- New data has revealed the most celebrity alcohol brands, with Kendall Jenner’s 818 taking the top spot, with an index score of 95.4.
- The Rock’s Teremana Tequila was identified as the second most popular celebrity alcohol brand, with a score of 94.8, followed by Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder’s Brother’s Bond Bourbon, with 92.9.
- The research looked at Google search data and Instagram follower count of over 150 celebrity alcohol brands to determine their popularity.
Celebrity alcohol brands have grown increasingly popular over the past few years, with many famous faces embarking on the venture of creating and selling their own alcoholic beverage.
In fact, according to SOMM TV, celebrity alcohol brands rose from fewer than 40 in 2018 to 350 in 2022 – an increase of almost 800%. Furthermore, Unite Hospitality revealed that customers pay an average of 73% more for drinks by celebrity brands, proving it to be a lucrative industry.
With this in mind, business and marketing experts QR Code Generator investigated which alcohol brands are the most popular according to Instagram and Google search data.
The study looked at the average number of monthly searches for over 150 celebrity alcohol brands. This analysis included data for both the name of the alcohol brand, e.g. ‘Casamigos Tequila’, and the celebrity’s name alongside their alcohol product, e.g. ‘George Clooney tequila’,
This was combined with the alcohol brand’s number of Instagram followers, and an equal weighting was applied to both criteria to create a total index score out of 100.
Coming out on top was Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila with an index score of 95.4 out of 100. 818 Tequila has over 1.2 million Instagram followers and generates a monthly average of 76,150 Google searches in the US.
The model and reality star founded her tequila in 2021 and named it as a nod to her hometown’s area code in Calabasas, California. Despite the brand’s popularity and success, it hasn’t escaped controversy – from cultural appropriation allegations to claims of trademark infringement by rival tequila companies.
In second place was Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Teremana Tequila, with an index score of 94.8 out of 100. Teremana Tequila has an audience of 780,000 followers on Instagram and produces an average of 107,092 monthly searches worldwide.
The famous wrestler and actor launched his brand in early 2020 to significant success, despite COVID-related challenges. According to Forbes, it is now the fastest growing tequila of all time, selling over one million cases per year.
Ranking third is Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder’s Brother’s Bond Bourbon, which received an index score of 92.9 out of 100. The brand recorded the highest Instagram popularity with 1.9 million followers and a nationwide average of 25,328 Google searches per month.
The actors starred as the Salvatore brothers on supernatural teen drama The Vampire Diaries, and in 2021 created the bourbon brand together as an homage to the friendship they’d formed while filming the series.
George Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila followed in fourth with an index score of 90.5 out of 100. Casamigos Tequila has 272,000 Instagram followers in total, and attracts the most Google searches, with an average of 133,975 per month in the US.
Often credited with spearheading the celebrity alcohol trend, the A-List actor developed his tequila in 2013 alongside businessmen Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman. The beverage has since produced many variations and, according to The Spirits Business, was the fastest-growing spirits brand in 2022.
Rounding out the top five is Ryan Reynold’s Aviation Gin, receiving an index score of 84.8 out of 100, with 345,000 Instagram followers and an average monthly search count of 26,808 searches nationwide.
While the gin was founded in 2006, the Deadpool actor acquired a stake in 2018 and admitted to having both ownership interest and creative control of the brand – adding the spirits industry to his extensive list of entrepreneurial endeavours.
In sixth place was Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston’s Dos Hombres Mezcal, with an index score of 82.5 out of 100. The duo’s beverage boasts 598,000 Instagram followers and produces an average of 8,168 monthly searches throughout the US.
Co-founded in 2019, the company emerged as a business partnership between the two Breaking Bad stars six years after the critical hit came to an end – and is inspired by the Mexican culture heavily featured in the show.
Following in seventh was Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Whiskey, with an index score of 82.3 out of 100. The brand has an Instagram following of 710,215 and generates an average of 6,460 Google searches per month.
The MMA fighter and boxer named his product as an homage to the neighbourhood in Ireland where he grew up – Crumlin, Dublin 12 – and launched the brand in 2018 to significant success.
Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino Cristalino Tequila ranked eighth with an index score of 80.7 out of 100. The liquor recorded 128,000 Instagram followers for its account in total, alongside 32,133 Google searches on average per month across the country.
Introduced by the comedian in 2022, Gran Coramino is described as an ultra-premium tequila with both Reposado Cristalino and Añejo varieties, making it ideal for tequila lovers.
Following in ninth was Mark Wahlberg’s Flecha Azul Tequila, receiving an index score of 79.7 out of 100, while Kenny Chesney’s Blue Chair Bay Rum completed the top ten with a score of 78.5 out of 100.
Commenting on the findings, Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator said:
“This new data reveals the widespread popularity of celebrity alcohol brands in America, with several brands attracting over 20,000 monthly Google searches on average, or over 100,000 Instagram followers.
“Tequila brands in particular are popular, with the drink comprising five of the top 10 spots on the list. Other common choices for celebrity endorsed alcohol brands include spirits such as rum, gin and whiskey.”
“While a member of the Kardashian family ranking number one is unsurprising due to their huge celebrity status and name recognition, many A-List stars’ brands are further down the list than would possibly be expected due to their huge fame, such as Mariah Carey and Robert De Niro.
“This just goes to show that there are many variables determining whether a celebrity alcohol brand is successful or popular, and that these companies can rarely rest on the strength of the celebrity’s name alone.
“Many of the brands in the top spots have expertly promoted and sold a specific, unique product while marketing their brand to a targeted audience. This allows their beverages to flourish and for celebrities to sell as much as possible to create a profit.
“Despite this, there is no doubt that celebrities have an advantage when it comes to producing a successful alcoholic beverage, and that interest in them will be heightened due to the amount of press and attention that they generate.”
Sources: Instagram, Google Keyword Planner, SOMM TV, Unite Hospitality, Forbes, The Spirit’s Business
Methodology: For the Google search volume data, two terms each relating to over 150 alcohol brands (excluding wines) were input into Google Keyword Planner, such as: ‘Kendall Jenner Tequila’ and ‘818 Tequila’. From this, the number of searches for each brand’s terms were combined to determine the number of average monthly searches nationwide. For the Instagram data, the followers for the alcohol brand’s respective Instagram account were recorded. Each brand was scored out of a possible 100 points based on the number of Google searches and Instagram followers, with each of the two factors accounting for 50% of the weighting, to create an index ranking based on the combined data. Alcohol brands without both Google search data and a dedicated Instagram page, were removed from the final ranking.
