The most followed individual on YouTube, MrBeast, has built a loyal following of fans and a brand that could be worth billions of dollars.
The popular content creator is also expanding his reach with products such as Feastables, a snack brand that NBA fans will be seeing a lot of in 2023 and 2024.
What Happened: MrBeast announced a brand partnership with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets for the 2023-2024 seasons with Feastables the official jersey patch partner.
Under the terms of the deal, the new Feastables logo will appear on Hornets uniforms and the uniforms of the NBA G League team Greensboro Swarm and the NBA 2K League Hornets Venom GT for both physical and digital jerseys.
The deal signed between the Hornets and MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the first collaboration between an NBA team and a creator-led brand.
“We are thrilled to welcome Feastables and North Carolina native MrBeast into our Hornets family,” Hornets Sports & Entertainment President Fred Whitfield said. “We are excited to have this opportunity to introduce MrBeast’s fans to the Hornets and the Feastables brand to NBA fans around the world through our jersey patch.”
Whitfield said the expectation is that the deal is beneficial to all parties involved.
Feastables will also see its logo featured on media backdrops for Hornets press conferences. The team and brand will also collaborate on digital media, content and marketing opportunities.
“This partnership is a first of its kind, and I am excited to see how creator-brands and the NBA continue to work together in the future,” Feastables' Reed Duchscher said.
Donaldson celebrated the announcement with a tweet showing off the new jersey.
“I love basketball so it only makes sense for Feastables first sponsorship to be with my home team,” Donaldson said.
The partnership was also celebrated with a video featuring Hornets star LaMelo Ball.
“We’re entering feast mode this season,” the video was captioned.
Related Link: MrBeast's Car Showdown: From Cliff Diving $1 Beater To A $100 Million Ferrari
Why It’s Important: While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the partnership could benefit both parties given the social media reach of MrBeast.
On YouTube, a video platform owned by Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL, MrBeast has 188 million subscribers, making it the most subscribed individual account. MrBeast also has more than 87 million followers on TikTok, making him a top five most followed account.
Across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, MrBeast has a combined 350+ million followers.
MrBeast has more followers than the Hornets on all of the social media networks and in some cases has more followers/subscribers than the NBA on platforms.
Feastables was launched in 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Willy Wonka and went on to sell four million chocolate bars in its first four months, according to Action Network.
Feastables bars are sold in Walmart Inc WMT and Target TGT stores and other retail locations. Action Network said Feastables will also be available in additional stores in 2024, naming Costco, CVS and Walgreens.
Duchsher told Action Network the deal with the Hornets has been in the works for months.
“We’ve been talking to the Hornets for four months. We were very interested because it would allow us to be the first creator-led brand to do a deal like this. And we’re especially high on the NBA because it’s the league that is the most digitally native.”
The deal with the Hornets comes as the NBA franchise has new team ownership after NBA superstar Michael Jordan sold his majority stake earlier this year with the team valued at a rumored $3 billion.
A group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall are the new owners with Jordan retaining a minority stake in the team. Other buyers in the team also included rapper J. Cole and country musician Eric Church.
Another investor in the new majority stake of the Hornets is Dyal HomeCourt Partners, a unit of Blue Owl Capital Inc OWL.
Dyal HomeCourt Partners also owns stakes in the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings and as part of a publicly traded company could give investors a way to capitalize on the potential success of the MrBeast-led partnership.
Feastables is one of the newer chocolate brands that could disrupt the market share that Hershey Co HSY has according to a short report. Hershey’s is a sponsor for several NCAA college sports items and also Team USA at the Olympics. Hershey’s will likely be watching to see if Feastables expands its sponsorship reach.
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