How Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila Is Setting New Standards In Modern Brand Building

Coachella might be over, but 818 Tequila’s momentum sure isn’t. Fresh off its third annual 818 Outpost at the festival, the brand will attend the Nashville Speedway Race on May 30. This marks its first national sports partnership, teaming up with NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger and tapping into another cohort of 21+ hip consumers, a strategy that’s inherent to the brand’s vision of being part of cultural, community-driven events.

Since 818 launched five years ago, founder Kendall Jenner has been infusing more than her celebrity status into this venture, with a recipe that seems to be paying off: 818 has become one of the fastest-growing brands across both the tequila and overall spirits categories in the U.S., enjoying double-digit volume growth in the past year despite a market slowdown. At a time when staying relevant and authentic seems to be a hit or miss for most brands, 818 is proving successful at doing just that, shaping a lifestyle brand built for the next generation of alcohol consumers.

Designing A Strong Brand Ecosystem To Drive Emotional Connection

For the third year in a row, 818 was on everyone’s social media feed during Coachella following its 818 Outpost activation. The event felt like a festival in itself, with live entertainment, food and drink options and many lounging areas, curating a one-stop-shop for festival essentials. Rhode returned with its now iconic photobooth, where festival goers were gifted a mini 818 shot and lip gloss, while select brands with a similar target demographic each had their gifting booths to interact with the crowd, made up mostly of influencers. The overall space was a natural extension of 818 Tequila’s universe, with many visual cues — including a vintage car — echoing the brand’s identity and its founder’s inspiration, a hint to Jenner’s own passion for cars. Every spot was designed to drive engagement, on and offline.

“Our vision was to transport consumers into a Slim Aarons 70s’ postcard”, says Jenny Brown, Executive Creative Director at Calabasas Beverage Company, the parent company of 818 Tequila. This vision aligns well with the brand’s essence, which seeks to mirror the nostalgia felt when looking back at cherished memories. “When we craft how the brand comes to life visually across various moments, we really do tap into nostalgia and the specific visual identity of a place or a memory to drive an emotional connection with the consumer”, shares Jenner when asked about the brand’s personality and how it manifests in real life. Creative design is such a big part of the brand’s strategy to build traction that all of the work is done in-house. “We design everything with such detail, from cocktail napkins to brand assets meant for retail…it’s all thought for memorable photogenic moments,” Brown explains.

Style and aesthetics are clearly instrumental for brand awareness and experience. And while designing distinct visual and immersive experiences clearly benefits 818’s social media reach (it is the most talked about tequila brand on TikTok despite having no official presence on the app), it has another objective tied to one of the brand’s pillars: to inspire the sense of togetherness on which brand communities are built on.

Showing Up In Fun And Authentic Ways To Grow As A Community

Besides musical festivals, the 818 Tequila College Tour has been another effective way to connect with 21+ consumers. The tour, which Jenner attends and promotes on social media, has allowed the brand to create a fun, authentic connection with consumers and bring together the college community through a relevant and approachable brand activation. Alcohol is about bringing people together and creating memorable moments, which is what these ephemeral events want to achieve. That’s also why the creative team is so intertwined with the brand’s marketing strategy, with Kathleen Braine, the brand’s Chief Marketing Officer, sharing how every single touchpoint is thought with community in mind: “curating moments that are magical and bringing people together is at the core of what we do. We cannot separate community from the way that we show up”, she says, with Brown adding that “every touchpoint has a specific community-driven hospitality experience in mind”. And Kendall Jenner is committed to showing up and interacting with her brand’s community, more often attending pop-ups, tastings and other activations than not.

In fact, it seems Jenner is influencing the brand in more ways than one. Her role as a woman entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry inspired 25-year-old motorsports driver Toni Breidinger to seek 818 as her official sponsor in NASCAR, another industry where women are heavily underrepresented. The partnership is both visually aligned from a branding perspective and strategically relevant: “We already have an important customer base, but we are looking to scale and reach new consumers,” says Braine. As NASCAR works to attract a younger, more diverse audience, 818 is seizing the opportunity, kicking off the collaboration with a VIP experience and an after-party at the Nashville Speedway race at the end of the month.

Curating Elevated Moments That Turn The Mundane Into Something Special

What stands out when speaking with the 818 team is the genuine intent to be a purveyor of special memories that will remain in consumers’ minds long after the moment has passed. The campus tour might tap into a party-minded audience, but the brand is just as focused on elevating casual nights at home with friends and family, setting it apart from traditional spirits brands. When asked about why consumers would choose 818, Jenner responds: “we created 818 for magical moments spent between friends and family, so I love seeing how that has come to life in different ways for our consumers over the years. 818 is so versatile – we see people doing things like making margaritas at home, sipping it neat on the couch for movie night, or drinking a fun 818 cocktail out at a restaurant with friends. We love being part of people’s big celebrations like birthdays and bachelorette parties, but I also love that we are a part of their quieter relaxing moments as well.”

This focus on versatility makes sense, especially as younger consumers increasingly lean towards more mindful drinking. Non-alcoholic beverages have grown +30% in the past year, with a clear mindset shift towards moderation and wellness, two values that resonate well with the 29 year-old founder. “I’ve always been someone who values balance, and I think that resonates with how a lot of younger consumers approach drinking today. I think the way 818 showcases the versatility of tequila really aligns well with a deliberate consumption mindset,” Jenner tells us. Having publicly expressed her preference for staying in over late-night parties, she naturally embodies this sense of mindfulness and balance, which is being reflected into brand collaborations.

Earlier this year, 818 Tequila and ready-to-wear label Leset teamed up for a limited-edition collection of leisure-wear apparel, with a campaign featuring Jenner and her friends enjoying 818 cocktails and having fun while staying-in. The brand also partnered with Rao’s Specialty Foods last year for a tequila version of the famous pasta alla vodka, instantly unlocking a new consumption occasion with the bonding experiences created by cooking and hosting friends over for a meal. Whether it’s at home, a festival or a college bar, 818 Tequila really aims to be the go-to drink to elevate bonding moments between friends. While most tequila brands focus on craftsmanship, partying, or culture and lifestyle, 818 seems to find a balance between all three.

Many will say it’s easy to build a brand when you’re a celebrity. It might be true, but it’s certainly not a guarantee of success. In under five years, 818 Tequila has become a compelling case study in modern brand building, focusing not solely on visibility but on cultural relevance, emotional connection and strategic community-building. With a distinct vision and strong creative execution, the brand is demonstrating just how well it can elevate a quality product into a lifestyle that feels both aspirational and accessible. And in the process, Jenner has proven a savvy business leader who’s involved in every part of the creative and strategic decision-making of the brand, quietly defying the assumptions that often come with celebrity-led ventures.