“VAGINA! VAGINA! VAGINA!” That, in a nutshell (possibly the wrong metaphor), was the key to success for Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand, Goop, for many years: headline-grabbing wacky health advice and weird products that were often vagina-adjacent.
Paltrow once spelled out this strategy in a lecture to a Harvard Business School (HBS) class. It was great publicity, she explained, when people mocked Goop for doing things such as urging women to steam their vaginas to balance their hormones; the free PR caused “cultural firestorms” and she could “monetise those eyeballs”. According to a 2018 New York Times profile, Paltrow followed these nuggets of wisdom by cupping her hands around her mouth and yodelling “vagina” three times, as if it were some sort of magical incantation that made money rain down on you. (I’ve tried it at home, it didn’t work for me.)
Paltrow wasn’t invited to HBS for her yodelling skills. Despite all the mockery, the actor turned entrepreneur built Goop into a powerhouse which, at one point, was valued at $250m (£199m). Now, however, there are signs that the 16-year-old company’s glory days may be over: there have been three rounds of staff cuts this year, and a restructuring of the business. A lower-priced skincare and supplement line called good.clean.goop that launched at Target and Amazon last year was reportedly something of a flop. There are also concerns that Paltrow, who hasn’t done much acting recently, has been sidetracked from her business by her role in the forthcoming film Marty Supreme.
These setbacks have led to a flurry of headlines suggesting the company may be in its death throes. “Is Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop empire about to fall?” Grazia asked last week. “Is the gilt finally wearing off Goop?” the New York Post similarly demanded. The short answer is: probably not. The brand, which perhaps expanded too aggressively (did it really need to get into meal deliveries?) and which is now operating in a very crowded wellness market, certainly faces challenges. But Paltrow has a gift for monetising eyeballs and the world seems to have an insatiable appetite for kooky wellness gimmicks. I have a feeling Goop’s present worries are nothing that a spot of corporate mindfulness and some more vagina-themed candles can’t fix.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
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