Celebrity side hustles are nothing new. Everyone from Justin Bieber to Billie Eilish has created a sickly sweet perfume (always inevitably vanilla flavoured), while the pop princess to beauty mogul pipeline is well-trodden, and has made billionaires of Rihanna and Selena Gomez.
Until recently, alcohol brands were the celeb side hustle du jour: Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila, Kylie Minogue’s rosé and Margot Robbie’s Papa Salt gin are just some of the booze labels founded in the last five years.
But what was once a lucrative venture – George Clooney sold his tequila brand Casamigos for $1 billion in 2017 – is flailing. Alcohol sales in the UK declined by nearly 10% between 2019 and 2023, according to market research firm Mintel.
Gen Z, also known as the “sober curious” generation, would rather go to the gym than have a pint, while an increasingly health-conscious population is opting to lower booze consumption through practices like zebra striping and alcohol free alternatives.
Moreover, some celebrities have been called out on the hypocrisy of flogging alcohol they don’t even drink. Blake Lively received clapback for launching a canned cocktail brand called Betty Booze, despite being sober herself.
So, the A-list are pivoting to a less controversial recreation: condiments. It’s a good time to be on the (literal) sauce: Ocado has over 100 hot sauces on its website and sales are up around 90 per cent year on year. Hot honey and crispy chili oil have become cult condiments, with jars of east London favourite Mama Yu maddeningly elusive.
Who are the celebrities leading the relish rush?
Glen Powell’s Smash Kitchen condiments
Glen Powell seemingly AirDropped out of thin air when he starred opposite Sydney Sweeney in rom-com Anyone But You, sparking endless romance rumours in the process. He’s now a Hollywood fixture, which naturally means he has turned his attention to mayonnaise. In April the actor launched Smash Kitchen, a range of organic condiments sold in Walmart over in the US.
Powell has opted for the classic route: the first drop features a core collection including yellow mustard, barbecue sauce, mayo and ketchup. The aim is to make staple sauces with better ingredients. They’re affordable, too, ranging between two and five dollars.
“My best family memories are us being around the kitchen,” Powell told The Hollywood Reporter. “We slather sauce on everything.” Powell is from Texas and the campaign features wholesome, home on the ranch style shots of the actor in front of a barbecue with his sauces.
Brooklyn Beckham’s Cloud23 hot sauce
Brooklyn Beckham wanted to do a similar thing to Glen with his hot sauce brand, Cloud23. “I did my research and I just felt like there was this hole in the market with luxury condiments, especially for a really good price,” Beckham told Delish magazine. Perhaps “a really good price” is subjective – a bottle of Cloud23 comes in at £14.99 and is available exclusively at upmarket grocer Whole Foods.
According to its website, Cloud23 is inspired by Beckham’s “journey as a tastemaker” – lest we forget his iconic cooking series, Cookin’ with Brooklyn, which required 62 professionals per episode to make. It’s made with organic ingredients and comes in two flavours, hot habanero and sweet jalapeno.
The hefty price tag is no doubt impacted by the luxe packaging: a fancy glass bottle and an intricate label design. “I wanted to make the sexiest condiment bottle, which I think I did pretty well,” he said.
Meghan Markle’s As Ever jam
“I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam,” proclaimed Meghan Markle in a video to launch her lifestyle brand, As Ever. The Duchess famously sent 50 jars of raspberry jam to celebs including Kris Jenner, Mindy Kaling and Chrissy Teigen last April.
The jam is now publicly available, though good luck getting your hands on a jar – they sold out on the As Ever website in under one hour last month, and have not been restocked since. It’s unclear whether the nine dollar jam was wildly popular or only a small amount were available.
The jam has proved Marmite for those who did manage to bag a jar. Critics have described it as overly runny, “slimy and viscous”, and not worth the price, while others say it’s nice and tangy, and “good in an unremarkable jam way.”
Other famous faces with condiment brands include singer Ed Sheeran with Tingly Ted’s and rockstar Alice Cooper, who has a line of hot sauces named after his biggest hits . Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian has invested in Truff, a truffle-flavoured hot sauce loved by Oprah Winfrey.
Of course, it all goes back to Paul Newman, who took time out of being Hollywood’s most handsome man to set up a salad dressing range, called Newman’s Own. He never took a dime from it, though: since 1982 Newman’s own has donated over $600 million of profits to various charities. Sauce for a cause.
