Yahoo Finance 10 of the Kardashians' Favorite Companies
Want to be like a Kardashian? They pitch these brands.
The Kardashian clan always seems to find itself at the center of attention, but not always for the right reasons. According to the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Truth in Advertising, members of the Kardashian and Jenner dynasty have been using their fame for (gasp!) personal profit. TINA.org alleges they've been promoting products illegally through their Instagram pages by failing to reveal their posts as paid promotions. TINA is even threatening to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. So what products do the Kardashians get paid to shill? Here are some of their favorites, as pitched by Kim Kardashian West, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner.
Puma
Kylie Jenner got 1.2 million likes when she posted a picture of herself in Puma Fierce training gear in April, some claw marks casually gracing the worn gray wall behind her. According to TINA.org, Puma was the most frequently promoted but not disclosed brand the Kardashians touted, with 13 such Instagram posts to its name. It doesn't take much sleuthing, however, to see that the youngest of the Kardashian/Jenner sisters has an endorsement deal with Puma. The Puma Fierce website is a never-ending slideshow of Kylie posing, adjusting her hair and pedaling a fake bicycle in training apparel made by the German company.
Calvin Klein
Kendall Jenner sure seems to love her some Calvin Klein, in a commercial love affair that's lasted longer than some of her own relationships. Jenner has been posting scantily clad pics of herself in Calvin Klein undergarments since she was 18. Calvin Klein's parent company, PVH Corp (PVH), also owns brands like IZOD and Tommy Hilfiger, but Jenner only has her eye on Calvin Klein. TINA.org claims the FTC will have its eyes on Kendall, however, if her and her siblings don't amend their posts to reveal "clearly and conspicuously" that they're paid ads.
Estee Lauder Companies (EL)
Kendall is also a big fan of Estee Lauder makeup, and why shouldn't she be? She's literally been the face of Estee Lauder since 2014, so you've got to imagine she's got truckloads of free powder on call -- not that she needs it. When she was initially crowned as the new face of the company less than two years ago, the company's Instagram follower count reportedly jumped by nearly 25 percent. Revenue at the beauty products giant is expected to grow more than 5 percent to $11.9 billion this year; who knows how much of that revenue will come from Kendall's 64 million followers?
JetSmarter
The de facto leader of the Kardashian clan, Kim, is absolutely cuckoo for JetSmarter, and she's not afraid to show it. "I'm truly obsessed with the @letsjetsmarter app! I'm a member and it has changed my traveling life! Download the app! #ReadyJetGo #JetSmarter" read a June 4 post on the socialite's Instagram. Given her notoriously expensive taste and high profile, Kardashian West fits perfectly with the JetSmarter brand, a company that's raised money from Jay Z, a close friend of Kim's husband, Kanye West. The 99 percent don't have much use for JetSmarter, which is essentially the Uber for private planes and fancies itself an "international country club in the sky."
Foxy Locks Ltd.
Khloe Kardashian's tastes are a bit more down to earth, but like most of her sisters, she has a taste for looking glamorous, and that's where Foxy Locks comes in. Foxy Locks is a U.K.-based hair extensions-maker that also traffics in lashes, hair buns, brushes and clips. Although TINA.org may have quarrels with Khloe for not explicitly labeling this post as an #ad, a recent Instagram pic and caption could've been plucked from the pages of Vogue. "So in love with my @foxylocks Clip in Hair Extensions!" it reads. "The quality of the hair is amazing and so thick!" Thick, indeed.
Fit Tea
Fitness Tea is just what it sounds like: a tea designed to help you stay fit, burn fat and lose weight. The Kardashian sisters, it's fair to say, are concerned with their looks, so it's also not surprising that three of them -- Kylie, Khloe and Kourtney -- have posed with Fit Tea products on Instagram. An expertly timed Instagram post from eldest sister Kourtney Kardashian last year pushed the product at a time many Americans were looking to lose weight: "After Thanksgiving Fit Tea detox starts now," read the Nov. 30, 2015, post.
Waist Gang Society
While the company's name may (or may not) incite fear, this company has no outward interest in starting a turf war. Instead, it makes simple products with an innocuous goal: "Waist trainers that keep you sexy and confident." Khloe Kardashian posted a picture of her, Kourtney and Kylie all wearing Waist Gang Society trainers last holiday season, less than two weeks before Christmas. "Sisters who waist train together stay fit together!!" the post says. It's not just waist trainers that the company sells, though -- it also hawks anti-wrinkle cream, compression stockings, wigs and "butt lifters."
SugarBearHair
Kardashian sisters Khloe and Kim are big fans of the enigmatic company SugarBearHair, which makes tasty gummy vitamins designed to improve the quality of your hair. In a note on its website, the company mascot, SugarBear, says, "I know how to make your hair stronger, longer, and shinier." And "I made sure to make these vitamins so easy and enjoyable to eat that you'll look forward to taking them every day." A one-month supply of 60 bears costs you $29.99. A six-month supply -- with a free hair brush! -- costs $161.99.
Balmain
Kim Kardashian West is bonkers for the luxury fashion house Balmain -- perhaps because she gets to wear gorgeous designer dresses personally styled for her while the world oohs and aahs. On July 29, Kim posted a picture of herself in an opulent glittering Balmain outfit, hubby Kanye West adjusting her sleeves as photographers snapped pictures. "My MET Gala @balmain fitting pics are all on KimKardashianWest.com today! And YESSSS I still have those extra pieces & cannot wait to wear them!!!" the Instagram post read.
LuMee LLC
LuMee makes a niche product, but it's catered brilliantly to today's me-first, selfie-obsessed millennial. The company makes a front-lit smartphone case that's "changing the way people shoot and share social media," per its website. And could there be a more perfect product ambassador than Kim Kardashian West? In January, Kim posted a selfie on her Instagram page (it now has over 80 million followers) with the following text: "Selfies about to be LIT! Today on my app I talk about the perfect selfie lighting! The secret to my selfies Lumee.com".
More From US News & World Report
