Functional beverage brand TRIP has named Kendall Jenner as global ambassador and equity shareholder, betting that celebrity firepower will accelerate growth in what the company describes as the fastest-growing category in the sector: calming drinks.
The London-founded brand, known for its magnesium- and botanical-infused sparkling cans, said Jenner would front a new global campaign launching this week.
The company positions the partnership not as a conventional celebrity endorsement, but as a natural extension of an existing relationship, with Jenner said to have been a customer before any commercial discussion began.
A category outpacing gut health and protein
TRIP's announcement leans heavily on category-level data. According to SPINS figures cited by the company, calming drinks are now the fastest-growing functional beverage segment in the US, ahead of gut health, protein and hydration.
TRIP itself is described as the fastest-growing sparkling drinks brand in the country year-to-date.
Speaking to Nutraceutical Business Review, co-founder and co-CEO Olivia Ferdi framed the timing as evidence of a broader behavioural shift among consumers rather than a passing wellness trend.
"For a long time, so much of the beverage industry has been built around giving people more: more energy, more caffeine, more stimulation," Ferdi told NBR.
There hasn't been nearly as much built around helping people create moments to find balance and reset amidst the chaos of everyday.
Ferdi pointed to consumer research from Toluna indicating that Gen Z consumers in the US now rank mental wellbeing above weight loss as a top health concern, while stress, sleep and mood support feature in the top five concerns for the wider population.
She also cited Google search data showing queries related to stress and mental wellbeing accelerating month on month, with June marking a peak.
For formulators and category managers, the underlying claim is one of durability: TRIP argues the shift is driven by wearable technology and social media making the consequences of consumption habits — sleep quality, stress markers — more visible to consumers, rather than by a single ingredient trend.
Positioning against functional beverage competitors
Ferdi was clear about where TRIP believes its competitive edge lies against other fast-growing functional drinks brands: occasion flexibility.
Citing Numerator data, she said that 49% of TRIP drinkers report multiple use occasions for the product, compared with 28% for soda and 27% for sparkling water.
"The two main occasions people reach for a TRIP calming drink [are] as a better-for-you refreshment and an alternative to alcohol," Ferdi explained. "This means TRIP customers sip from day through to night."
That dual positioning — as a functional refreshment and alcohol alternative — sits at the centre of TRIP's growth narrative as it scales distribution.
The brand, founded in 2019 by Ferdi and Daniel Khoury, has expanded from early placements in Erewhon and Soho House to national listings including Target, Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Costco, Albertsons, H-E-B, Wegmans, CVS and The Vitamin Shoppe.
TRIP is projecting $200m in revenue for 2026, with the company targeting a doubling of that figure the following year.
Why Jenner — and why now?
Ferdi was keen to distinguish the arrangement from a standard ambassador deal, describing Jenner's approach to the brand as organic rather than pitched.
She was a genuine TRIP fan before she was ever a partner; she found us organically, the way so much of our community has, not through a pitch deck.
Jenner echoed this sentiment in her own statement, calling TRIP her "favourite way to stay grounded and present" in her daily routine.
TRIP said the equity component of the deal reflects a deeper commercial relationship than a typical brand-ambassador arrangement, with Ferdi noting that Jenner "understands what it means to build and back brands."
The bigger picture for functional beverage manufacturers
For ingredient suppliers and manufacturers watching the functional beverage space, TRIP's growth trajectory and its framing of "calm" as a distinct occasion may signal where formulation investment moves next.
With social platforms cited as a primary driver of TRIP's community growth — which have generated more than a billion impressions on Instagram and TikTok in the past year — the brand's approach also underscores the growing overlap between celebrity-led marketing and ingredient-level product storytelling in the category.
