Bollywood stars have been experimenting with entrepreneurship for decades, starting with film production houses and then others. Today’s top stars manage every sort of operation benefiting from their stardom. But are they efficient earners? The answer can be found in a recent report.
Most Celebrity Businesses Fail
According to a report published by Storyboard 18, most celebrity ventures struggle to remain afloat even with losses or with minimal margins. Some examples in this regard are Deepika Padukone’s skincare brand 82°E, which reported a loss of ₹25.1 crore at the EBITDA level in the first nine months of FY24. WROGN, Virat Kohli’s brand, is another story: it lost 29% in revenue. Shahid Kapoor’s Skult, Anushka Sharma’s Nush, and Sonam Kapoor’s Rheson are other brands too that have faced decreasing market presence and profitability.
According to Ambika Sharma, Founder and Chief Strategist at Pulp Strategy, “If the brand does not accurately speak to the celebrity’s cause or if it seems like the celebrity is endorsing just to gain quick mileage, it ultimately gets sensed. Too much exposure can also be a killer—if too many products are endorsed, dilution occurs and loses credibility with the brand.”
HRX and Kay Beauty are Exceptions to this Rule
Despite all these, some celebrity ventures have proven successful. Alia Bhatt’s Ed-a-Mamma witnessed revenues quadruple even before Reliance Retail acquired it. Katrina Kaif’s Kay Beauty tied up with Nykaa and captured 15 lakh customers and is expected to grow at 62%. The most successful, however, has been Hrithik Roshan’s HRX, which has grown five times and is already over ₹1000 crore in revenues.
According to an expert from the report, the main success behind HRX and Kay Beauty lies in the strength of their brand identity and its connection to their target audiences, something missing from other ventures.