Erewhon's celebrity-branded smoothie line from Los Angeles' ultra-high-end health and beauty supermarket chain is as well-known on TikTok as its secret success is closely guarded.
What if 2023 was the year that $20 Erewhon smoothies became mainstream? GQ But the process of how these concoctions are actually made, and who gets how much, remains as murky as the bright blue liquid in the store's hit product, Coconut Cloud (the company said recently).
Let's start with what we know: The 20-ounce drink first gained popularity in 2022 when Hailey Bieber launched her Strawberry Skin Glaze with pink and fuchsia swirls (so named because the smoothie is said to promote healthy skin, though the science is unclear). Since then, the drink has become a cornerstone of Erewhon's business. Vito Antosi, executive vice president of the market, revealed that the company sells about 40,000 Bieber smoothies per month across its 10 stores. Multiply that by the drink's current price of $19 and you get $760,000 in monthly sales — and that's just from a single smoothie. (These numbers are based on a quick calculator and have not been verified by Erewhon.)
The Bieber smoothie was a huge hit, and is now a staple on Erewhon's smoothie menu (celeb drinks generally fly off the shelves like a Shein dress). In Antoci's words, Erewhon has developed a strong customer base: “Girls flying in from San Francisco and standing in front of Erewhon Beverly Hills with their Hailey Bieber smoothie, taking pictures of Erewhon and tagging Hailey. Fangirls are really spreading the word about the drink.” Separately, he's heard stories from Uber and Lyft drivers who've picked up travelers who asked for a quick ride from LAX to Erewhon.
But Strawberry Skin Glaze is just one jewel in a fruit-and-collagen empire: Erewhon now teams up with celebrities to launch monthly, limited-edition smoothies that will empty your bank account. Past collaborations include Bella Hadid's orange creamsicle-inspired Kinsicle ($19), Sofia Richie's Sweet Cherry ($21), and most recently, model Winnie Harlow's bright and colorful Island Glow ($22), which pays homage to her Jamaican roots.
Then there's a distinct unknown in the beverage industry: Erewhon's pricey Celebrity Smoothies, which cost roughly seven times as much as Trader Joe's basic-but-slightly-fancy juice and are chock-full of “extra” ingredients that “justify” the price.
These special ingredients are not bananas or blueberries, or even special high-end bananas or blueberries. What's notable about these additives is that they are either manufactured and sold by Erewhon or made by other brands. They are clearly stated in the smoothie's ingredient list and represent each celebrity's personal preferences. They also represent the celebrities' personal beauty and health habits, even though they're not explicitly advertised as such. Conveniently, these additives are often Erewhon products, such as the $18 organic roasted almond butter, the $21 organic coconut water, and the $78 unpasteurized manuka honey. The non-Erewhon products, such as Cowboy Colostrum Powder (used in Sofia Richie's Sweet Cherry), Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides (used in Bieber and Harlow's smoothies), and KOS Blue Spirulina (a type of algae used to color Harlow's smoothie), are of course available in the store (and are reasonably priced at $62, $30, and $40 a pop, respectively).
Are these brands simply on the ingredient list of famous smoothies? No, they also pay for the honor. However, the amount the named brands have to pay is private. (Some of the featured brands declined to disclose the fee, citing non-disclosure agreements with Erewhon.)
Whatever the fee, it must be justified. Erewhon is currently paying “maybe 7,000 [Harlow] According to Mubarak “Bar” Malik, founder and CEO of Barcode, the “fitness water” brand used in Harlow's Island Glow, “you can drink 100 smoothies a week.” The fact that Erewhon is an investor in Barcode (which Malik says allowed Barcode to pay a “discounted” fee for the featured ingredient) makes Barcode even more valuable to use.[Erewhon] “We're always first in the mix for some of their biggest endeavors, so you get to see what's going on behind the scenes that they haven't revealed yet, and then you can decide if you want to be a part of that process or that project.”
Based on conversations about sales with brands whose products are used in their famous smoothies, it's safe to say that Erewhon is raking in more than $16 million a year in revenue just from celebrity-sold alcoholic beverages that contain these “special” third-party additives. in front The advertising fees that brands pay the company add up. (Not to mention the price of $16.50 for a mason jar of chicken noodle soup that I swear tastes really good.)
But let’s not forget the charitable donations that Erewhon must deduct from this bottom line.
Celebrities are paid $1 per smoothie, The Hollywood Reporterand are encouraged to donate this amount to charity, with Erewhon itself “donating an additional $2 for every smoothie.”
Curiously, in Harlow's case, the funds and charities she has chosen to donate to (such as A Place Called Home and the Women's Centre of Jamaica) are not listed anywhere on Erewhon's website, according to a press release from Reed, who represents Harlow. When asked to comment on the matter, Alec Antoshi, Erewhon's head of brand development, said in a statement: “As a private company, we remain discreet about disclosing financial figures and will not disclose details about our internal marketing strategy or upcoming collaborations.”
Of course, the benefits aren't all measured in dollars. The timely launch of Erewhon Smoothie doubles as free promotion for celeb side hustles. Bieber, for example, launched the drink in conjunction with skin-care brand Rhode, which subsequently gained the brand valuable unpaid publicity. In addition to adding a dash of Califia Farms almondmilk, Evolution Fresh OJ, and Coconut Cult yogurt (which is literally almond milk, orange juice, and coconut yogurt), Hadid's Kinsicle is blended with Kin Euphorix, the nootropic beverage brand she co-founded.
And Erewhon benefits from the existing fanbases of each of its celebrity partners: Antoshi says the store saw its best sales of Bieber smoothies at the height of the feud between model and influencer Bieber and Selena Gomez. [Hailey Bieber] He had issues with Serena. [Gomez]”We were a little nervous,” Antoshi said. “A lot of people were taking sides, but we were on Hailey's side.”
The opportunity to take part in Erewhon's smoothie-making is a big win for brands who can afford it. Some brands are lucky (or wealthy) enough to star in multiple drinks, like Vital Protein's Vanilla Collagen, Harlow's Island Glow, and Justin Bieber's Strawberry Skin Glaze, the latter of which is the sensation that started it all and perhaps the most Instagrammed smoothie of all time. A staple on Erewhon shelves and tonic bars, the flavored collagen powder has become the celeb drink of choice in part because of its “functional benefits — supporting skin, hair, bone and joint health,” says Vital Protein's senior director of consumer engagement, Nick Lopezzo. The well-funded wellness industry has never been one to shy away from hyped health claims (even when the science isn't quite right). That said, most people probably aren't planning a trip to Los Angeles to make Erewhon smoothies for their health. In fact, the smoothie's nutritional value is said to rival that of a Starbucks Frappuccino. Since Bieber launched his strawberry-syrup-soaked hit, Erewhon's buzz has steadily relied on a more elusive quality: the desire to be part of a social-media-forged cultural moment. Apparently, it's been worth it.
