ForceBrands Seeks to Connect Celebs & CEOs With CreatorForce Division

CPG recruitment firm ForceBrands is aiming to accelerate growth for celebrity-backed brands with the launch of CreatorForce, a division designed to help place executives in these companies, match creators with brands and assist with capital raises.

The division was developed and launched by ForceBrands CEO Josh Wand, who is also a general partner at The Family Fund, and will be led by Daniella McBride, who will serve as head of creator partnerships. McBride most recently served as the VP of talent and partnerships for True Family Enterprises, a brand incubator founded by creator Twila True that is known for bringing on established names as “co-founders.”

CreatorForce’s primary function is as a matchmaker — connecting creators and celebrities with either executive talent to manage their brands or existing companies with which they can join.

“These creators and these celebrities need to continue to be celebrities and they need to continue creating, so they need people – CFOs, CMOs, CEOs – to run their businesses.”

Wand recognized the need for a separate business arm focused on celebrities and creators after ForceBrands worked with roughly 70 such brands including Mr Beast’s Feastables, Jennifer Garner’s Once Upon a Farm, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics, Adam Levine’s Calirosa and Emma Chamberlain’s Chamberlain Coffee. His own move from New York City to Los Angeles also deepened the firm’s relationship with talent firms including Creative Artists Agency (CAA), William Morris, and United Talent Agency (UTA), many of whom are also starting incubators or investment arms to back their clients’ companies or help match celebrities with investment opportunities.

In working with creators and celebrities, the group is also defining its identity outside of the digital “influencer” sphere. While the latter mostly does promotion for a number of brands, McBride said, the former is typically more deeply involved in the formation or growth of a single company. To be most effective, Wand added, these figureheads need to be actively participating, for example attending buyer meetings and trade shows.

“Paying [a creator or celebrity] does not mean that it’s authentic and that consumers are going to buy in,” Wand said. “They have to be deeply integrated into your business creatively. It has to be aligned with what they represent in the community.”

In a changing digital landscape, the benefits of aligning brands and individuals with highly engaged, mass online audiences are obvious. For example, for his Feastable’s gummies launch, made in collaboration with fellow creator Karl Jacobs, founder Mr Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) announced the new product via a Tik Tok video shared with his 81.4 followers. The video received over 3 million likes. Previously Donaldson asked his followers to front his shelves in order to better merchandise his products.

As part of its services, CreatorForce also serves as somewhat of a scout, helping match investors or private equity firms with its brands.

“What we’re seeing is a bigger thirst and a bigger appetite for venture and private equity groups and family offices to invest in creator and celebrity backed brands because they already have built in followings,” Wand said. “A lot of these brands can gain traction organically without having to pay to acquire customers…there’s going to be a lot of focus and energy because of their ability to accelerate faster.”

Still, Wand and McBride said they aren’t naive, making sure companies understand that there is a risk the public’s attention in a celebrity could turn fickle or wane. But, Wand said, the number of creator-first brands that achieve a liquidity event will likely mirror, or be slightly higher than, that of traditionally built CPG brands. However, no matter who the face of a brand is, McBride said, the product has to be able to stand on its own and grow beyond the creator’s own fanbase to shoppers that may not even know who this individual is.

“I think it has to be a unicorn,” she shared, “You can have a great creator, but you also have to have a great product.”