Last week, Kendall Jenner added a new title to her résumé: global ambassador and equity shareholder in Trip, the British wellness drinks brand founded by husband-and-wife team Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury.

Jenner fronts Trip’s new global campaign, “Calm in the Chaos.” But her role goes beyond a traditional celebrity endorsement. As an investor, she has ownership in the company and a stake in what happens after the campaign ends.

It raises the question: Is having a celebrity on the cap table now table stakes for a consumer brand?

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new, and neither are celebrity investors. What is changing is the speed at which the two worlds are converging. Creators and celebrities who once monetized their influence through campaign fees are increasingly taking equity in the brands they promote, trading a one-time check for the possibility of long-term upside.

The trend is especially visible across beauty, wellness and consumer packaged goods, categories where cultural relevance and customer acquisition can be as important as the product itself. Alix Earle, for example, has built a portfolio that includes wellness energy drink Gorgie, prebiotic soda Poppi and supplements brand Cymbiotika. Chantel Jeffries has invested across both technology and consumer brands, including Poppi and Cymbiotika, as well as Oura and Gemini.

But Trip presents a more interesting case study.

Jenner is not being brought in to create demand for an unknown product or compensate for a business without traction. In other words, this appears less like a celebrity launch play and more like a celebrity acceleration play.

According to the company, Trip is projected to generate $200 million in revenue in 2026 after growing more than 100% over the past 12 months. The brand is now available in 75,000 doors globally, including 20,000 in the US, where it has expanded from early partners including Erewhon and Soho House to major retailers such as Target, Whole Foods Market, Walmart and Costco.

After raising $40 million in 2025, Trip says it has doubled in size and is on track to double again by 2027.

“Ownership creates such a different dynamic,” cofounder Ferdi told me over Zoom. “Kendall is a builder. She’s an expert in so many ways. There was an opportunity beyond being just the face of a campaign; this is about long-term growth. She understands what it takes to build and back brands.”

Jenner also brings experience from the other side of the table as the founder of 818 Tequila. She understands the operational realities of growing a beverage brand and the challenge of turning cultural attention into repeat purchase, retail velocity and longevity.

Her relationship with Trip did not begin in a pitch meeting, according to Ferdi. Jenner was already a customer before conversations about a formal partnership began.

“These incredible celebrities – including Joe Jonas and Madeline Argy – were customers and big fans of the brand first,” Ferdi said. “They advocated for how Trip was part of their rituals and routines. From there, it developed into a conversation based on mutual respect, excitement about each other’s brands and the growth journey.”

That distinction matters. Equity can create alignment, but it cannot manufacture authenticity. A famous investor who has no credible relationship with a product may deliver attention without trust—or a temporary sales spike without sustained customer loyalty.

Jaclyn Johnson, founder of Create & Cultivate and venture fund Cherub , sees the difference between endorsement and ownership as more than semantics.

“If the celebrity was already using the product or genuinely fits within the world of the brand, the partnership makes intuitive sense,” Johnson adds. “The goal shouldn’t be a huge spike in attention for 48 hours. The goal should be: does this person help make the brand more valuable five years from now?”

“Influence alone isn’t enough to justify equity,” she adds. “There should be a clear understanding of what that person is contributing beyond impressions.”

For brands, the question is no longer simply how large a celebrity’s audience is, but whether that person can materially change the outcome: unlock distribution, lower customer-acquisition costs, create cultural credibility, contribute operating knowledge or connect the company with people who can help it reach its next stage.

Tariro Makoni, founder and editor of the Substack Trademarked , a Vogue Business contributor and a 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 Media honoree, recently examined the rise of the influencer-investor . Her framework offers three useful tests: Can the influencer accelerate business outcomes? Can the startup succeed without the influencer? And can the influencer afford for the investment to fail?

The second question may be the most important in Trip’s case. Influence should accelerate a viable business, not become its entire business model.

Trip appears to pass that test. Before Jenner joined the cap table, the company had spent years establishing product-market fit, distribution and a distinct position within the functional beverage category.

Trip’s origins date to 2018, when Khoury suffered a knee injury seven weeks before the couple’s wedding. While exploring natural ingredients to support his recovery, they discovered adaptogens including ashwagandha and lion’s mane, and a gap in a beverage market dominated by stimulation and performance. They launched Trip in 2019 to make calming functional ingredients accessible in an everyday format.

“Since day one, Trip has always been omnichannel,” Ferdi told me. “We’ve always followed the customer journey.”

That journey spans grocery stores, cafés, gyms, bars and restaurants. In certain Michelin-starred restaurants, Ferdi says, Trip is served in a highball glass over ice, borrowing the rituals of an alcoholic drink.

The company is also benefiting from several overlapping consumer shifts: alcohol moderation, growing demand for better-for-you beverages and heightened interest in products positioned around stress, sleep and mental well-being. Its core sparkling drink is infused with magnesium and botanicals and marketed as “calm in a can.”

That momentum is why Makoni sees Jenner’s involvement as an acceleration strategy.

“Based on Trip’s financials, it seems as though they are already in a pretty good place,” Makoni says. “The priority is US and international expansion, rather than proving that the business can work. In that case, it makes a lot of sense to pick talent like Kendall Jenner, who is immediately recognizable in the market you’re hoping to grow in. From my vantage, it’s a growth and acceleration play—and I think it’s a solid one.”

Jenner’s participation can now amplify that momentum. Her reach matters, but so do the less visible advantages associated with a high-profile investor.

Kate McAndrew, cofounder and general partner of pre-seed venture fund Baukunst , points to the power of access. “The world is built on warm introductions,” she said. “The right introduction from a trusted person is infinitely more powerful than any paid post.”

“Kendall can open doors across retail, media, talent and partnerships while giving Trip greater cultural relevance in the US,” McAndrew adds. “She understands media, storytelling and what consumers want. Those insights are a lightning rod for the right brand.”

Trip’s rise also reflects how wellness and CPG brands are borrowing from beauty. Its pastel packaging, emotional language and emphasis on ritual make a functional beverage feel like something consumers want to display.

“Some of the strongest beauty brands have made wellness feel aspirational, social and culturally relevant,” Ferdi said. “I hope our visual identity has done something similar.”

Jenner’s fluency across fashion, beauty, wellness and lifestyle gives Trip a bridge into that broader cultural conversation.

That is ultimately the opportunity, and the limitation, of celebrity equity. A famous name can accelerate awareness, introduce a brand to new communities and create valuable access. But it cannot replace product-market fit, strong operations or a reason for people to come back after the first post.

Jenner’s investment arrives after Trip has established those fundamentals. The company already has scale, distribution and a clear position within a growing functional-beverage category. The celebrity is the accelerator, not the strategy.

The partnership is designed to extend beyond a single campaign. Although Ferdi would not disclose details, she said Jenner will have a voice beyond the advertising: “I hugely value her expertise and opinions, and I’m excited to see how it evolves.”

As Trip enters its next phase, Ferdi is trying to remain present within the pace of growth the brand helps consumers navigate. The former lawyer is now a co-CEO, founder and mother of two children under two.

Beside her bed is a poster asking, “How lucky are we?”

“When you’re in a high-growth environment, there’s this adrenaline of, ‘What’s next? What’s next?’” she said.

Even on difficult days, it is the phrase she and Khoury repeat to each other: a reminder to find calm within the chaos.