Kobe Bryant-backed BodyArmor nets $20 million investment from Dr. Pepper

Kobe Bryant's never been shy about promoting BodyArmor, the sports drink he's backed and helped get off the ground, and it's already beginning to pay off. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has paid $20 million for an 11.7 percent stake in BA Sports Nutrition, hoping to work their way into a market dominated by Gatorade and Powerade, reports Hayley Peterson of Business Insider.

Kobe has been working on several off-court ventures, including making a pact with the Alibaba Group to distribute films to the Chinese market, beginning with a release of his "Muse" documentary. BodyArmor taking off is just another step forward for his business portfolio. Bryant backed BodyArmor in March of 2014, putting in what was "expected" to be a $4-6 million investment into the company, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.

Other star athletes under the BodyArmor brand include Mike Trout, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Kevin Love, Skylar Diggins, and plenty of other notables names. Of course, no success with BodyArmor would be complete without a Kobe #branding opportunity:

Honored to be a part of growing @DrinkBODYARMOR from the ground up #upgradeyoursportsdrink #BAfam http://t.co/wnnsb3M36I #keeppushin

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 12, 2015

Started with a hashtag now we here.