50 Cent Fronts Frigo’s Expansion Push

50 Cent has his sights set on conquering a new category: performance underwear. The rapper and serial entrepreneur, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, has put his weight — and cash — behind Frigo, a men’s performance underwear brand founded in Sweden by Mathias Ingvarsson, the former president and European director of mattress brand Tempur-Pedic. Jackson helped Ingvarsson close an $80 million licensing deal last December and he’s designing a collection of underwear for the brand named Frigo Crown designed by 50, which will be in stores this summer. “You can think of probably four or five different companies that produce high-end underwear for women, but there’s nothing that comes to mind that produces high-end stuff for men,” Jackson said. Luxury men’s underwear might be an underdeveloped category, but an NPD Group report said as men gravitate toward slimmer bottoms, they’re opting for fitted underwear with stretch. The men’s underwear market grew 3 percent in 2014 and reached $2.7 billion. Active underwear bottoms made from performance and premium fabrics drove this growth, according to the research firm. Jackson has developed a reputation for investing in new or bubbling categories. He had an equity stake in Vitamin Water, and earned $100 million after Coca-Cola purchased the

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