拢250k of sales in 72 hours; bought a new car; hired a PR; website rebrand; cover girl; board meeting with Lord Sugar; and rubbing shoulders with the stars.
Welcome to the world according to 2026 The Apprentice winner Karishma Vijay.
Her list of achievements since winning The Apprentice is already impressive, and she was only announced as the winner last Thursday!
鈥� Her skincare brand Kishkin clocked up sales of 拢250k in just 72 hours;
鈥� 7,000 customers worldwide;
鈥� Long-time associate of Lord Sugar, Andrew Bloch, has been appointed to handle her PR;
鈥� Kishkin鈥檚 website has undergone a rebrand, including details of her appearance on The Apprentice;
鈥� Grown her social media following to nearly one million;
鈥� Appeared on the cover of Luxurist magazine;
鈥� Countless media interviews; and
鈥� Turned 79-year-old Lord Sugar into a TikTok star
Even billionaire Lord Sugar, not known for lavishing praise, described her sales as 鈥榰nbelievable鈥�.
The exposure from The Apprentice launch party is set to add another 拢500k in sales, but even that might be a conservative estimate.
Karishma, who announced she鈥檇 got engaged two days before last week鈥檚 final, is on a mission to turn Kishkin into a 鈥榥ew obsession鈥� and wants to see it stocked everywhere from Harrods to duty free.
Karishma鈥檚 performance since winning The Apprentice will come as no surprise to anyone who watched her performances on the show, where she never finished in the bottom three.
The only candidate with her own Wikipedia page, the entrepreneur has spent 10 years building up her social media following, so she already has a ready-made audience for her expanded product range.
At the heart of her success is Brand Karishma. After becoming known as 鈥榯he girl with acne鈥�, she started sharing unfiltered images of her skin on TikTok and Instagram and built up a huge following.
She launched her beauty brand, Kishkin, on her birthday on April 18, 2024, and shared videos on social media illustrating the impact of her product, helping to drive demand.
Everything that has happened in the last week has merely built on what she鈥檚 been working on for the last 10 years.
Making Lord Sugar happy
It鈥檚 hardly surprising that Lord Sugar looks so happy with his 拢250,000 investment.
Pictured next to his new business partner on TikTok, he said: 鈥淗er figures are amazing. She鈥檚 sold so much of this stuff it鈥檚 incredible. 7,000 customers in two weeks. It reminds me of early days when I started and that鈥檚 one of the reasons she joined me as a partner.
鈥淚 saw in her certain things which I used to get up in the way our minds and brains think.
Thanks pops: Karishma Vijay and her Dad
鈥淭here was a time when I asked her to look me in the eye and say 鈥榙oes all this gear that you鈥檙e selling actually work?鈥� and she looked me in the eye and said 鈥榶es it does鈥�.鈥�
She opened up about her relationship with Lord Sugar in her first podcast interview since winning the show on 鈥楶roject Possible鈥� with Rich Leigh.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the godfather of business and he鈥檚 on my phone,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e gives a sh*t.鈥�
She continued: 鈥淟ord Sugar wants a very credible candidate to be his business partner but also somebody that is very real.
He hates bullshitters
鈥淗e hates bullshitters, he hates schmoozers, he hates people who are just big fans of the show.
鈥淚t鈥檚 why I said 鈥楲ord Sugar, I鈥檓 not your biggest fan, I don鈥檛 know much about your show and I haven鈥檛 watched it for 20 years but I want your money, I need your investment and with or without you I鈥檓 going to make millions so you鈥檙e either coming along or you鈥檙e going to watch me do it鈥�.鈥�
Despite her new-found fortune, Karishma recognises that the success of Kishkin is heavily linked to her ongoing success as a content creator.
鈥淧eople come to me to hear something silly,鈥� she said. 鈥淥n the internet all I do is talk sh*t.鈥�
It鈥檚 the reason why her social media feed has a mix of videos of cute dogs, a pink car she鈥檚 bought, inside Lord Sugar鈥檚 boardroom and the miracle healing qualities of Kishkin鈥檚 skincare products.
Brand Karishma is even being discussed on Reddit. 鈥淚 work out of a self storage place in Twickenham that Karishma also uses,鈥� posted one user. 鈥淭he guys at the office have said she went from two units to nine within weeks. Trolleys of boxes ready to go anytime I pull up.鈥�
PR Andrew Bloch has worked with Lord Sugar for 26 years and said his new client is like no other winner.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen every winner come through this show but Karishma is relatable,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a personality she鈥檚 relatable, she鈥檚 authentic. What you see is what you get. You know what she鈥檚 all about. She鈥檚 funny.
鈥淪he has a big following on social media which is something we haven鈥檛 seen on the show before, certainly with a winner. Close to a million across her various channels and that鈥檚 powerful.鈥�
One of the revealing comments on the Project Possible podcast focused on the sensitive subject of her parents鈥� divorce, and why she didn鈥檛 want her life defined by others.
She also said her life changed when she was hit by a car in Hammersmith in 2024 and was sent flying into the air.
Miraculously, she walked away unscathed but said seeing her life flash before her eyes changed her outlook. 鈥淚 realised the value of life in that second,鈥� she admitted.
She applied to go on The Apprentice 鈥榦n a whim鈥� and the rest, as they say, is history.