Keeping UpIf you think there's nothing more interesting than what each of the Kardashians (and Jenners) are doing, thinking, or saying at any given moment, these lists are for you.
Vote up the ideas they should've known would krash and burn.
The Kardashian/Jenner clan is collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Some of that income comes from their long-running reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but most of that money is made through their numerous business ventures. But not every Kardashian endorsed-product is a jackpot. Blame it on the Kardashian Kurse, but the sketchiest business deals done by the Kardashians have sunk like stones. Some of these products are still out there on the market, some are pending litigation, and some no longer exist.
On paper, it makes sense for the Kardashians to get into the product business. They have millions of followers on social media, making them seemingly ideal marketers. Combine their online presence with their popular reality TV show, where their products are often "casually" talked about, and the Kardashians can reach millions of potential buyers without a company even bothering to launch an ad campaign.
All of the Kardashians' bad business ideas probably sounded great at first. But between all of the beauty items, clothing lines, and diet products, there are bound to be some stinkers out there. These are the all-time worst Kardashian business ventures that probably should never have seen the light of day.
In 2010, the Kardashian sisters launched a prepaid Mastercardcalled the Kardashian Kard. The card immediately met with heavy criticism due to its high fees and the sisters' marketing strategy to target a young audience. The negative press spread fast, and the Kardashians opted to get as far away from the plastic as possible. The Kardashian Kard was removed from the market after about one month.
Celent analyst Zilvinas Bareisis said of the Kardashian Kard:
I am baffled - this card doesn't seem to make sense at all, it appears to be targeted at teenagers, yet with ridiculous fees. If there is such a thing as a luxury prepaid market, then it's not going to be the teens.
In 2012, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé Kardashian, asserting that they made "unsubstantiated, false and misleading claims" in ads and interviews for the weight loss product QuickTrim. The sisters claimed that the product would aid in losing weight and curbing cravings.
However, after studying the product, the FDA revealed that the main ingredient in QuickTrim was just good old fashioned caffeine.
In 2011, Radiancy sued Kim Kardashian for making false claims about their competitor's hair removal product Tria. Radiancy alleges that Kim, who served as a spokeswoman for Tria, publicly said she used the product on her entire body, and if a person used Tria, they would never need shaving cream or razors again.
There were a couple of major issues with Kim's claims. One is that Tria itself says that it's not safe to use their product on the face, neck, ears, or head. Additionally, Tria actually advises using their product along with shaving.
Wearing a pair of Sketcher's Shape-Ups will not give you a butt like Kim Kardashian. But that didn't stop the company from claiming that the shoes would assist in weight loss and strengthen the stomach, leg, and butt muscles - and doubling down on the duplicity by having Kardashian herself serve as brand spokesman.
Kylie Jenner's makeup company, Kylie Cosmetics, is definitely successful. But that doesn't mean her products are universally beloved. Take her makeup brushes, for instance. Jenner announced the set in December 2017, and fans were thrilled - until they saw that the 16-piece set retailed for $360.
Kylie quickly went on the defensive and began tweeting about how high-quality the brushes were. But some consumers still weren't having it.
Kendall and Kylie launched a line of "vintage" t-shirts in 2017, decorated with images of artists or bands like Tupac Shakur, The Doors, and Notorious B.I.G. Each shirt was embellished with either a "kk" logo or picture of Kylie or Kendall, and cost $125.
Unfortunately for the girls, this particular attempt at entrepreneurship was met with instant criticism, particularly from the family members of the artists. "I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the passings of 2pac and my Son Christopher to sell a t-shirt," Biggie's mom Voletta Wallace posted on Instagram. "This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!"
After getting thorough schooling from countless outlets and individuals, the sisters took to Twitter to post an apology: "These designs were not well thought out and we deeply apologize to anyone that has been upset and/or offended, especially to the families of the artists." The sisters also said that the shirts were pulled and would no longer be sold.
