Dylan- Heaven’s Door Whiskey

Bob Dylan, may seem a surprise alcohol baron but he released his whiskey in 2015. He is a copartner of Heaven’s Door whiskey along with Marc Bushala and Dylan is heavily involved on the product side. As a whiskey enthusiast, he offers tasting notes and feedback on their range of whiskeys before they were added to their product range.

Unlike Reynolds however, he is mainly absent from advertising. “Bushala says. “This is his brand, and it’s his idea. We just helped him do what he wanted to do. Bob does not want to be the face man of the brand, and he does not want the packaging to scream ‘Dylan’.”

Demand has grown so much that later this year, they will open the Heaven’s Door Distillery and Centre for the Arts in Nashville.

Dwayne Johnson- Teremana Tequila

When you have close to 200 million followers — you have a large audience to promote to. And Johnson made the most of this in March this year when he launched his tequila brand.

Johnson didn’t just buy into an existing alcohol company like Reynolds. He built his distillery from the ground up.

It is still too early to see how successful Teremana will be, but everything Johnson touches seems to turn to gold, and with such a Social Media presence, he has a considerable marketing reach.

Kate Hudson- King St Vodka

Hudson added an alcohol company to her growing business portfolio in 2019, launching a vodka distilled with GMO-free corn and alkaline water — creating a gluten-free vodka. Her initial aim was to disrupt the male-led vodka market. Although 56% of vodka drinkers are female — there were no vodka companies owned by women.

Says Kate “I’ve been asked a lot to endorse products, and I much prefer building businesses than endorsing other people’s, so I looked into the vodka world.”

Like Reynolds, she is heavily involved- King St is where she lived in New York, and she helped design the packaging.

Her clever targeting of females, as well as offering a more sustainable vodka helps King St stand out in a crowded vodka market.

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul- Dos Hombres Tequila

When Cranston posted a photo on his Instagram in July 2019 of him and Paul with the intriguing caption of “Even Sooner”, the post went viral as fans talked up the possibility of the two costars reuniting for a Breaking Bad project.

They were going to work together again, but instead of looking to Hollywood, they turned to Mexico. To create their own mezcal company. From the outset, they have both been very hands-on with the company. They visited Oaxaca many times over three years to find and create their perfect mezcal.

Since its launch (via Instagram) they have been hosting pop up events, making mezcal cocktails as bartenders and of course promoting Dos Hombres, heavily on Social Media.

“We’re both invested in it, not just physically and monetarily, but emotionally invested,” says Cranston. “The only way that we would enter into any business and take up a large chunk of our time is if we’re passionate about it, and we really are.”

Nick Jonas- Villa One Tequila

Villa One is an ultra-premium tequila founded by Nick Jonas and John Varvatos in 2019. Like Clooney, the basis was established on a trip they took to Mexico. As they sipped tequila — they talked about doing something special together. Eighteen months later, Villa One was launched.

What Jonas offers from a marketing perspective is pop star power. He can market the product to the Jonas Brothers fan base. To assist with the product launch, the Jonas Brothers took the tequila on the road with them. Launching Villa One in different markets as they toured throughout 2019. They even had a VIP bar near the stage for tastings and cocktails.

Jonas also studies what fellow celebrities Reynolds and Clooney have done.

“What John and I are trying to do is just learn what we can from their campaigns and how they market their products and also what makes their product special. Casamigos has built a great audience, so that means they’ve done something right.’

Not every celebrity strikes gold with alcohol ownership. There is a difference between merely endorsing a product and becoming an active and involved owner.

“In order to be successful and truly cut through the saturated space, the celebrity not only needs to be heavily involved but needs to incorporate the brand into their everyday lifestyle,” says Kate Laufer founder and President of KLG Public Relations, an NYC-based agency that has Casamigos Tequila as a client. “This is not about endorsements; this is about ownership.”

It seems that more and more celebrities will turn to the alcohol side hustle — spurred on by George Clooney.