Gwyneth Paltrow gave an update on her company Goop in a cover story for Vanity Fair.
Paltrow founded the lifestyle brand Goop in 2008 and it has raised more than $140 million from investors including Greycroft and G9 Ventures, according to Pitchbook. The brand is often regarded as one of the first examples of a successful lifestyle company founded by an actor.
However, the company had some shake-ups in the past few years. Last June, industry insider publication Puck said that Goop sales had been flat since 2021 and that its beauty line was also not doing too well. Then, just months later in September, Goop laid off 18% of its 216-person workforce, followed by another round of layoffs in November. Back in 2021, Business Insider also reported that there was high turnover. It’s no wonder think pieces started to pop up questioning if Goop had lost its edge.
In a wide-ranging interview, Paltrow once again sought to dispel those rumors. Previously, a spokesperson told outlets reporting on the layoffs that the company was undergoing a restructuring and that it was still seeing revenue growth. Paltrow gave more insight into that, telling Vanity Fair that the company was undergoing changes as it sought to optimize its EBITDA — otherwise known as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, the measure used to help show a company’s profitability.
Goop did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Although Goop didn’t reveal if it’s profitable or not, a spokesperson told Vanity Fair that 2024 was one of its best years yet and that revenue was up 10 percent from 2023. There are some outward signs of good progress, too. The company has its Goop Beauty, a fashion unit called G.Label, which was launched in 2016, and Goop Kitchen, a home delivery service that launched in 2021, and which recently closed a $15 million round from investors including Travis Kalanick. A spokesperson said all of these brands are seeing growth, too.
The world of celebrity wellness has changed a lot since Goop first launched, mostly in that celebrities realize billions of dollars could be made if their brand is successful. There is now more competition than ever for Goop, which once stole headlines for its products that ranged from yoni eggs to a $274 peptide serum. In beauty, Hailey Beiber has Rhode, Rihanna has Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin. Even Meghan Markle is looking to launch her lifestyle brand As, Ever, in the upcoming months.
Though Goop is clearly still trying to once again find its footing in the now multi-billion-dollar celebrity wellness landscape, Paltrow doesn’t see the competition as a zero-sum game.
“I think there’s always more than enough to go around. Everybody deserves an attempt at everything they want to try,” she told Vanity Fair.
