On June 22, 2026, Chelsea and England midfielder Cole Palmer launched an ice company. Not endorsed one. Built one. COLE’D, a line of premium ice products sold exclusively through Gopuff, features three SKUs: traditional cubes at $3.49 a bag, football-shaped craft spheres at $5.99 for a 4-pack, and the headliner, the world’s first electrolyte-infused pebble ice at $4.99 for 5 pounds. Palmer designed the packaging, directed the content, and shaped the product from concept to shelf. The 23-year-old who earns roughly $8.5 million a year from Chelsea just became a CPG founder.
COLE’D is a premium ice brand launched June 22, 2026 by Chelsea forward Cole Palmer in a multiyear strategic partnership with instant commerce company Gopuff, featuring electrolyte-infused pebble ice, craft spheres, and traditional cubes available exclusively through the Gopuff app in the U.S. and U.K.
The reaction was predictable: jokes about paying five dollars for frozen water. But the business underneath is more interesting than the memes suggest. Palmer didn’t license his name to a distributor. He turned a fan-created nickname into trademarked intellectual property, then converted that IP into a physical product line on a platform that’s reinventing how athlete brands reach consumers. The playbook here isn’t about ice. It’s about what happens when athletes stop renting their image and start building equity.
Last updated: June 2026
Quick answers
What is COLE’D ice?
COLE’D is a premium ice brand created by Chelsea footballer Cole Palmer and Gopuff. The line includes electrolyte-infused pebble ice, football-shaped craft spheres, and traditional cubes, all made from purified water. Products are sold exclusively through the Gopuff app in the U.S. and U.K., with prices from $3.49 to $5.99.
Who owns COLE’D?
Cole Palmer co-developed COLE’D through a multiyear strategic partnership with Gopuff, the instant commerce company valued at $8.5 billion as of its November 2025 funding round led by Eldridge Industries. Palmer was hands-on in product development, packaging design, and content direction rather than serving as a passive endorser.
Where can you buy COLE’D ice?
COLE’D Premium Ice is available exclusively on the Gopuff app in the United States and United Kingdom. Gopuff delivers from its network of 600+ micro-fulfillment centers in as little as 15 minutes. The products are not available in grocery stores or through other delivery apps.
How “Cold Palmer” became COLE’D
The brand started as a gesture. In December 2023, Palmer scored against Luton Town and celebrated by rubbing his arms as if shivering, a nod to his former Manchester City academy teammate Morgan Rogers, who’d done the same move for Middlesbrough a week earlier. Chelsea fans ran with it. “Cold Palmer” became the nickname, a reference to his composure under pressure, and the celebration became a fixture at Stamford Bridge and across social media.
Palmer saw what the fans built and locked it down. He registered “Cold Palmer” with the UK Intellectual Property Office through Palmer Management Limited, his image rights company. The trademark means nobody else can use the nickname commercially. That’s the first lesson of the COLE’D story: Palmer didn’t just enjoy the meme. He protected it.
From there, the path to product was short. Palmer already had endorsement deals with Nike and Coca-Cola. But those are licensing arrangements where a company borrows your face. COLE’D is different. Palmer told BusinessWire he was “involved in everything, the product, the packaging, the content.” That’s founder territory, not spokesperson territory.
The naming itself is clever. “COLE’D” works as a play on “cold” and his first name. It’s built directly from the fan-created identity, which gives the brand an origin story that most CPG launches pay millions to manufacture through advertising. Palmer got his for free, then trademarked it.
Palmer’s image rights company, Palmer Management Limited, has seen what ESPN reported as substantial asset growth since its formation. That growth comes from structured commercial deals rather than one-off sponsorship fees. The trademark filing through the UK Intellectual Property Office gives Palmer legal exclusivity over “Cold Palmer” for commercial use, meaning no competitor can launch a “Cold Palmer” product line without his permission. For a player still in his early twenties, that’s a commercial moat built before most footballers start thinking about life after the pitch.
What does COLE’D ice cost?
Three products, three price points. In the U.S., COLE’D Traditional Ice Cubes cost $3.49 for a 5-pound bag. COLE’D Pebble Ice with Electrolytes runs $4.99 for 5 pounds. COLE’D Premium Craft Ice Spheres, shaped like footballs, are $5.99 for a 4-pack. In the U.K., pricing translates to roughly 2 pounds for traditional ice, 2.50 pounds for the electrolyte pebble ice, and 4 pounds for the craft spheres.
