In digital times, we are all brands. Our consumption elections are much more than transactions: they are mirrors that reflect who we are and, above all, who we want to be. Few things are as deep as consumption: it projects us not only in the present, but towards the future version we aspire.
There appears the Brand Stretch: take the identity of a brand – be a company, a celebrity or a creator – and extend it to new, often unexpected categories. We do not talk about a simple product variation, but about colonizing new territories. In simple terms, a Brand Stretch consists of using a name or identity that already has prestige and confidence to launch a product in another category. It works because it takes advantage of the accumulated symbolic capital: the audience has already “bought” the story, now buys the extension. The risk, of course, is great: If the new contradicts what the brand represents, the Boomerang effect can be devastating.
It is not easy to believe in these times: traditional religions lose relevance, politics generates distrust and AI can make us doubt what we see or read. But the desire for faith does not disappear. It moves. Today many brands and celebrities occupy that place of secular guides: they show us how to dress, how to take care of ourselves, even how to explore our intimacy.
Therefore, a Brand Stretch is no longer only a marketing movement, but a secular ritual: a way of channeling our need to believe in something. And the impossible becomes possible: Martha Stewart speaking of hair longevity at age 83, Harry Styles Throwing design vibrators, the Kardashians turning their aesthetics into a global aspiration model. It is not only consumption: it is secular faith in the promise that each purchase brings me closer to the best version of myself.
Examples that work. Harry Styles with PLEASING He began offering skincare enamels and products, and expanded to sexual wellness with total coherence with respect to his narrative of freedom and fluidity. Martha Stewart, cooking and home icon, found in the world the way to transfer his reputation to the universe of longevity, reinforcing his credibility in healthy lifestyle. The Kardashians are the living manual of the Brand Stretch: from family reality to global beauty empire, Shapewear, medical cosmetics and more, building on the aspiration and aesthetics they had already consolidated. Gwyneth Paltrow with Goop It also represents a clear case: personal Newsletter became a Wellness brand with products range from creams to intimate gadgets, always under the umbrella of premium well -being.
When it fails. Falling attempts are also part of the history of Brand Stretch, and some were immortalized in the Museum of Failure, created by the Swedish psychologist Samuel West. This museum collects more than 150 products and services that were launched with great expectations and ended in resounding failure.
Among the most famous pieces is the lasagate Colgate: the brand associated with toothpaste tried to stretch to frozen foods, but for consumers it was impossible to separate the idea of ”dentifric flavor” of a plate of food. Another case is Adidas perfume, which sought to capitalize on the prestige of the sports brand in the field of fragrances, but the collective imaginary associated it more to sweat and physical effort than to a desirable aroma. The same problem had the bicycle Harley-Davidson: The brand of the roar, the infinite routes and The rebellion could not stretch with credibility towards an object associated with childhood and innocence.
The confidence factor. The success or failure of a Brand Stretch is ultimately explained by trust. He Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 – a global survey that measures how much confidence people have in institutions such as governments, media, NGOs and brands – reveals that, since 2022, Lto confidence in brands in general rose to 68 %, while in traditional institutions it remains stagnant around 55 %. This differential is key: people trust more on brands that already use that historically considered social pillars. That means that when a brand stretches, not only capitalizes reputation: it also occupies an empty space left by institutions that no longer inspire.
In addition, trust varies for generations and explains the power of the phenomenon. SOrder different sources, 87 % of the Z generation would buy products recommended by influencers, and 94 % trust them more than in traditional advertising. Among Millennials, one in two claims to trust influencers more than brand ads.
Brand Stretch is much more than a marketing tactic: it is an act of contemporary faith. We trust brands, influencers and celebrities because we perceive them as aspirational mirrors. And in an era where AI erases the borders between the credible and the impossible, that trust becomes the new spiritual capital: DWe hope in them the hope of transforming ourselves, to stretch ourselves to whom we dream of being.
*Ximena Díaz Alarcón is a founder and CEO Deyouniversal.
By Ximena Díaz Alarcón
