Pizzaslime – loved by the Kardashians, and influencers Addison Rae and Emma Chamberlain, the sky’s the limit for streetwear brand
- Co-founder Matthew Hwang said Pizzaslime exploded during the pandemic thanks to the rise of TikTok, where it has one million followers
- Their success has propelled them to new ventures such as their New York Fashion Week debut and an expansion into film and television
Wearing the Bernie Sanders inauguration meme, sleeping on a pillow emblazoned with the Elon Musk tweet “Bitcoin is my safe word,” and donning an “Oprah 2020” hoodie are all possible because of Pizzaslime.
Even the website for the streetwear brand and creative agency, where you’ll see much of the merch mentioned above is sold out, is a play on the gossip website TMZ, filled with satirical articles and ads. “Sometimes we’re not even sure if it’s going to connect with people all the time,” said Nick “Stove” Santiago, one of the brand’s millennial co-founders. “We're trying and having a good time with it. And it works.”
The merchandise line, founded in 2013, has acted as both a sly observer and ironic commenter on political, economic, and cultural moments that have gone viral. By offering an implicit critique of media consumption and internet and celebrity obsession, the merch itself tends to go viral.
In 2020 alone, the clothing side of Pizzaslime raked in US$2 million in sales, peaking in April, according to screen shots verified by Business Insider (they declined to share total business revenue overall). That’s a lot of stonk for a brand with only two employees: the 33-year-old Stove and 34-year-old Hwang.