Retired Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant has become the fourth largest investor in a sports drink brand after his $6 million investment generated more than 30 times its original funding.
Sources disclosed to ESPN Thursday, Aug. 16 that after making his first investment in March 2014 for about 10 percent of BodyArmor, his stake is now worth about $200 million after Coca-Cola bought a minority stake in the company Tuesday.
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 23: Basketball player Kobe Bryant attends Tribeca Talks: Storytellers: Kobe Bryant with Glen Keane during 2017 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on April 23, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage)
At the time Bryant invested in BodyArmor, which is marketed as a healthier alternative to its rival brand Gatorade, the company just wrapped a year where it raked in $10 million in sales. This year, BodyArmor is forecasted to reach sales of $400 million.
In the two years leading up to his retirement, Bryant had expanded his brand outside of the basketball court.
He announced in 2014, that he’d be launching Kobe Inc., which he said was important for him to be hands-on with rather than stepping into another endorsement deal.
“We want to own and help grow brands and ideas that challenge and redefine the sports industry while inspiring,” Bryant told ESPN of his new venture. “If it doesn’t have the limbs of the sports industry, which I understand extremely well, then I probably won’t touch it.”
BodyArmor was his first investment. The athlete didn’t disclose how much he put into the business at the time, but the coconut water-infused beverage company said he was brand’s third-largest shareholder following founders Michael Repole and Lance Collins.
Aside from BodyArmor, Bryant’s other business endeavors include a $100 million venture capital firm he started with entrepreneur Jeff Stibel, which invests in tech, media and data. Bryant also has his Granity Studios a production company, whose “Dear Basketball” made the baller an Oscar winner.
