By David Yagudayev, Arts & Cultures Editor
In January 2022, Jimmy Donaldson, known as Mr. Beast, launched his own chocolate brand, Feastables, hoping to create a new go-to chocolate bar and rival the older and more established companies such as Hershey’s and Snickers. It appears that he succeeded, generating massive revenue – reportedly 10$ million in the first few months – and launching the products in stores and shops all across the U.S.
Similar to Jimmy, Logan Paul and KSI launched their own company called PRIME. Prime Hydration aims to be a new healthy and great tasting energy drink and hopes to rival companies such as Gatorade. They have succeeded as well, generating over $250 million in retail sales within their first year. The demand for their products has been so high, that stores often face shortages. Furthermore, their online stock was depleted within the first few months of the product launching in January 2022. The energy drink company has also made sponsorship deals with large European football clubs such as Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and FC Barcelona as well as with the Los Angeles Dodgers and has brought their drinks to the spotlight in other sectors.
What do these two successful companies have in common? Both engaged in heavy marketing, their co-founders being extremely involved with their consumer base, doing tours and giveaways and holding events to market their products. The Youtubers utilized their large fan bases and worked diligently in starting up their respective companies, while challenging the status quo of their respective industries. Often, many Youtuber products fail after popularity and the buzz about their product dies out. However these two companies have thus far been different. They are making strategic partnerships, engaging in heavy marketing tactics, and constantly uploading videos supporting the products’ compelling audiences who resonate with the Youtubers’ mission and content to buy their products. Viewers do not just purchase the chocolate bar or an energy drink for the actual product. Their purchase is part of a larger story and mission of people whose online content they watch week in and week out. The question is: can these Youtubers maintain and grow upon their successes for decades to come or will their sales ultimately decline as their relevance and influence fade away?