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RetailCelebrities

The Latest Celebrity Trend: Weird Food

By
John Kell
John Kell
Contributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence
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July 1, 2017, 10:00 AM ET

A-listers from Beyoncé to Leonardo DiCaprio are amassing stakes in buzzy, offbeat food and beverage startups. The barrier to entry can be low—consumer product startups can often get off the ground with $5 million or less in early financing rounds. And it’s a natural fit: Food brands get a bigger boost than most from stars’ huge social media followings.

Healthy fare is a celebrity favorite. Gwyneth Paltrow has invested in a frozen-food maker; actress Olivia Munn is backing specialty jerky (good for weight loss!); and DiCaprio supports organic chickpeas. The more original the better. “Disruptive brands—that’s what I look for,” says Munn.

While the financial bets are often small, a payoff can be massive. 50 Cent reportedly pocketed as much as $100 million after Coca-Cola bought the maker of Vitaminwater, which the rapper had invested in. And just a month after Justin Timberlake took a stake in Bai Brands, it sold to Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) for a cool $1.7 billion.

Match the Star With the Startup

Can you guess which celebrities are investing in the products below? Click on the images to reveal the celebrities.

A version of this article appears in the July 1, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline “Celebs Dabble in Weird Food.”

About the Author
By John KellContributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence

John Kell is a contributing writer for Fortune and author of Fortune’s CIO Intelligence newsletter.

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