The D’Amelio family has built one of the most followed and lucrative social media empires, with sisters Charli and Dixie being the highest-paid earners on the short-form video platform TikTok.
The family’s next venture is aiming to leverage that knowledge of social media to create new brands for the creator economy.
“We started off with Charli doing $50 TikTok promotions and then it moved to bigger deals,” said Marc D’Amelio on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday. “Now we’re starting this brand company where we’re going to go out and create a bunch of different brands and own the IP.”
The new project, D’Amelio Brands, will create its own brands in a variety of industries including fashion, beauty and lifestyle that are 100% owned by the family.
The venture also announced a $6 million seed round which includes investors Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt and Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue.
The D’Amelio family first earned notoriety when their youngest daughter, Charli, gained popularity on TikTok, at one point becoming the most-followed creator on the platform. Charli and her sister Dixie were named the highest-earning TikTok-ers in 2021, making a combined $27.5 million, according to Forbes.
“TikTok has been incredible,” Marc D’Amelio told “Squawk Box.” “I think as they start to get involved in doing more ads, and you can link Shopify up to it, it’s going to be a revenue stream for big creators and small creators.”
Since the family’s rise to fame, they have been featured in their own reality television show on Hulu, “The D’Amelio Show,” which has been renewed for a second season. The sisters have also worked with various fashion brands including Prada, Burberry, and Puma.
The D’Amelio’s are hoping to leverage their expertise and knowledge of the creator economy with this new venture proving the value that some brands will pay for social media exposure. Marc D’Amelio told “Squawk Box” that his daughters can earn up to six figures for each of their posts on social media.
In March, they also announced the launch of the new $25 million VC fund aimed at backing high-growth companies with a focus on women and minority-led startups.
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has shaken up the social media landscape and is now disrupting other industries as it has become a hit-making machine. Last fall, the app said it topped 1 billion monthly users. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 67% of teens in the U.S. use TikTok, and 16% said they are on it almost constantly.
The creator economy is a growing force in the markets. The global market size is estimated to be over $13 billion, according to Statista, and is primarily focused on a younger generation, a key demographic for Charli and Dixie, who are 18 and 21, respectively.
