- GORGIE, the female-focused energy drink brand founded by Michelle Cordeiro Grant in 2023, has named social media entrepreneur Alix Earle as a strategic investor, adding her 10 million-plus followers to the brand’s growing community.
- Earle’s involvement is backed by firsthand product experience — she consumed GORGIE throughout her demanding ‘Dancing With the Stars’ training schedule, calling it a category disruptor that sustained her without the crash associated with legacy energy drinks.
- The partnership positions GORGIE for accelerated growth in a segment projected to reach $125 billion globally by 2030, as consumers increasingly abandon sugar-heavy legacy brands in favor of functional, cleaner alternatives.
The energy drink category is undergoing a generational reset. Legacy brands built on sugar, artificial sweeteners, and aggressive marketing are losing ground to a new wave of functional beverages that lead with wellness, cleaner ingredients, and community. GORGIE, launched by Michelle Cordeiro Grant in 2023, was built from day one with that shift in mind — targeting women with a product that offers 150 milligrams of caffeine from green tea, B vitamins, L-Theanine, and biotin, without the side effects that have made traditional energy drinks a polarizing category.
Alix Earle’s addition to GORGIE’s investor roster marks a significant moment for a brand that has been deliberately building through influencer relationships since its founding. Earle brings something beyond follower count: a stress-tested product story.
“I have been a consumer of the brand for years, but my time on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ really allowed me to stress-test the product. GORGIE didn’t just keep me awake — it sustained a demanding training schedule without the crash I’ve experienced from other energy drinks. I quickly realized that GORGIE is more than an energy drink, it’s a category disruptor, and I’m thrilled to work alongside Michelle to scale her vision for the brand.”
— Alix Earle, Strategic Investor, GORGIE
GORGIE’s retail footprint has already proven the brand’s early market viability. The drink is available at Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts, Erewhon, H-E-B, Whole Foods, and Target, with distribution support from New York’s Big Geyser and national wholesalers UNFI and KeHE. The brand holds the title of the number one fastest-growing energy drink in the natural channel — a distinction that signals genuine consumer pull rather than shelf-placement momentum.
Earle’s investment follows her recent portfolio moves in the beverage space, including an investment in SipMARGS and a collaboration with functional soda brand poppi. Her strategic profile is becoming that of a savvy early-stage consumer brand investor.
“Alix’s authenticity, energy and dedication to her craft make her an ideal partner as we grow the brand. I’ve watched her evolve from a college student to a media mogul and fantastic representative of the next generation of business leaders. We are just so thrilled to have her join our team, mission and journey in spreading energy with wellness to all.”
— Michelle Cordeiro Grant, Founder & CEO, GORGIE
The broader energy drink market context makes the timing of Earle’s involvement particularly relevant. The category is projected to reach $125 billion globally by 2030, but the brands best positioned to capture that growth are not the incumbents — they’re the challengers that can speak authentically to wellness-conscious consumers who have already soured on conventional options. GORGIE’s formulation, distribution infrastructure, and influencer-first community give it a credible path to that consumer.
Earle’s role within the brand will center on brand strategy, new product development, and reinforcing GORGIE’s three core pillars: wellness, community, and transparency — areas where her existing personal brand already has strong equity.
GORGIE’s partnership with Alix Earle is a sign of how seriously the brand is taking its next phase. By securing a strategic investor whose product experience is genuine and whose audience is massive, GORGIE has acquired something more durable than a media impression: a story that holds up to scrutiny. In a category where credibility is increasingly the competitive advantage, that may prove to be the most valuable thing Earle brings to the table.
