New Delhi: Cricket seems to have reigned supreme in terms of brand endorsements, yet Bollywood emerged as the shining star, witnessing the highest growth in endorsements (value and volumes) in 2023.

Former India captain Virat Kohli reclaimed his position at the pinnacle of India’s most powerful celebrity brands, boasting a value of nearly $228 million in 2023, according to Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Study. However, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was the true mover and shaker in terms of growth in brand endorsements, seeing his value soar to $120.7 million and catapulting him from 10th place in 2022 to the third spot in 2023.

“2023 has been the year marking ‘Return of the Kings’ — Virat, SRK and Bollywood. We also witnessed rise of celebpreneurship in India, expanding their sphere of influence and blurring boundaries between entertainment and business,” Aviral Jain, MD (valuation advisory services), Kroll, told TOI.

“In an increasing trend, a growing number of celebrities are leveraging their star power and flexing their entrepreneurial muscles and becoming what are being termed celebpreneurs. Some have launched their own brands, while some are investing in start-ups, the study by Kroll, a leading independent global risk and financial advisory solutions firm,’’ he said.

“For instance, in 2023, Akshay Kumar launched his own athleisure brand Force IX, Kareena Kapoor Khan launched her own Korean skincare brand Quench Botanics and Deepika Padukone launched a luxury skincare brand 82°E. Under celebpreneurship, a growing number of stars are ditching the silver screen for boardroom, diversifying portfolios to build successful businesses. We’ve done some parallels with Hollywood, looking at 80 startups of top 50 Hollywood celebrities, benchmarking by age and industry. It’s no longer just the top four or five celebrities, many are getting involved. For example, we have Nayanthara with 9Skin, Kriti Sanon (Hyphen) and Sanjay Dutt (The Glen Walk) getting involved in various ventures,’’ Jain said.

In Hollywood, the top product categories, which are attracting celeb power, include beauty and personal care and food and beverages. In India, a similar trend is visible.