Not every celebrity can make you buy their own brand of liquor like Ryan Reynolds or Sammy Hagar. In Reynolds' case, he seems like the type of person who drinks a moderately exclusive gin while Hagar clearly has lived the tequila lifestyle.
You can argue that Reynolds simply has the charm to sell people anything. It's hard to think that he's using Mint Mobile as his wireless provider, but his attachment to that brand has made it stand out amidst a sea of similar products.
Related: Bankruptcy Watch: Popular retailer abruptly shuts down
The same logic applies in the beauty, lifestyle, and fashion space. People buy Gwyneth Paltrow as someone who recommends bizarre creams and concoctions while Kylie Jenner clearly connects with a millennial audience around her fashion brand.
Of course, just because you're famous and have a hobby or a side interest, that does not mean your attempt to launch a lifestyle brand will succeed. It turns out that Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard may not be all that relatable as parents since their Hello Bello brand of baby items filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In some cases, though, it's not the celebrity. One key brand backed by actress Naomi Watts was taken down by the Chapter 11 filing of the partner the actress chose to work with to bring her dream to life.
Amyris bankruptcy dragged down Stripe
When you think of Naomi Watts, "early menopause" may not be what quickly comes to mind. The actress, however, faced that problem and wanted to help other women in a similar situation:
Over the course of my career as an actor, I’ve outrun tsunamis and come face-to-face with 'King Kong.'
But nothing prepared me for early menopause. I'd wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. My skin was dry and itchy. My hormones were all over the place. I remember feeling so confused and alone, like I didn’t have control over my own body.
I created Stripes because we deserve support, solutions, and the space to figure it all out. Because while menopause may be part of midlife, midlife is a lot more than just menopause.
To create Stripes, Watts and her team worked with Amyris, the self-described "world’s leading manufacturer of sustainable ingredients made with synthetic biology." In August, Amyris filed bankruptcy which dragged Stripe into the proceedings as a subsidiary of the parent brand.
"Amyris initiated the proceedings to move forward with an operational and financial restructuring to further advance its ongoing strategic transformation and position the company for long-term success." the company shared in a press release. "The restructuring is intended to improve the company’s cost structure, capital structure, and liquidity position while streamlining Amyris’ business portfolio to focus on its core competencies."
The proceedings have included selling off some assets.
Watts appears to have bought Stripe back
Stripe has remained in business and continues to sell products on its website.
"The menopausal brand founded in partnership with Naomi Watts, has been sold for $500,000 to Sakana LLC, with the 'Mulholland Drive' and 'King Kong' actress listed as managing member," according to WWD.com.
Watts has been passionate about the brand and shining light on an issue many women struggled with.
"These women [going through menopause] should feel unapologetic. They should feel proud of this time that they've spent on the earth and that all their cumulative experiences mean something," she told Fashionista. "This is not the end of life where we should be invisible and irrelevant. It's the beginning of something wonderful, actually."
Now, it appears Watts gets to continue her mission with a new version of the company freed from the impact of Amyris' bankruptcy.
