Celebrity Business Moves — 2026-03-25
The celebrity business landscape this week is defined by a sweeping study of who's buying beauty brands in 2026 — a market in dramatic flux as private equity pulls back and strategics pivot. Meanwhile, the broader industry is tracking Forbes' updated celebrity billionaire rankings, where Kim Kardashian's Skims holds a $5 billion private valuation, and Grazia spotlights how celebrity-as-cultural-curator brands like Rhode and Fenty are reshaping beauty and fashion. On the spirits side, US volumes continued their decline in 2025, setting the stage for a challenging 2026 for celebrity alcohol plays.
Celebrity Business Moves — 2026-03-25
Top Deals & Launches
Celebrity Beauty Buyers — Market Shifts in 2026
A major analysis from WWD published this week maps out the rapidly evolving landscape of who is actually buying beauty brands in 2026. As many strategic acquirers focus on divestments and private equity pulls back, the beauty buying universe is restructuring. The report signals a meaningful pivot away from the frenzy of prior years — a direct challenge to the wave of celebrity-backed beauty brands that relied on buyout premiums as an exit strategy.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Hailey Bieber, Rihanna — Celebrity as Cultural Curator
A fresh piece from Grazia published within the last 24 hours traces how today's biggest celebrity brand founders — from Gwyneth Paltrow (Goop) to Hailey Bieber (Rhode) to Rihanna (Fenty) — have evolved beyond mere endorsers into full-fledged cultural curators. The article frames the most successful celebrity ventures as those built around a distinct identity and authentic lifestyle narrative, rather than simple product licensing.
Spirits Brands at London Fashion Week, the Brits & Super Bowl LX
The Spirits Business this week rounded up the top marketing moves from February 2026, highlighting how spirits labels aggressively planted their flags at major cultural tentpole events — London Fashion Week, the Brit Awards, and Super Bowl LX. For celebrity spirits brands in particular, this reflects a broader industry push to tie alcohol to experiences and cultural cachet rather than pure volume.
The Money Moves
Kim Kardashian's Skims: $5 Billion Valuation, Celebrity Billionaire Status
Forbes' updated World's Celebrity Billionaires 2026 list, published on March 10, confirmed that Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand Skims was last privately valued at $5 billion in its most recent funding round in 2025. Kardashian's broader portfolio — which also includes KKW Beauty and SKKY Partners, her private equity firm co-founded with Jay Sammons (ex-Carlyle Group) focused on direct-to-consumer brands — underpins her billionaire status. The Forbes piece notes the Skims valuation as the anchor asset of her empire.
Beauty Earnings Season: What Puig, Estée Lauder, Coty & L'Oréal Signal for 2026
Vogue published an earnings breakdown this week analyzing the most recent quarterly results from Puig, Estée Lauder Companies, Coty, Unilever, and L'Oréal Group. The piece identifies four key takeaways about where beauty investment is heading — critical context for any celebrity eyeing a brand launch or exit. The performance of these conglomerates sets the benchmark valuations and acquisition appetite that celebrity beauty founders will face when seeking investors or buyers.
Industry Spotlight: Beauty, Fashion & Spirits
Beauty M&A: A Shrinking Buyer Pool
The WWD report on "Who Is Buying Beauty Brands in 2026" is the must-read of the week for anyone tracking celebrity beauty exits. With private equity pulling back from the category, strategic buyers are increasingly selective — favoring brands with proven revenue and loyal communities over hype-driven launches. For celebrity founders who built brands anticipating a PE-fueled windfall, the exit window has narrowed considerably.
US Spirits Market: Volumes Down 2.2% in 2025 — Only RTDs in Growth
The Spirits Business reported in February 2026 that US spirits volumes fell 2.2% in 2025, with only ready-to-drink cocktails registering growth across the category. This is the macro headwind every celebrity spirits brand — from Dwayne Johnson's Teremana Tequila to Ryan Reynolds' Aviation Gin — must now navigate. The data raises serious questions about whether the celebrity spirits gold rush of the early 2020s is definitively over, and whether new entrants can find white space.
Smart Move vs. Risky Bet
Smart Move: Rihanna / Fenty staying in the cultural curator lane
Rihanna's Fenty Beauty remains the case study that peers continue to benchmark against. Grazia's current analysis underscores why: the brand was built around genuine cultural identity — inclusive shade ranges, a distinct aesthetic — rather than a licensing deal. With PE buyers retreating from beauty M&A and conglomerates like LVMH (an early Fenty partner) being selective, brands with authentic narratives command premium valuations while others struggle. Fenty's continued positioning as a cultural institution rather than just a product line is exactly what the shrinking buyer pool is looking for.
Risky Bet: New celebrity spirits entrants in 2026
Any celebrity considering entering the spirits market in 2026 faces an unfavorable setup. US volumes declined 2.2% in 2025, the market is saturated with celebrity tequilas and whiskies, and the spirits industry's own trade group data shows only RTD cocktails growing. The Spirits Business marketing roundup shows brands spending heavily just to maintain cultural visibility at events like the Super Bowl and London Fashion Week — a costly baseline. For a new entrant without a differentiated product story, the risk of becoming another forgotten celebrity label is substantial.
What to Watch Next
Beverage Alcohol Industry: Legal Challenges and Executive Shifts
Park Street Imports published a roundup of the top beverage alcohol industry stories through February 2026, citing "landmark legal challenges, executive appointments, and major dealmaking that reshaped competitive dynamics across the beverage alcohol" sector. With celebrity spirits brands directly embedded in this ecosystem, the downstream effects of these deals and legal battles are worth tracking closely in Q2 2026.
Creator Economy M&A: Agency Holding Companies as the Likely Buyers
A Business Insider analysis from January 2026 identified Publicis and Omnicom (which recently completed its $9 billion merger with IPG) as the most likely buyers in the creator economy's M&A rebound. As celebrity brands blur the line between personal brand, media presence, and consumer product, the holding company acquisitions of influencer infrastructure will have direct implications for how celebrity founders structure and exit their ventures. Expect deal announcements from this cohort by mid-2026.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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