For context, a standard 10-pound bag of ice at a convenience store runs about $2.50 to $3.00. COLE’D charges a premium, but it’s playing in a different lane. The packaged ice market hit $1.20 billion globally in 2026, per Research and Markets, with a projected 5.14% compound annual growth rate through 2032. The premium segment, including craft ice spheres and specialty formats, is growing faster as consumers pay more for what used to be a commodity.
| Product | U.S. price | U.K. price | Size | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLE’D Traditional Ice Cubes | $3.49 | ~£2.00 | 5 lb bag | Everyday use, coolers |
| COLE’D Pebble Ice with Electrolytes | $4.99 | ~£2.50 | 5 lb bag | Recovery, active lifestyles |
| COLE’D Premium Craft Ice Spheres | $5.99 | ~£4.00 | 4-pack | Cocktails, watch parties |
The craft spheres are the most interesting margin play. They’re shaped like footballs, frozen slowly for clarity, and positioned for “elevated beverages and watch parties,” per the official launch announcement. At $5.99 for four ice balls, the price per unit is roughly $1.50, which is comparable to what high-end cocktail bars charge for a single craft ice sphere. That’s where the brand’s personality (football, Palmer, the celebration) becomes the pricing power.
Why Gopuff is building athlete brands
Gopuff isn’t just delivering COLE’D. It co-developed the product. That matters because it signals where the $8.5 billion instant commerce company is headed.
The model started with Tom Brady. In 2025, Gopuff partnered with Brady on GOAT Gummies, an organic vegan snack brand. In June 2026, they expanded that partnership with Good Nut, a premium coconut water line entering a market projected to reach $11 billion by 2030. COLE’D is the third athlete-led brand on the platform.
Gopuff co-CEO Yakir Gola told BusinessWire that “Gopuff has become the platform where the world’s best athletes and creators come to do things differently, turning bold ideas into products our customers love.” Translation: Gopuff wants to be the brand incubator for athlete CPG, not just the delivery truck.
The strategic logic is straightforward. DoorDash and Uber Eats deliver the same products from the same stores. Gopuff, which operates 600+ micro-fulfillment centers and raised $250 million at an $8.5 billion valuation in November 2025, can stock exclusive products that you can’t get anywhere else. That’s a moat. If COLE’D electrolyte ice becomes a thing people want, it becomes a reason to open Gopuff instead of DoorDash. Howard Schultz, the Starbucks founder, joined Gopuff’s board in April 2026, a signal that the company’s brand-building ambitions go beyond athlete gimmicks.
For athletes, the platform solves a real problem: distribution. Building a CPG brand typically means convincing retailers to give you shelf space, managing supply chains, and spending millions on customer acquisition. Gopuff handles fulfillment, delivery, and the consumer relationship. The athlete contributes the brand, the audience, and the creative direction. It’s a co-founder arrangement disguised as a partnership.
Is electrolyte ice actually useful?
The electrolyte pebble ice is the product with real innovation potential, and the one that invites the most skepticism. Palmer and Gopuff claim it’s the world’s first electrolyte-infused ice, though niche brands like MyHy have sold electrolyte ice in smaller quantities for athletic and medical hydration. What’s different here is scale and distribution.
The science backing electrolyte hydration is real. The American College of Sports Medicine found that electrolytes combined with carbohydrates stimulate fluid absorption up to 30% faster than water alone. The global electrolyte drinks market is projected to reach $56.4 billion by 2030, per Fortune Business Insights, growing at 5.3% annually. Products like Prime (Logan Paul and KSI), Plezi Hydration (Steph Curry), and Liquid I.V. have proven that consumers will pay for functional hydration.
But ice is a different delivery mechanism. The electrolytes are infused into the water before freezing, so they release as the ice melts into whatever drink you’re having. It’s a subtle approach compared to chugging a sports drink, and it positions COLE’D in the “passive wellness” category alongside fortified waters and functional snacks. Whether consumers perceive enough value in electrolyte ice versus a $1.50 Liquid I.V. packet is the question Gopuff is betting $4.99 a bag to answer.
The pebble ice format itself is a smart choice. Pebble ice, also called nugget ice, has a cult following. Sonic Drive-In built a secondary revenue stream selling bags of it. Chick-fil-A’s pebble ice is the subject of dedicated fan accounts. By choosing pebble ice as the electrolyte carrier, Palmer picked the format with the most existing demand and emotional attachment.
