NZ company AF enlists Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner to promote its alcohol-free drinks

Khloé Kardashian has been promoting New Zealand alcohol-free drinks brand AF on Instagram. Photo / @khloekardashian

Two of the most influential women in the world have used their powerful social media platforms to promote Kiwi alcohol-free drink brand AF, with Khloé Kardashian sharing the content with her millions of Instagram followers.

For AF, the partnership was strategic. “This campaign is to help us gain the brand awareness that we need to get AF to the next level of growth. With over 365 million followers between Khloé and Kris [Jenner], we’re confident it will help us generate that awareness,” AF founder Lisa King told the Herald.

“Since we launched in the US in April 2023, we quickly learnt that the use of celebrities and their influence is incredibly powerful – far more so than in New Zealand.”

Members of the Kardashian family are hugely impactful on social media, particularly Instagram, with fans and followers looking to them for lifestyle cues and buying products they wear or recommend.

Brands they endorse or are paid to promote see a huge boost in sales, and their appearance directly influences beauty trends.

AF worked with LA-based Kiwi Steven Fernandez from New Ground to bring the partnership to life. “Both Khloé and Kris were quick to sign off on the idea,” said King. “It was filmed a few weeks later in their studio in LA.”

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A post shared by Khloé Kardashian (@khloekardashian)

The celebrity promotion comes after an “incredible year” for the brand.

AF, a colloquial acronym that stands for “as f***” and also represents the product’s “alcohol-free” nature, was founded in Auckland in 2020 after King (founder of shuttered social enterprise Eat My Lunch) quit drinking in 2019 and decided to pour her entrepreneurial energy into creating booze-free beverages.

The concept is not to encourage abstinence, but rather offer an alternative for the “sober curious” and encourage healthier behaviour around alcohol.

New Zealand’s drinking habits have been shifting in recent years. Adolescent drinking is in decline and many young Kiwis are giving up booze altogether.

Last year was telling; a study by ACC revealed alcohol is our most harmful drug, a Ministry of Health-commissioned report estimated the cost of alcohol harm at around $9.1 billion, and Stats NZ data showed a 4.3% decline in alcohol available for consumption – the biggest drop in 15 years.

Alcohol-free beverages have become increasingly available and popular; there are 0% wines and beer, zero-proof spirits, sophisticated mocktails, and booze-free RTDs like AF’s.

Its canned drinks are made with a 100% natural botanical extract the company calls Afterglow that “mimics the pleasant warmth of drinking alcohol without the alcohol”.

The company opened an alcohol-free bottle shop in Ponsonby in 2022, and in April 2023 the brand entered the US market.

AF founder Lisa King at the company's Ponsonby store. Photo / Jed Bradley

“The goals for AF in the US haven’t changed since we launched,” said King. “Get AF everywhere and get AF famous.”

It’s now stocked in 3000 stores across 42 states, and King said it’s on track to triple its revenue in the market.

“We’ve seen huge consumer uptake of alcohol-free drinks and what was a trend just two years ago, is now a cultural and behavioural shift with the way people are drinking, or not. 2025 will be looking to continue the momentum and keep ahead of the slew of new brands launching in this space, with potential of another new overseas market for AF.”

It’s not the first time Khloé Kardashian or her relatives have partnered with a Kiwi company.

In 2020, she joined New Zealand collagen brand Dose & Co, founded by Libby Matthews, as an “equity partner and global spokesperson”, telling the Herald it all happened after she was sent some of the range by umbrella company Zuru Edge.

Sister Kourtney Kardashian became a brand ambassador for skincare brand Manuka Doctor in 2016, saying she’d used the products for years before being asked to represent the brand.

Kourtney Kardashian fronted a campaign for Manuka Doctor in 2016.

Levin-based Rebecca Cass’ Qula kombucha tablets were featured on Kourtney’s Poosh website in 2021.

In 2024, Kourtney also shared two products from Pāpāmoa skincare brand Pure Mama, belly oil and nipple butter, on Poosh after they were recommended to her while pregnant. Pure Mama founder Lara Henderson told the Bay of Plenty Times that sales went “through the roof”.

New Zealand entrepreneur Iyia Liu saw a similar lift in sales for her waist trainers after she paid Jenner almost $300,000 for an Instagram post in 2016. Liu sold $3.5 million of them in a year.