Has the Creator Beverage Bubble Burst? đŸ„€

Bob Does Sports launches a tequila seltzer

Good morning. Tonight is the Met Gala, where we’ll see Emma Chamberlain return as Vogue’s red carpet correspondent. One new element: TikTok is the event’s lead sponsor. With the official dress code of “The Garden of Time,” we wonder if any creators on the red carpet will allude to the time TikTok has left in the US?

Bob Does Sports Launches Tequila Seltzer

Bob Does Sports’ founder, Robby Berger (center), responds to comments about the channels’ new tequila seltzer line / Have A Day

Bob Does Sports, the YouTube channel founded by sports creator Robby Berger in 2021, announced a new tequila seltzer line called Have A Day last week. The seltzer sold out online within 48 hours of launching, according to Berger.

But: Plenty of fans criticized the drink’s price—about $70 per 24-pack. “You're alienating your core consumers before you even got a purchase,” one user commented on the announcement video.

Berger’s response? “Officially made our way into retail and we are absolutely gonna knock these prices down
online shipping absolutely sucks,” he posted on X.

Read the room: Have A Day’s launch comes at a moment when top creator-led beverage brands are generally finding success (with some stumbles mixed in).

  • Chamberlain Coffee grew to 8,500 U.S. retailers and grossed $20 million in revenue in 2023, according to Forbes. Chamberlain also scored a collaboration with Kendall Jenner and her 818 Tequila brand in April.

  • PRIME is facing several lawsuits, with the most prominent claiming that Logan Paul and KSI’s sports drink contains dangerous chemicals. First-quarter sales of PRIME fell to $16.1 million—a 50% drop from the same time last year.

  • Happy Dad, the alcoholic seltzer started by prank creators NELK in 2021, rolled out in Walmart last month. The company said in June 2023 that it had sold over 4.2 million 12-packs (~$80 million in revenue) since launch.

Have we seen the peak of creator-led drink brands?

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MoistCr1TiKal Sues US Immigration

MoistCr1TiKal sues US Immigration on behalf of his esports team after encountering Visa issues for three of its players / penguinz0

Charlie “MoistCr1TiKal” White Jr. announced on Friday that he’s suing US Immigration on behalf of Moist Esports. 

The why: Three members of Moist Esport’s four-person Apex Legends team are from Australia. They were denied entry into the US to compete in the Apex Legends Global Series Playoffs on May 2, despite White Jr. claiming they met all the visa requirements over a six-month process. 

As such, Moist Esports had to drop their team out of the event. They reapplied for another visa under different representation, so they were able to compete as “Not Moist.”

“We talked with our lawyers, and they agreed that it’s very mysterious how it even got to this point,” White Jr. said in the video announcing the lawsuit. “It seems that there are quite a few no-nos that were committed here, and some protocol that wasn’t followed, a lot of big red flags, big problems.”

What now: White Jr. said that legal proceedings are underway, and Moist Esports is under financial pressure between missed event revenue and legal fees. 

“Even if we’re successful in beating US Immigration in this lawsuit, they can’t pay us out any damages, of which there is a lot,” White Jr. said in the video. “It’s been a super expensive process
so much money that went into this, all of which was burned.”

Big picture: Esports relies heavily on foreign talent, and White Jr.’s struggles with US Immigration reveal the difficulties in esports creators’ fight for legitimacy. Twitch streamer inhuman said on X, “Hopefully this opens up discussion to change laws to make getting visas for esports easier.”

The Sorry Girls Launch New Video Series

The Sorry Girls launch “From the Workshop Floor” with hosts (left to right) Kelsey MacDermaid, Rachel Nyhuus, Rochelle Gracey, and Becky Wright / The Sorry Girls

DIY and home decor creators The Sorry Girls shared a new series, From The Workshop Floor, on YouTube and Instagram over the weekend. 

“We wanted to combine all the things we love—design, DIY, challenges, honest thoughts and opinions—to bring you a new format you haven’t really seen before,” cofounder Kelsey MacDermaid said in the first episode ranking celebrity bedrooms.

Most Sorry Girls videos don’t include the whole four-person cast and are typically highly produced. From The Workshop Floor is a lower-lift, more conversational show featuring the whole cast weekly on Saturday mornings.

Perspective: Since The Sorry Girls joined Mythical’s Creator Accelerator program last year, they’ve added 1 million followers across social channels, grown their team, and launched a design course.

👀 Creator Moves

  • Vince Vintage is hiring a script writer to develop original story concepts for his video essays.

  • Jamie Rawsthorne is hiring an operations manager to oversee the entire workflow for his YouTube growth agency.

  • AstroKobi is hiring a video editor to effectively communicate educational topics.

Calling all creators: an exclusive opportunity to tell the story of freelancers and get paid for sharing your experience. Join the Fiverr creator network today.*

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