Kim Kardashian launched her UPDATE energy drink campaign on Thursday morning with an Instagram video that immediately started circulating across social media, and the reason it spread so fast was not the product; it was the delivery. Standing behind a podium in front of cameras, Kardashian removes a stylish pair of sunglasses to reveal a more bookish pair underneath, a visual gag about what she has allegedly had done to her face. She delivers a deadpan statement.
Attorney Gloria Allred appears, looks up at Kardashian standing in a glass box installed in a gallery like a piece of art, and asks: “Did she even ever pass the bar?” The music stops. Kardashian looks directly at the camera and says, “No, I didn’t pass the bar. I raised it.” The campaign was directed by Daniel Sachon and produced by OBB Bolded, with executive production credits going to Michael D. Ratner, Scott Ratner, and Leonor Castro. It is genuinely funny, which is not something that can be said about most celebrity product launches.
Kim Kardashian UPDATE Energy Drink
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Kardashian joined UPDATE as co-founder earlier this year after discovering the drink as a consumer in 2023. The brand was originally developed by CEO Daniel Solomons with a simple thesis: energy should work with your body rather than against it. Kardashian was brought in to overhaul the visual identity, minimalist packaging, and long-term brand strategy. She failed the California bar exam in July 2025, having previously failed the baby bar three times before passing in 2021, and has since decided to wait until at least 2027 to try again.
That biography is precisely what makes the campaign work. The bar exam jokes land because they are true, and the product positioning around sustained focus and mental clarity lands because Kardashian’s actual life, four children, multiple business ventures, deferred legal ambitions, makes the case for why she needs something that works without crashing.
What Is Actually in the Can
UPDATE is caffeine-free, which immediately distinguishes it from virtually every other product in the energy drink category. The active ingredient is paraxanthine, the primary metabolite that the human body naturally converts caffeine into after ingestion. When you drink a cup of coffee, your liver converts the caffeine into three compounds: paraxanthine, theobromine, and theophylline.
Theobromine and theophylline are associated with the uncomfortable side effects of caffeine, anxiety, nausea, and rapid heartbeat. Paraxanthine is responsible for the energy and focus benefits. UPDATE bypasses the conversion step by delivering paraxanthine directly, which is the scientific basis for the brand’s claim of smooth, sustained energy without jitters, crashes, or sleep disruption.
The full ingredient profile also includes alpha-GPC, a compound commonly used in cognitive performance supplements, and sucralose as a sweetener. The drink is zero sugar, zero calories, and contains no artificial flavors or colors, according to the brand’s official materials.
Jonathan Jennings, a board-certified internist with Medical Offices of Manhattan, told Healthline that appropriate dosing for paraxanthine is still being investigated and recommended speaking to a healthcare provider before incorporating it into a routine. Kardashian has described using it before workouts and throughout days that run from school drop-off through business management and beyond.
The Retail Rollout and What Comes Next
UPDATE launched nationwide at Walmart in March 2026 as part of one of the retailer’s largest beverage rollouts to date, initially available in over 4,000 stores. The brand is expanding into 13,000 retail locations nationwide through early Q4 2026, and the drink is also available directly through the brand’s webstore. The Walmart partnership gives UPDATE mass-market reach that most functional beverage brands at this stage of development cannot access without years of distribution building.
Kardashian has been seen drinking UPDATE in her Hulu reality series The Kardashians, which generated organic product visibility before the formal campaign launch. The satirical press conference campaign released Thursday represents the brand’s first major creative push since the January co-founder announcement, and its decision to lead with humor rather than science or aspiration is a calculated one.
The jokes are self-aware, the production is polished, and the central line, “I didn’t pass the bar. I raised it”, is the kind of quotable moment that social media amplifies without requiring any additional media spend. For a product launch in 2026, that is the most efficient marketing available.
Featured image: UPDATE