The athlete-as-builder playbook
Palmer’s move from endorser to builder follows a pattern that’s accelerating across professional sports. The economics tell the story. A traditional endorsement pays a fixed fee, sometimes with a royalty. The athlete gets visibility and a check, but builds no equity. When the contract ends, so does the income.
The new model is different. Morgan Stanley published research showing that equity-for-endorsement arrangements outperform fixed-fee deals for athletes with long careers and growing audiences. LeBron James’ equity stake in Blaze Pizza generated returns that financial analysts say exceeded what a comparable endorsement would have paid over the same period. The investment firm CHAMP has now formalized this model, offering equity stakes in consumer brands to more than 250 elite athletes as a default, not a negotiation.
Palmer fits the profile. He’s 23, under contract with Chelsea through 2033, and earning roughly 130,000 pounds per week. His commercial portfolio already includes Nike and Coca-Cola. But those are image-rights deals. They pay well, but they’re renting access to Palmer. COLE’D is the first venture where Palmer functions as a co-creator with ongoing upside.
Compare that to how athletes like Steph Curry have built business empires. Curry’s Thirty Ink holdings span venture capital, media, and consumer brands, with reported portfolio value exceeding $174 million. David Beckham launched BeeUp, a honey-based fruit snack brand targeting the kids’ health food market. Ciara and Russell Wilson’s Frosh Protein Juice sold out 5,000 cases in 24 hours and landed in 1,650 Target stores. The common thread: athletes moving from brand ambassador to brand owner, from lending their face to owning the product.
The timing matters too. Palmer launched COLE’D at the start of summer 2026, with the FIFA World Cup running across North America and driving massive consumer attention to football. Gopuff’s U.S. and U.K. distribution means COLE’D reaches both Palmer’s core fanbase in England and the growing American audience for Premier League football. It’s a calculated window: World Cup viewership, summer barbecue and party season, and peak ice consumption all converge in the same months. Few celebrity products time their launch this precisely.
What founders can learn from Cole Palmer’s ice brand
You don’t have to be a Premier League footballer to use Palmer’s playbook. The principles transfer to any founder building a personal brand alongside a product.
Protect your IP before you monetize it. Palmer trademarked “Cold Palmer” before launching anything. Too many founders build on top of names, slogans, or identities they don’t legally own. The UK Intellectual Property Office registration cost a few hundred pounds. It gave Palmer exclusive commercial rights to a nickname worth millions. If you’ve built a recognizable brand identity, whether it’s a podcast name, a catchphrase, or a community label, register it before someone else does.
Let distribution solve your hardest problem. Building a CPG brand from scratch typically requires warehouse space, retail relationships, a logistics team, and customer acquisition spend measured in millions. Palmer skipped all of it by partnering with Gopuff. The lesson isn’t “find a Gopuff.” It’s to identify which part of the business equation you’re worst at and find a partner who’s best at it. Palmer’s strength is audience and creative. Gopuff’s strength is fulfillment and delivery. Neither could build COLE’D alone.
Build from community, not for community. The strongest brand stories aren’t invented in boardrooms. “Cold Palmer” was born in the stands. Fans created it, Palmer embraced it, and COLE’D turns it into something tangible. For founders, the equivalent is building products that emerge from existing communities rather than trying to manufacture community around a product. The UGC creator economy runs on the same principle: the best content comes from authentic connection, not scripted campaigns.
Pick the category nobody thinks about. Ice. A $1.20 billion global market with almost zero brand differentiation. Every gas station sells the same generic bags. Palmer and Gopuff looked at a commodity category and found room for premiumization, innovation (electrolytes), and personality. Athletes who invest tend to chase hot sectors like tech and real estate. Palmer bet on frozen water. Sometimes the overlooked category is the better bet because there’s nobody in the way.
Match the product to the personal brand. “Cold Palmer” sells ice. The connection is immediate, memorable, and doesn’t need explaining. Too many celebrity brands feel forced, like the celebrity could be swapped out without changing the product. Palmer’s nickname, his celebration, and the product are inseparable. That kind of brand-product fit is what makes consumers remember you and, just as critical, what makes them believe the founder actually cares about the product.
Time your launch to a cultural moment. Palmer dropped COLE’D at the start of summer, with the World Cup in North America driving peak football attention globally. Ice consumption spikes in warm months. Social media conversation around football is at a seasonal high. Instead of launching in January and spending six months building awareness, Palmer picked the moment when the audience, the weather, and the culture were all working in his favor. For any founder building a new business, timing a launch to ride an existing wave of attention is cheaper and more effective than creating attention from scratch.
