• Alex Cooper announced a new product: an electrolyte drink called Unwell Hydration.
• The "Call Her Daddy" star said the drink is low in sugar and contains B vitamins.
• Cooper's move follows a trend of celebrities launching beverage brands.

Alex Cooper is getting into the beverage business.

The "Call Her Daddy" host announced on Wednesday that she'd be launching Unwell Hydration, an electrolyte beverage, early next year. The brand's website says it will be available on January 1.

"What could be my first consumer product? Probably something that would make the most sense would be that it could integrate into your unwell lifestyle," she said at Wednesday's DealBook Summit, a nod to her media network, Unwell.

She said the beverage would be marketed primarily to women, be low in sugar, and contain B vitamins. Its website says it will be "gently caffeinated" and come in strawberry, orange hibiscus, and mango citrus flavors.

The drink is a partnership with Nestlé. Cooper did not specify the ownership structure of the endeavor.

"Every time I went to pick up an energy drink or any type of hydration drink, it's all catered to men," she told DealBook's Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Still, it's hardly the first celebrity beverage on the market.

Energy or hydration drinks backed by famous faces date back to at least the early 2000s when 50 Cent partnered with Vitamin Water in a deal that Forbes reported led to a $100 million payday. There have been several others since. For example, 50 Cent launched a follow-up beverage brand, Street King, which is now defunct; Dwayne Johnson created Zoa; and Kim Kardashian has Alani Kimade.

Perhaps the most successful of the bunch has been Prime Hydration from YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI. While the company has been facing legal battles in recent months, it surged in popularity after its launch in 2022. Bloomberg reported that sales were on track to exceed $1.2 billion for 2023.

Then there are the celebrity alcohol brands, some of which have turned out to be extremely lucrative. George Clooney pocketed more than $200 million when he sold Casamigos to Diageo in 2017, Sean Combs earned nearly $1 billion over his decade-plus-long partnerships on Cîroc and DeLeón, and Ryan Reynolds and his partners sold Aviation American Gin for $610 million.

Cooper could also soon jump on that trend. In November, Cooper's company filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a product called "Popular Vodka by Unwell" consisting of alcoholic beverages (except beer), including distilled spirits, fruit spirits, liqueurs, liquors, vodka cocktails, and prepared cocktails consisting primarily of distilled spirits.

Cooper has been expanding her media business as well. Last year, she launched Unwell Network, which produces a slate of podcasts by influencers like Alix Earle, Harry Jowsey, and Madeline Argy. In August, Cooper signed a three-year deal with SiriusXM that was valued at up to $125 million.

• Alex Cooper, the host of "Call Her Daddy," has been teasing a secret project.
• She also recently filed a trademark application for a product called "Popular Vodka by Unwell."
• The filing suggests Cooper could soon be the latest celebrity to launch an alcohol brand.

The podcast superstar Alex Cooper may be the next celebrity to start a liquor brand.

A recent trademark application from the "Call Her Daddy" host's company — TRNDG IP LLC — suggests she's looking to launch a vodka venture.

Cooper filed a trademark application last month with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a product called "Popular Vodka by Unwell" consisting of alcoholic beverages (except beer), including distilled spirits, fruit spirits, liqueurs, liquors, vodka cocktails, and prepared cocktails consisting primarily of distilled spirits.

She also teased on Instagram a secret project, which she said would launch on Wednesday. She didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the coming launch was related to a liquor brand.

Celebrity-backed alcohol brands have been a popular product trend for years, from Kendall Jenner's tequila brand, 818, to Ryan Reynolds' Aviation American Gin.

Cooper's business spans digital and traditional media, including Unwell Network, which produces a slate of podcasts by influencers like Alix Earle, Harry Jowsey, and Madeline Argy.

In August, Cooper signed a three-year deal with SiriusXM that was valued at up to $125 million, multiple outlets previously reported.

• Alex Cooper, the host of "Call Her Daddy," signed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM in August.
• Cooper said that how you approach a negotiation is more important than what is said.
• A negotiation expert said negotiators should seek a "relational" approach in discussions.

Alex Cooper, host of the hit podcast "Call Her Daddy," recently shared her tips on negotiation — one of which she learned from her mom.

Cooper, who signed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM in August, said in an interview with Forbes on Friday that her top tip for negotiation is to practice the conversation.

"I'm always practicing before I go in because you don't want the thing you're leading with to be your nerves," she said.

Although it's "nerve-racking" to go to someone in a position of power and negotiate for more, "half of business is the way that you're presenting," said Cooper, who launched the advice and relationship podcast in 2018.

At this point in her career, Cooper, 30, said she knows she can walk into any room in business and close the deal.

"Half of it has nothing to do with my business IQ — it's really just my emotional EQ. Half the time, I'm leading with EQ, not IQ, because that's what moves the needle," said Cooper, who also owns a media company targeted at Gen Zs.

"So I think practicing what you want to say to someone, and how you are going to approach it, and how you are being confident and calm—that goes farther half the time than what's actually coming out of your mouth," she continued.

Cooper said she also writes out notes on what she wants to say — a habit she learned from her mom. The next step is to practice out loud.

"That helps, though, because then the first time that you're projecting it to someone, you're like, 'Oh, I've done this so many times,'" she said. "Now you get to practice your swag, how you're sitting, is my leg crossed, am I using my hands, and am I making eye contact? That's how I go about it."

Cooper's three-year deal with SiriusXM is more than double the value of her 2021 deal with Spotify, which was worth $60 million, per Variety.

The deal allows SiriusXM to oversee the advertising and distribution of her "Call Her Daddy" podcast from 2025. It also covers her podcast network, Unwell Network, which includes shows from influencers such as Alix Earle and Harry Jowsey, per a statement from SiriusXM.

Last year, "Call Her Daddy" was ranked the number two podcast globally on Spotify, behind "The Joe Rogan Experience."

The podcast was originally known for conversations about sex, but has since grown to cover a range of topics from body positivity to relationships. It has featured A-list guests such as Miley Cyrus and Hailey Bieber. In October, Vice President Kamala Harris was also a guest on the show.

In the same statement, Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer at SiriusXM, said that the audio entertainment company is the "perfect home for Alex to continue her amazing growth trajectory."

"Alex is the voice of a new generation, and I can't wait to see what we do together in the years to come," he added.

However, industry insiders told Business Insider in August that SiriusXM will only shell out $125 million if her "tremendous value" is fully realized over the next three years.

A representative for Cooper did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

The art of negotiation

Negotiating is a critical skill to master, whether to seal a business deal or secure a job offer.

Leigh Thompson, a professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the author of the new book "Negotiating the Sweet Spot: The Art of Leaving Nothing on the Table," previously wrote for BI that successful negotiators are "relational" instead of "transactional." This means they treat the discussion as a conversation between people with a shared interest instead of a hard-nosed transaction-focused approach.

She added that negotiators should seek mutual gains for both parties. "Successful negotiators think about how to expand-the-pie and grow-the-sandbox, not just how many toys they're entitled to," she wrote.

When it comes to landing a job offer, Chris Williams, a former vice president of human resources at Microsoft, previously told BI that signing bonuses, higher commissions, more paid time off, and healthcare benefits are among the things to negotiate.

"I try to remember something I once heard: If your counteroffer doesn't make you feel a little guilty — like you've gone a little too far — you haven't pushed enough," he said.

"So negotiate that job offer, and get what you deserve."