Skinnygirl
Bethenny Frankel built a low-calorie cocktail brand in two years, sold it for a reported $120 million, and kept the rights to the name for everything else.
Bethenny Frankel launched the Skinnygirl Margarita in 2009 with no outside investment, no spirits industry background, and a single consumer insight she had been living for years: a standard restaurant margarita runs 400 to 700 calories. Her version came in at about 100 calories per 4-ounce serving. Two years later, Beam Global acquired the brand for a reported $120 million. The actual deal structure was more complicated than that headline suggests, but the number that matters most is not the sale price. It is the one term she held back: she kept the rights to the Skinnygirl name for every category outside alcohol, and used it to build a portfolio that would reportedly reach $1 billion in cumulative retail sales.
Most people tell this story as a celebrity cashing in on fame. The more accurate version is a woman who understood brand leverage, spotted a real gap in the market before anyone else was paying attention, and negotiated a deal that gave her two bites at the same apple.
At a glance:
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Bethenny Frankel |
| Acquirer | Beam Global (now Beam Suntory), March 2011 |
| Reported sale price | $120 million (widely cited; see The Numbers for full breakdown) |
| Pre-sale volume | ~150,000 cases (~2 million bottles) |
| Post-sale growth | 388% year-over-year (Technomic, 2012) |
| Non-alcohol Skinnygirl retail | ~$1 billion cumulative |
| Categories | Cocktails (sold), food, shapewear, apparel, cookware, home goods |
The Story
Before Skinnygirl
Bethenny Frankel did not walk into the spirits industry from nowhere. She had been building toward a health-food brand for years, just not a successful one. She studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York and spent the early 2000s trying to make a business out of the food knowledge she had accumulated. In 2003, she launched BethennyBakes, a line of egg-free, wheat-free, dairy-free baked goods and meal delivery based in New York. The health positioning was identical to what would eventually become Skinnygirl. The business was not. BethennyBakes closed in 2006.
In between, she appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005 as a runner-up. She worked as a Pepperidge Farm spokesperson for their low-calorie bread line. She sold pashmina scarves wholesale under the name Princess Pashmina. Nothing stuck. What she kept building, across every failed attempt, was a very specific understanding of what women who wanted to be healthy actually wanted to buy.
When she joined The Real Housewives of New York City in 2008, she went in with a plan. RHONY was not a career pivot. It was a distribution channel.
The idea
The Skinnygirl Margarita concept was not complicated. Women drank margaritas. Margaritas were wildly high in calories. Nobody had made a premixed, low-calorie version that tasted good and did not feel like a compromise product. Frankel wanted to drink margaritas without the calorie guilt, and she could not find what she was looking for on a single shelf.
She brought the idea to major spirits companies first. Every one of them passed. She was rejected across the board, including meetings where she showed up alone while her own representatives declined to accompany her. The established players looked at a low-calorie margarita aimed at women and did not see a category. They saw a niche.
The partner who changed things was David Kanbar, who had previously been involved with Skyy Vodka. Kanbar brought the manufacturing relationships, distribution infrastructure, and packaging expertise that Frankel lacked. Together they got the Skinnygirl Margarita developed and to market in under six months. The formula used blue agave tequila, natural lime juice, and agave nectar, with no artificial colors. It launched in 2009 and was on shelves in New York, New Jersey, and Florida before most people in the spirits industry were paying attention.
The platform
The RHONY audience was the exact customer. Every time Frankel casually reached for a Skinnygirl Margarita on camera, it was product placement with national television distribution. It was also free. Millions of women watching the show saw the product as something aspirational and real at the same time, which is almost impossible to manufacture through advertising.
By 2010, the brand had sold approximately 150,000 cases, roughly 2 million bottles. Beam Global came calling. The acquisition closed in March 2011, about two years after the product launched.
The Strategy
The sale price that nobody agrees on
The widely reported sale price was $120 million. The Hollywood Reporter ran that figure first, and it was repeated everywhere. Then Beam’s SEC filings created a different story. Their 10-Q quarterly filing showed $8.1 million paid for the Skinnygirl brand name specifically. The total 2011 acquisitions figure for Beam was approximately $39 million. On top of that, the deal included up to $25 million in performance bonuses to Frankel tied to sales targets over the following years.
Frankel pushed back publicly on the lower figures, calling the reporting misleading. The Hollywood Reporter covered her response.
The honest answer is that the real number sits somewhere between $39 million and $120 million, depending on how you count performance payments, ongoing spokesperson fees, and other deal terms that were never fully disclosed. When Skinnygirl posted 388% growth in the year following acquisition and was named the fastest-growing spirits brand in the United States by market research firm Technomic, it is likely that Frankel collected those bonuses. The exact figure may never be publicly confirmed. Private deal terms rarely are.
What is not ambiguous is the clause she kept. Beam bought the cocktail line. She retained the rights to the Skinnygirl name for every other category.
