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When Brooklyn Peltz Beckham launched his hot sauce brand, Cloud23, he didn’t want a flashy debut or celebrity-driven campaign. “I didn’t want a huge spike at the beginning and then nothing,” Beckham told the audience at Brandweek 2025. “I wanted the sauce to speak for itself. My name isn’t anywhere on the bottle.” That measured approach contrasts with how most celebrity-founded brands enter the market. Instead, Cloud23 has grown steadily, beginning with a rare national partnership with Whole Foods, which Beckham said was a dream from the start. Now a year in, Cloud23 is seeing repeat purchases — a sign, Beckham said, that the brand’s slow-build strategy is paying off. “I knew that I really wanted to launch with [Whole Foods],” he said. “I sent them the sauce, and they loved it. We got on a few Zooms and made it happen.” The product is now stocked in around 533 Whole Foods stores in the U.S. and eight in the U.K., along with additional retailers including Erewhon and Bristol Farms. While most celebrity brands rely on starpower to drive buzz, Beckham is betting on some restraint. By keeping his name off the label and focusing on design, taste, and steady retail growth, he’s building Cloud23 less like a vanity project and more like a long-term business, he revealed during Brandweek. Since launch, Beckham has been deliberate about partnerships, which now include Barilla, Airbnb, The Langham, and Jefferson’s Bourbon. “It’s all about timing,” he said. “There are brands that we’ve worked with that have been amazing, and there are brands that I would love to work with but it’s just not the right time.” Beckham’s collaboration with Airbnb — an LA-based cooking experience where he hosted guests alongside a chef friend — reflects the same deliberate approach in Cloud23’s marketing, as well as his love for cooking and connecting. “I love hosting, I love cooking,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite things to get to show people how I create Cloud23.” A photographer by training, Beckham said he brought that creative eye to Cloud23’s design — tall glass bottles with ridged bases, cherub illustrations, and soft pastel tones give the sauce a premium, almost decorative feel. “I wanted something that looked really good on a table, not just in the fridge,” he said. “It’s pepper-based, so it’s a thicker sauce because there are no gums or stabilizers. I wanted something completely different to what’s out there — something that catches your eye.” His goal is to build Cloud23 into a multi-category “pantry staple” that lasts beyond him. “This is something I want to pass down to my kids, or have them join the team,” he said. Asked about criticism that often comes with celebrity ventures, Beckham was unfazed. “I don’t listen to it at all,” he said. “There’s always going to be people saying rubbish. I’m doing what I love. I have a very supportive wife, my four dogs, and my work. I just put my head down and work.”
