YouTube has become the largest platform and offers creators many opportunities to make a living. In June, the company reported that the creative ecosystem has increased U.S. GDP by more than $55 billion and created more than 490,000 full-time jobs.
However, many YouTubers are reducing their reliance on ad revenue and brand deals. There are several reasons for this change. First, advertising revenue can be unpredictable. YouTube continually updates its policies, which can make it difficult for some creators to secure ads on their videos, which can negatively impact their revenue. They also realize that income from these streams can disappear unexpectedly.
Recognizing the volatility of platform-dependent revenue, many YouTubers are no longer just creators. These are vertically integrated media companies with parallel businesses, such as product lines, brick-and-mortar ventures, and consumer brands, that can survive algorithm changes and policy changes.
In some cases, these side hustles are growing faster and more sustainably than your YouTube channel.
mr beast
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast and with 442 million subscribers, isn’t just one of YouTube’s biggest stars, he’s also its most active entrepreneur.
ShopMrBeast started as a retail store in 2018 and has expanded to include the now three-year-old snack brand Feastables.
Feastables’ first product was a chocolate bar called “MrBeast Bar,” which generated over $10 million in sales within 72 hours and sold over 1 million bars at launch. As of today, Feastables is more profitable than YouTube content or Prime Video’s “Beast Games” competition series. In 2024, Feastables generated approximately $250 million in revenue and a profit of more than $20 million, while its media business lost approximately $80 million.
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Other ventures include his packaged food brand Lunchly (co-founded with YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI), toy lines MrBeast Lab and MrBeast Burger, and analytics platform Viewstats. He even tried to join the American Investor Consortium, an investor group led by Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley, to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Now, MrBeast is expanding into new areas. He plans to create a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which could involve partnering with one of the major carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. Additionally, the YouTuber was also seen filing a trademark application for a mobile app that provides banking, financial advisory, and cryptocurrency exchange services.
emma chamberlain
Emma Chamberlain rose to fame as a teenage vlogger in 2016 and now has over 12 million subscribers and a successful career in the drinks industry.
She launched her coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee, in 2019, offering a variety of products including cold brew, coffee pods, ground and whole bean options, black tea and matcha. Notably, other YouTubers have followed suit, including JackSepticeye’s Top of the Morning Coffee brand and Philip DeFranco’s Wake and Make Coffee.
Chamberlain Coffee had a big year in 2023, launching ready-to-drink canned lattes and reaching sales of about $20 million, according to Forbes. The brand has experienced even more significant growth recently, opening its first physical store in January. Previously, it only existed online and in retail stores like Target, Sprouts, and Walmart.
Chamberlain Coffee faced some difficulties last year due to supplier issues, but is expected to recover and is expected to see revenue growth of more than 50% by 2025, reaching more than $33 million, according to Business Insider. The brand also aims to be profitable by 2026.
logan paul
Although Logan Paul (23.6 million subscribers) is currently known for his wrestling career, he was previously known for a number of controversies, including his infamous 2017 video and allegedly fraudulent NFT project “CryptoZoo.”
He also gained attention for his energy drink brand Prime, which quickly became a viral success in 2022. The brand, co-founded by YouTuber KSI, had sales of over $1.2 billion in 2023. This number far exceeds the income most content creators earn from views, ads, and brand deals. But it has since faced declining sales, regulatory scrutiny over its high caffeine content, and lawsuits from business partners. Sales were particularly weak in the UK, with sales decreasing by approximately 70% from 2023 to 2024.
His other venture, Maverick Apparel, generated profits of $30 million to $40 million in 2020.
His younger brother Jake Paul is also involved in various businesses, including co-founder of Anti Fund, which has touted past investments in OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, and more. Young Paul also owns a grooming line called W and a mobile betting platform called Betr.
ryan’s world
Ryan’s World is hosted by 13-year-old Ryan Kaji, another well-known YouTuber with an incredible following. Ryan rose to fame through toy reviews and unboxing videos, attracting an audience of approximately 40 million young adults.
In addition to his success on YouTube, Kazi has expanded his brand through a line of toys and apparel sold in major retail chains, reportedly generating more than $250 million in revenue in 2020. Since then, Kazi and his family have diversified their businesses, including launching an app that provides TV programming and educational content for children.
Rosanna Pansino
Rosanna Pansino is a popular YouTube baker known for her baking tutorials and themed sweets. With 14.8 million subscribers, she rose to fame with recipes inspired by pop culture, games, and movies.
Besides YouTube, Pansino has released several cookbooks that received positive reviews and expanded her Nerdy Nummies brand. She also sells baking tools at several retailers, including Amazon.
Other YouTubers are venturing into cookware and food as an additional source of income. Notable examples include Andrew Rea, a chef and author known by the pseudonym Babish, who launched his own brand Babish Cookware in 2021, and comedy duo Rhett and Link, who sell mish-mash cereal.
Michelle Phan
Michelle Phan rose to fame with her makeup tutorials in 2007, making her one of the first beauty influencers to effectively monetize her content. In addition to her successful career on YouTube, she co-founded the beauty subscription service Ipsy, which became extremely popular. Fan also has her own makeup line called EM Cosmetics.
Huda Kattan
Huda Kattan founded the globally recognized beauty brand Huda Beauty in 2013. She sold a minority stake to private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners in 2017, but bought it back in June after pressure from investors to bring in senior executives clashed with her vision for a fast-moving brand that reportedly brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in sales each year.
Many influencers are launching their own makeup brands. Other famous makeup brands launched by YouTube influencers include Jeffree Star Cosmetics and Tati Beauty.
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