What she held back
When Frankel sold Skinnygirl Cocktails to Beam, she negotiated a carve-out that let her keep the Skinnygirl trademark for non-alcohol products, a clause most coverage of the deal skips over. That single clause turned one acquisition into two businesses.
In the years following the sale, Skinnygirl expanded into food (dips, dressings, sweeteners, popcorn, candy, shakes), shapewear (sold on HSN), apparel including Skinnygirl Jeans, which reportedly sold out immediately upon launch in fall 2018, and cookware sold through TJ Maxx and Marshalls starting in 2021. The non-alcohol Skinnygirl business reportedly reached $1 billion in cumulative retail sales across those categories.
Most founders selling a brand think about the price. The best ones also think about what they are not selling.
Low-calorie before it was obvious
The Skinnygirl Margarita launched in 2009, before the ready-to-drink cocktail category existed as a serious market and before low-alcohol or low-calorie positioning had become standard in the spirits industry. Brands like White Claw did not arrive until 2016. The concept was genuinely early, not a trend-chase.
The positioning worked because the math was real. A frozen restaurant margarita contains 400 to 700 calories. Skinnygirl’s version came in at approximately 100 calories per 4-ounce serving. That is not a rounding error. It is the difference between a drink that fits into how someone is trying to eat and one that does not. Frankel understood that women were already making decisions about their choices in these terms, and she built directly to that.
Reality TV as earned media
Frankel understood something about television that most brand founders did not. RHONY gave her access to millions of women in the exact demographic she was targeting, with no ad spend required. She was not the first person to use a TV platform to sell a product, but she was unusually deliberate about it. She treated the show as distribution infrastructure from the beginning, not as a fame play that might eventually lead to a business.
The result was a brand that had national visibility and consumer familiarity before it had meaningful retail distribution. When Beam came in and added real distribution muscle, the combination moved quickly.
The Controversy
In September 2011, six months after Beam acquired the brand, Whole Foods pulled Skinnygirl Margarita from its shelves. The reason was sodium benzoate, a synthetic preservative that can form a potentially carcinogenic compound when combined with Vitamin C. The problem was that Skinnygirl Margarita was marketed as “all natural” with “no preservatives,” and it contained lime juice, which is high in Vitamin C.
Beam disputed that Whole Foods “pulled” the product, framing it instead as a decision not to reorder. The distinction is largely semantic. A class action lawsuit followed, with consumers seeking $10 million over the deceptive marketing claim. A federal judge dismissed the suit in 2015.
The controversy did not kill the brand. Sales growth after the acquisition suggests it barely dented consumer demand. But it exposed a real tension in the business: the “natural” and “no preservatives” claims were central to Skinnygirl’s positioning and health identity, and they were not accurate. For a brand built on the idea that women deserved better, more transparent choices, that was a meaningful gap between promise and reality.
The Numbers
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Skinnygirl Margarita launches |
| 2010 | ~150,000 cases sold (~2 million bottles) |
| March 2011 | Acquired by Beam Global |
| September 2011 | Whole Foods pulls product over sodium benzoate |
| 2012 | 388% post-acquisition sales growth; named fastest-growing spirits brand in US (Technomic) |
| 2015 | Class action lawsuit dismissed |
| 2018 | Skinnygirl Jeans sell out on launch |
| 2021 | Skinnygirl cookware launches at TJ Maxx / Marshalls |
| Ongoing | Non-alcohol Skinnygirl reportedly hits $1B cumulative retail sales |
On the sale price: The Hollywood Reporter reported $120 million. Beam’s SEC filings show $8.1 million for the brand name and total 2011 acquisition spending of approximately $39 million, with up to $25 million in performance bonuses tied to sales targets. The full realized number likely falls between $39 million and $120 million. Frankel has disputed the lower characterizations publicly, and the complete deal terms have never been disclosed.
What You Can Learn
The retained rights clause. When Frankel sold Skinnygirl Cocktails, she kept the trademark for every non-alcohol category. This turned a single exit into two businesses. Before signing any sale, it is worth mapping out which rights you are selling and which you could legally keep, because a buyer focused on one category may not care about the rest.
The distribution channel that was already working. Frankel did not use RHONY to become famous and then start a business. She used it as the first year of her marketing budget, and it cost nothing. Before spending money on advertising, the question worth asking is: what distribution channel already reaches the exact customer, and how do I get the product in front of it?
Early beats obvious. The Skinnygirl Margarita launched in 2009, years before the low-ABV and ready-to-drink categories became mainstream. The established spirits companies who passed on the idea were not wrong that the category was small at the time. They were wrong about where it was going. Timing an entry to a real consumer need that is currently underserved tends to produce returns that entering an obvious trend does not.
The “natural” claim is a liability if it is not true. Skinnygirl built its identity around being a cleaner, more honest alternative. When sodium benzoate turned up in a product marketed as preservative-free, it created legal exposure and brand damage that no company with that positioning could easily absorb. If a health or “clean” claim is central to your brand, it needs to be accurate at the ingredient level, not just in the marketing copy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Bethenny Frankel sell Skinnygirl for?
