How Bravo became the new QVC

The network famous for ‘Real Housewives’ quietly reinvented itself as a startup incubator, spawning personality-driven brands in businesses from canned cocktails to loungewear.

On a hot April night, Bodyarmor, the sports drink company that Coca-Cola acquired in 2021 in a $5.6 billion deal, was throwing a huge party in downtown Manhattan to celebrate its relaunch. Plenty of MBA types in brown lace-ups and untucked shirts clutched vodka sodas in Hall des Lumières, the cavernous bank-turned-event-space across from City Hall. They were eyeing the young women in short skirts and high heels who—along with star-studded guest lists and goodie bags so heavy they threaten to break—are the lifeblood of these corporate soirees. By the dance floor, where an energetic DJ pumped his fist in the air playing remixes of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and Doechii’s viral TikTok hit “Anxiety,” two trios of women collided and traded air kisses.