ICYMI from Maggie

Hi! Hello! Happy Sunday, HSR!

Thank you for being part of the 30% of Americans who get their news from email newsletters, according to a Pew Research survey.

And welcome officially to Season 2 of HSR! This week was honestly a dream come true. Seeing our new brand identity out in the wild and all of your reactions to it made my week.

I’ve been drinking a lot of matcha this week and consuming a lot of energy drinks trying to fit it all in with the re-brand, our wedding week and packing for our honeymoon, and I actually feel sick today.

But as I fill my veins with energy drinks, I’ve been unintentionally dehydrating my skin, to the point that my makeup artist said to me during my trial, “You have to drink so much water this week. Your skin is drying out.” It got me interested in the category. So this week’s case study is all about energy drinks and our thoughts on Kim Kardashian joining UPDATE as a cofounder. More below!

It also got me thinking about branding and positioning, and one of my favorite things I’ve learned from Steven Bartlett. When we first started talking about brand positioning and being really clear on who your customer is, he shared how he approached branding with his investment company, Perfect Ted. He believes you can’t be a Perfect Ted matcha drinker and a Red Bull drinker. That consumer archetype doesn’t exist. You just aren’t both.

And now that I've heard that, I just can't unsee it. In order to be for someone, you have to be disliked or unappealing to other people. And Red Bull has definitely mastered that because they’re still selling 14 billion cans a year!

That's all for me this week, HSR! I've got a big week coming up with our wedding celebration, and I can't wait to take you behind the scenes as my +1!

In 2026, will you still be working for money, or will your money finally be working for you?

Last week we kicked off season two with a conversation all about building actual wealth, not just making money. I sat down with Codie Sanchez to break down why we’re in an ownership race, how AI and the shifting job market are changing the game, and why equity is the name of the game in 2026. We got into how to use your 9 to 5 as leverage, how to negotiate for ownership, and how to start buying boring, cash flowing businesses without blowing up your life, plus the spending traps holding women back and the mindset shift that takes you from consumer to owner.

If you missed it, go watch now!!

all the brands, people, places, things we’re gossiping about this week

Women’s Health & Beauty

Media, Entertainment & Creator

Consumer, E-Commerce & Retail

Tech, Business & Investing

If UPDATE is the SKIMS you can drink, then yes.

On our corner of the internet, two things became clear this week. Alcohol is losing its grip on culture faster than people want to admit, and beverage dollars aren’t disappearing. They’re migrating. The money is moving into alternatives that match how people actually want to live now, which is why non-alc and energy keep gaining traction, are getting crowded, and more investable on paper.

But if you’ve been here for a minute, you know we’re not letting a headline like Kim Kardashian becoming a “co-founder” of UPDATE convince us a category is suddenly easy. Beverage is still beverage and it will humble you, even when the product is good and the branding is perfect.

This is why two announcements this week caught our attention. Kim Kardashian is coming in as a co-founder of UPDATE for the relaunch, and Walmart is taking it nationwide. Alix Earle is continuing to invest in beverage with a strategic investment into GORGIE Energy. These are both celebrity-driven moments, but they’re not the same kind of bet. One is a distribution unlock. The other is a momentum signal that things are going well and Michelle Cordiero Grant is doubling down on her customer.

At the end of the day beverage is still hard and this is why: