g brands to monetise their influence and reputation. However, any retailer worth their salt knows that building an audience and building a brand aren’t the same thing. Fame can create reach, resources and hype, but in crowded categories with increasingly desensitised consumers, that only goes so far. Why do some celebrity-built brands become durable businesses while others struggle despite their awareness and star power? Learning from Béis’s success Béis is a popular direct-to-consumer luggage and travel accessories brand founded in 2018 by actress and entrepreneur Shay Mitchell. The brand was recently valued at US$210 million by The Samsonite Group, which bought an 85 per cent stake in the business. Mitchell’s celebrity helped launch and grow Béis, but reducing its success to fame would be misleading. The brand grew naturally from her passion for travel and fashion sensibility, already evident in her “Shaycations” content series. It connected with something people already knew about her, so she didn’t have to justify entering the category after the fact. Mitchell took the company seriously from the outset, bringing in seasoned experts to build and run the business. Among them was current Béis CEO and co-founder Adeela Hussain Johnson, a 20-year retail veteran who previously held corporate leadership roles at Fortune 50 companies such as Target. Elizabeth Money, senior vice president of Béis Brand and Creative, brought 20 years of experience in retail and fashion creative at companies including Vera Bradley and Lorna Jane, helping transform Béis into a lifestyle powerhouse. Mitchell remained central to Béis, using her image and likeness strategically in brand content and staying deeply involved in its creative vision and product development. But the business never became entirely dependent on her personal brand. Instead, Béis was built around broader needs, sensibilities, and worldviews, giving it room to grow beyond Mitchell and luggage. Standing for more than travel allowed Béis to offset the mid-range price and longer lifecycles of its luggage by expanding into more frequently used commuter products and everyday accessories. These still fit naturally within the brand’s world. Béis has also been unusually good at establishing consistent community engagement. It sold over two million units of its popular Weekender bag since launching in 2018, but still listened to criticism that the bag was heavy, bulky and difficult to close. It redesigned the bag, put negative reviews directly on the new packaging to show what had changed, and sent updated versions to some of its biggest critics. The brand also launched the Béis Wash, a temporary, car wash-themed pop-up event in Los Angeles. It offered customers free cleaning and shining services, turning complaints about scuffing and dirt into a branded service experience. The larger lesson is that Béis stayed close to its community for real-time feedback while Mitchell protected its integrity and creative vision. That balance builds loyalty without allowing consumer feedback to dilute the brand’s point of view. The brand still benefits from Mitchell, but it doesn’t revolve around her. This separation gives Béis more protection from founder-related controversy and makes it more attractive for acquisition because the business can stand on its own. Learning from Dairy Boy’s momentum Founded in 2021, Dairy Boy grew from an inside joke about a preference for cow’s milk within influencer and entrepreneur Paige Lorenze’s world of preppy, New England-inspired vlogs and moodboards. It also drew on the cottagecore aesthetic. The early business revolved around Lorenze and limited-edition product drops. The company later added the team and structure needed for longer-term growth. Lorenze stayed closely involved throughout, from designing, promoting and shipping products in the early days to leading its brand, creative and business direction today. As an influencer, Lorenze likely understood the limits of the hype model. Limited-time drops and special product editions create short-term excitement, but can leave a business heavily dependent on its founder, scarcity, superfans and resale culture. The 2025 launch of Evergreen, Dairy Boy’s first permanent collection, marked a significant shift toward long-term brand building. When products are always available, customers primarily return because the product is good and the brand stands for something they want to identify with. Lorenze also used her personal connection to the brand strategically. Moving back to Connecticut helped ground Dairy Boy in New England heritage and Americana. American Charm, a home goods and bedding sub-brand, and DB Sport, an activewear and lifestyle clothing extension, broadened the company’s range while remaining connected to its core world. Limited product drops still play a role in the brand’s business strategy, but now they sit alongside a broader assortment and clearer lifestyle proposition. The risk is that Lorenze and Dairy Boy remain tightly linked. The company is moving from a personal brand extension into an early-stage lifestyle business. Its next test is whether the world Lorenze created can remain compelling when she isn’t at its centre. Learning from Unwell Hydration’s challenges Unwell Hydration is a lifestyle-focused functional beverage and electrolyte drink brand launched in early 2025 by American podcaster and media entrepreneur Alex Cooper. In August 2026, Bloomberg reported that the beverage business planned to cease production after a final Halloween-themed launch. Representatives for Cooper, Nestlé and Target declined to comment. On paper, Unwell Hydration had many of the same advantages as Béis or Dairy Boy, if not more. Cooper had enormous awareness, trust and reach among young women through the Call Her Daddy podcast and the broader Unwell Network, a digital media and production company she launched in 2023. According to reported figures, the network was valued at approximately US$500 million and reaches roughly 70 million women per month. Beyond the attention generated by the network and Cooper’s celebrity, Unwell Hydration had Nestlé as a partner and major distribution through Target, Sprouts and Wegmans. From a business perspective, the brand appeared well-positioned for success. The brand leaned heavily on Cooper’s reputation and Call Her Daddy. It positioned itself as a “no bullshit” replenishment drink for busy, tired women and challenged a male-coded functional beverage category. Reportedly, the brand also invested more than three million in a National Women’s Soccer League sponsorship. The launch had awareness, distribution, cultural relevance and the right audience. But Unwell Hydration relied too heavily on Cooper and the existing Unwell Network, becoming “Alex Cooper’s hydration drink” rather than a sufficiently distinct brand in its own right. Retail sales of more than seven million in its first six months looked like strong validation, but early awareness alone doesn’t necessarily indicate long-term demand or repeat purchases. The product wasn’t differentiated enough in taste or function to create a strong reason to choose it over existing options. Its proposition was also too broad. It targeted busy, tired and ambitious women – a description that applies to nearly everyone and offers little aspiration or inspiration. That broad customer base made the brand inclusive, but flattened its identity. Unwell Hydration’s world was broad enough that nobody felt excluded, yet lacked the specificity needed to give anyone a deep sense of belonging. The reported wind-down underscores the importance of building a stronger brand foundation beyond awareness. Its positioning grew implicitly from Cooper’s celebrity and the broader Unwell vibe, rather than being deliberately developed to stand without her. Lessons learned from creator-led brands These examples offer lessons for retailers founded by celebrities or influencers, those looking to work with creators, and those simply trying to harness social media and the internet. First, popularity doesn’t equate to credibility. Celebrity creates awareness and hype-driven sales quickly, but enduring brands still need to answer “Why this?” and “Why me?” The founder’s connection to the category or worldview has to feel plausible and compelling. Mitchell’s relationship with travel provides that connection, as do Dairy Boy’s roots in Lorenze’s New England upbringing and her visible expression of personal taste. Second, the founder isn’t the foundation. The brand should clearly emanate from the founder or it risks feeling like a glorified endorsement. However, long-term success requires substance beyond celebrity: a world built around beliefs, values, aesthetic codes, needs and cultural norms that can use the founder’s clout without depending on it forever. Béis built a world beyond Mitchell that ultimately primed the brand for acquisition. Dairy Boy is still in transition, but its broader world of products and codes is strengthening the business beyond Lorenze’s reputation. Unwell Hydration, despite top-tier production, distribution and a bigger initial customer base than Béis or Dairy Boy, proved how awareness alone isn’t enough to establish long-term brand equity. Celebrity is a powerful tool, but it’s still just a tool. Building a lasting brand takes more than buzz. It requires a business with a clear narrative and a great product. Further reading: Why Fayt Estate promised to bring integrity to influencer events