When Serena Williams walked off the tennis court after the 2022 US Open, she left fans wondering if they’d ever see her play professionally again. But while we still don’t really know if we’ll have to learn to live without her on the court, we do know one thing for sure –Serena Williams is not just an amazing tennis player, she’s a damn good businesswoman too.
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The tennis star’s latest entrepreneurial endeavor is as co-founder of Will Perform, a brand of cruelty-free products for topical pain relief and muscle care. The products dropped Thursday on Will Perform’s website, and they will be sold at Target locations beginning December 18.
For this project, Williams drew on her experience as an athlete who has struggled to find the best products to support her recovery. She teamed up with Eric Ryan, a consumer product expert who also co-founded Method eco-friendly soaps and Olly gummy vitamins. With Will Perform, the pair wanted to breathe new life into traditional topical pain relief products and appeal to more women and younger consumers.
Williams was influential in the packaging design, making sure the Will Relieve products didn’t look like your grandparent’s Ben-Gay.
“I wanted to create something that felt different and felt fresh and felt exciting for Gen-Z or for Millennials to use,” she says.
Ryan adds that their products, which support “proactive and reactive relief,” will speak to younger consumers who lead active lifestyles. “My thesis has been that Millennials starting out really view health and wellness as a lifestyle pursuit,” he said.
Serena’s impressive portfolio of business ventures already includes a body-positive clothing brand S by Serena, a children’s book, “The Adventures of Qai Qai,” and an accompanying online platform, and Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on opening doors for businesses owned by women and people of color. And she holds it all down while being a wife and mom to 5-year-old Olympia.
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