The widely reported figure was $120 million, and it appeared in outlets including the Hollywood Reporter. Beam’s SEC filings showed a more complicated structure: approximately $8.1 million for the brand name, total acquisition spending around $39 million, and up to $25 million in performance bonuses tied to sales targets after the deal closed. Frankel has disputed characterizations based solely on the lower numbers. The full amount likely falls between $39 million and $120 million, depending on which bonuses were ultimately collected.
Did Bethenny Frankel keep any rights to Skinnygirl?
She retained the Skinnygirl trademark for all non-alcohol categories. Beam only acquired the cocktail line. She later used the name to launch food products, shapewear, apparel, and cookware, with the non-alcohol Skinnygirl business reportedly reaching $1 billion in cumulative retail sales.
Why did Whole Foods pull Skinnygirl Margarita?
In September 2011, Whole Foods stopped stocking Skinnygirl Margarita after discovering it contained sodium benzoate, a synthetic preservative. The product had been marketed as “all natural” with “no preservatives.” Sodium benzoate can form benzene, a potentially carcinogenic compound, when combined with Vitamin C sources like lime juice. A consumer class action lawsuit followed and was dismissed in federal court in 2015.
How did Skinnygirl grow so fast after the acquisition?
Beam’s distribution infrastructure was the accelerant. The brand grew 388% year-over-year in the twelve months following the acquisition and was named the fastest-growing spirits brand in the United States by market research firm Technomic. Frankel had proven consumer demand. Beam had the retail relationships to scale it.
What is Bethenny Frankel’s background?
Frankel studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York and ran a health-food delivery business called BethennyBakes from 2003 to 2006 before launching Skinnygirl. She appeared as a runner-up on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005, joined The Real Housewives of New York City in 2008, and used the RHONY platform to build early visibility for the Skinnygirl brand before it had retail distribution.
Who founded Skinnygirl?
Bethenny Frankel founded Skinnygirl in 2009 after every major spirits company she pitched passed on the idea of a low-calorie premixed margarita. She partnered with David Kanbar, formerly of Skyy Vodka, who brought the manufacturing and distribution infrastructure she lacked, and they got the product to market in under six months.
When was Skinnygirl founded?
Skinnygirl launched in 2009 with the Skinnygirl Margarita, a roughly 100-calorie premixed cocktail compared to the 400 to 700 calories in a standard restaurant margarita. The brand reached shelves in New York, New Jersey, and Florida before most of the spirits industry was paying attention.
Who owns Skinnygirl?
Beam Global, now Beam Suntory, acquired the Skinnygirl Cocktails line in March 2011. Frankel kept the trademark for every non-alcohol category and used it to build a separate Skinnygirl portfolio across food, shapewear, apparel, and cookware that has reportedly reached $1 billion in cumulative retail sales.
How much revenue does Skinnygirl generate?
Current revenue figures are private. Pre-acquisition, the cocktail line sold roughly 150,000 cases (about 2 million bottles) in 2010, and Skinnygirl posted 388% year-over-year sales growth in 2012 after Beam took over distribution. The non-alcohol Skinnygirl business that Frankel retained has reportedly hit $1 billion in cumulative retail sales across its categories.
What happened to Skinnygirl?
The cocktails business is now owned by Beam Suntory and continues to sell in the ready-to-drink category. Frankel’s separately owned non-alcohol Skinnygirl line has expanded steadily since 2011 into food, shapewear, apparel, and cookware, with Skinnygirl Jeans selling out at launch in 2018 and cookware reaching TJ Maxx and Marshalls in 2021.
Sources
- Hollywood Reporter, “Bethenny Frankel Sells Skinnygirl Cocktails,” March 2011. Original $120 million figure.
- Hollywood Reporter, “Bethenny Frankel Denies Skinnygirl Sale Claims,” 2012. Frankel’s public response to lower sale figures.
- Business Wire, “Beam Global Acquires Skinnygirl Spirits Brand,” March 2011. Official acquisition announcement.
- Celebrity Net Worth, “The Real Story Behind Bethenny Frankel Selling Skinnygirl Cocktails”. SEC filing analysis, $8.1M brand name payment, $25M performance bonus structure.
- NBC News, “Skinnygirl Cocktails are Fastest-Growing Liquor Brand,” 2012. 388% post-acquisition growth, Technomic data.
- Inc. Magazine, “How I Did It: Bethenny Frankel,” July 2011. Founding story, early distribution, rejection from major spirits companies.
- TIME, “Whole Foods Yanks Skinnygirl Margarita Citing Toxic Ingredient,” September 2011. Sodium benzoate controversy.
- Chicago Tribune, “Federal Judge Dismisses Skinnygirl Cocktail Suit,” May 2015. Class action lawsuit dismissal.
- Wikipedia, “Bethenny Frankel”. Background, BethennyBakes, Apprentice, RHONY, post-sale brand expansion.
- WWD, “Bethenny Frankel on Skinnygirl Bras and Loungewear”. Non-alcohol brand expansion details.