RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Fortune — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
Top podcaster Alex Cooper’s beverage business is shutting down, demonstrating the challenges online creators often have in diversifying their work away from content.
Cooper’s Unwell Beverage Co., which she launched in partnership with Nestlé SA in 2025, is planning to introduce more flavors tied to the Halloween season and will subsequently cease production across all of the brand’s line of beverages, according to people familiar with the matter. Target Corp., the brand’s main distribution partner, is selling through its supply, the people said, asking not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak about the plans publicly.
Debuting as Unwell Hydration, the initial line came in three flavors and contained electrolytes, vitamins and caffeine. The brand soon added protein- and energy-focused beverages. The drinks can often be seen in video episodes of Cooper’s highly rated Call Her Daddy podcast sitting on the side tables next to the host and her guest.
A representative for Cooper declined to comment. Nestlé and Target also declined to comment.
Beyond the ingredients, which position the beverage somewhere between sports drink and functional wellness elixir, Cooper wanted the drink to stand out among competitors by marketing it to women, she said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit in 2024.
“Every time I went to pick up an energy drink or any type of hydration drink, it’s all catered to men,” she said. “If you go on their Instagrams, the packaging is for men and a lot of time it has to do with high performance, like you have to be a professional athlete to drink this and it’s all made for men, by men, marketed to men.”
In May, the company began selling a limited-edition “red, white, and blueberry” flavor of the energy drink exclusively at Target.
Cooper’s expansion into beverages accompanied her broader effort to become more than a podcaster. She and her husband Matt Kaplan founded Unwell, which encompasses her podcast business and his movie and TV production work. They quickly began adding other podcasts to the network and producing TV shows for Hollywood studios. Cooper also sells a line of a merchandise, hosts live events and recently launched an ad agency.
On Wednesday, Unwell raised money from Hollywood super agent Patrick Whitesell that valued the entire business at $500 million. The money will largely be used to expand Cooper’s network, as well as the ad agency’s work. In April, Bloomberg reported on troubles at Cooper’s company, spurred in part by juggling too many business ventures, including executive turnover, shows that failed to become major hits and staff issues with Kaplan, who often yelled at employees. The company declined to comment at the time.
Many influencers and celebrities have also branched out beyond their initial day jobs, but the space, particularly for beverages, has become saturated. YouTuber Emma Chamberlain launched a coffee line , for example, while influencers Logan Paul and KSI founded a beverage company called Prime that sells hydration and energy drinks.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.