Robert ‘Kool’ Bell Is Building A Legacy Beyond Music With Le Kool Champagne And Kool King Coconut Water

For generations, Kool & the Gang has been part of the soundtrack for so many special occasions, from weddings and graduations to family reunions and championship parades.

Now, co-founder Robert “Kool” Bell is focused on building something else designed to last: ownership.

Bell has expanded his entrepreneurial footprint with Le Kool Champagne, a luxury champagne brand tied directly to France’s famed Champagne region, where he also owns land. He’s also developing additional ventures, including Kool King Coconut Water and a forthcoming mojito collaboration.

The Business Of Celebration

Unlike many celebrity-backed alcohol brands built around endorsements or licensing agreements, Bell says he was never interested in simply putting his name on a bottle.

“We were in France, we had about 20 sold-out shows,” Bell recalled during a recent conversation with Black Enterprise. “They asked if we wanted to do a champagne with the late Barry White or a Barry White lookalike and one of the Bee Gees.”

Bell immediately saw the situation differently.

“I said, ‘Not really,’” he remembered with a laugh. “I don’t think my fans want to buy a bottle of champagne at no concert. They’re going to want pictures and T-shirts and caps and all that stuff.”

Instead, Bell had a bigger goal in mind.

“I said, ‘I want to get on the shelves,’” he said. “Like Dom Pérignon, Cristal, Veuve Clicquot — all those boys up there in the Champagne region.”

That vision eventually became Le Kool Champagne, developed in partnership with France’s Berthelot family.

“I came up with the name Le Kool because I wanted to have that French vibe,” Bell explained.

Building the brand, however, proved very different from building a music career.

Alcohol distribution requires navigating licensing state by state, something Bell says came with an entirely new learning curve.

“It’s not like having a record, and they play it all across the country,” he said.

Still, Le Kool Champagne has continued expanding through regional partnerships, cruises, and events around the country. Ironically, that also includes appearances aboard the Celebration cruise.

Building Beyond The Music

In many ways, the move into champagne feels like a natural extension of the cultural association Kool & the Gang already built through records like “Ladies’ Night” and “Celebration.”

Bell recalled that “Celebration” itself was inspired by a line from “Ladies’ Night.”

“The tag of ‘Ladies’ Night’ was, ‘Come on, let’s all celebrate,’” Bell explained. “My brother came up with the idea that there was another song in that hook.”

That song became one of the most recognizable party anthems in music history.

But Bell knows longevity in business requires reinvention.

“Champagne is a little harder, of course,” Bell admitted. “The music business is not that easy either.”

He reflected on the early days of Kool & the Gang, when the group was still fighting for mainstream success despite having built strong regional followings.

At one point, Bell said, the group’s label challenged them to stop relying on “territorial hits” and come up with records capable of breaking nationally.

So the group locked themselves inside a downtown New York studio for an all-day writing session.

“We went in there at 8 o’clock in the morning. We came out at midnight,” Bell recalled.

By the end of the session, the group had created “Funky Stuff,” “Jungle Boogie,” and “Hollywood Swinging.”

“No more problems from the record company,” Bell joked.

That same willingness to pivot and evolve now fuels Bell’s business ambitions beyond music.

Wellness Meets Legacy

Alongside Le Kool Champagne, Bell is also building Kool King Coconut Water, a wellness-focused beverage brand inspired by an opportunity that emerged through business partners in Thailand.

At the time, Bell admits he was heavily relying on energy drinks to keep up with the demands of touring, travel, and business meetings. That changed quickly after trying the coconut water himself.

“I threw Red Bull out the window,” he said with a laugh.

Now Bell says Kool King Coconut Water has become part of his daily routine. The product is currently available in bottles and cans and has expanded distribution through a deal with BoxNCase.

Carrying The Legacy Forward

But more than anything, Bell’s growing business portfolio reflects a broader mindset shift centered on ownership, diversification, and legacy-building.

That legacy has become increasingly personal.

As the last surviving original member of Kool & the Gang, Bell carries not only the group’s musical history but also the responsibility for helping extend its impact beyond the stage.

“I don’t like to say ‘last man standing,’” Bell admitted while reflecting on the loss of his bandmates.

Instead, Bell prefers to focus on what he’s building with his sons, Muhammad and Hakim. Both are actively involved in the family’s ventures, including the champagne business and the nonprofit, the Kool Kids Foundation.

“Both of them are on top of that,” Bell said proudly.

That generational focus matters deeply to Bell, who says there is an important difference between making money and building something capable of lasting beyond one lifetime.

Whether it’s champagne sourced through France, coconut water developed through international partnerships, or future beverage ventures still in the works, Bell is continuing to expand far beyond the role many fans may expect from a legacy artist.

Even now, after decades in entertainment, Bell still speaks with the curiosity and ambition of someone chasing the next opportunity instead of protecting nostalgia.

“I’m a busy man,” he said.

For Robert “Kool” Bell, success is no longer just about creating timeless records.

It’s about making sure the next generation owns something timeless, too.

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