Jake Paul thinks he’s got the dub with his new men’s body care brand–and so do investors like Paris Hilton and Naomi Osaka, who just chipped in $14 million to help it grow.
Both Paul brothers have courted controversy for years now, and despite (or because of?) that attention, have transitioned into building big, loud personal brands that can turn over millions of dollars in sales. Older brother Logan has Prime, and now Jake’s brand W, which launched into Walmart in June, told The Hollywood Reporter it’s already raked in seven figures, and is on track to surpass $50 million by the end of this year.
The $14 million Series A it just raised valued it at over $150 million. The round was led by Paul’s own VC firm Anti Fund as well as Shrug Capital, and investors included the aforementioned Hilton (with husband Carter Reum) and Osaka, plus rapper Lil Durk, pro tennis player Nick Kyrgios, Celsius CEO John Fieldly, Fanatic CEO Michael Rubin, Range Group, 305 Ventures, Uphonest Capital, Quiet Capital, and Palm Tree Crew. Prior investors include MMA champ Sean O’Malley and rapper Rubi Rose.
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One interesting thing to note here is that Shrug Capital, which was founded in 2018, previously invested in MrBeast‘s candy brand Feastables, so it–like a growing number of investors–clearly keeps an eye on the creator space and the companies emerging from digital content-makers.
Paul says W plans to use the money for retailer and SKU expansion. It currently sells body wash, body spray, and antiperspirant.
He told THR that W will “fill the void that’s been apparent in the men’s personal care category for decades.” The brand, unsurprisingly, also plans to put influencer marketing at the center of its business plan.
“Everything W does is different–from driving record sales in under a month to our forward-thinking approach to creator partnerships,” Paul said. “Our funding to date reflects our investors’ confidence in the immense opportunity we have to build a new type of legacy brand in unique and unexpected ways.”
His ambitions for expanding W are a little scattered. He wants to do bars of soap and shampoo, which are in line with its current offerings, but also toothpaste, towels, streetwear, skateboards, and “we might even do toilet paper one day,” he said. “We see this as this cultural brand and something that the audience can connect to on a bigger level beyond just a product, it’s a way of life. I think that really comes through in the brand.”
If the projected $50 mil by year’s end figure is accurate, W has certainly gotten off to a rocketing start. The question is, are these sales and growth sustainable? While Logan and KSI‘s Prime is in a different category, food & bev has similar stringent regulations to body care products, and those regulations have gotten Prime in legal trouble over “forever chemicals” in its packaging. (It’s also being sued by the Olympic Committee for alleged trademark violation.) Prime, like W, had a surging start to sales, and was projected to bring in $1.2 billion in 2023, but now it’s struggling to sell, with sales falling 50% year over year in regions like the U.K.
Creators like Logan and Jake can get viewers hyped for their new projects. But fan fervor can fade, and they have to figure out how to build a company and product solid enough to keep that “maverick” energy going all on its own.
