Alix Earle invested in Cymbiotika. Kendall Jenner just backed TRIP. Here are the 8 questions I ask before putting my own money into a consumer company.

In March 2025, I shared why I was no longer investing in beverage. At the time, Alix Earle had invested in Sip Margs. I had actually seen the deal and passed.

My biggest question was simple: if you took Alix Earle out of the company, would I still want to own it? And for me, the answer was no.

That same month, Pepsi announced it was buying Poppi for $1.95 billion and yes, you can make a LOT of money investing in beverage. My point was never that beverage companies can’t succeed. It was that the fundamentals of the individual investment still have to justify the risk you’re taking.

Fast-forward 18 months and Alix has invested in Cymbiotika, a supplement brand that reportedly did $150 million in revenue last year. Kendall Jenner just became an investor in TRIP, the functional beverage company reportedly on track to do around $200 million in revenue this year.

And after my conversation with my husband, Courtney, on HSR this week, I keep coming back to something he said:

Don’t confuse a good product with a good investment.

Courtney uses Cymbiotika regularly and he likes the product. But he told me he doesn’t necessarily think it’s a great investment today because of where the company is valued.

There is a difference between finding a great company and finding a great investment.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot this week and am going to share:

So let’s get into it.