Patti LaBelle is singing all the way to the bank.
The entertainment icon’s Patti’s Good Life f00d brand is a colossal hit at Walmart and Target, and has generated millions according to a new exclusive report by Forbes.
Gross sales hit nearly $200 million last year, according to the outlet, which is wrapped into a royalty deal for the legend, meaning she takes home 10%. Using her original recipes for baked goods and desserts, LaBelle utilizes a factory do the the baking then sells the items to the big box retailers for distribution. Her sweet potato pies and macaroni & cheese account for $85 million in sales alone, Forbes reported.
“Even today we’re selling more than five times the number of sweet potato pies than we did before we launched our Patti sweet potato pie,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told Forbes.
Patti’s Good Life was launched by the singer 15 years ago in the name of her lifelong love and knack for cooking. The brand started with just a line of hot sauces which launched in her Philadelphia hometown, and has since scaled hugely alongside her son. Famously, it has ballooned to include her signature peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, chicken and biscuits and mac n’ cheese.
“People think of me as a cook, someone who’s going to give them quality food,” LaBelle told Forbes. “And I don’t put my name on anything unless it’s 110% perfect.”