For years, venture capitalists have been skeptical of beverage startups, citing thin margins and brutal distribution as reasons most brands never break out. But a new wave of “functional soda” companies has been challenging that assumption, including Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand that grew from a kitchen experiment into a $1.95 billion acquisition by PepsiCo.
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan is joined by Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth to talk about building a beverage startup in a venture world dominated by SaaS and AI. From pitching on Shark Tank while nine months pregnant to going viral on TikTok and buying a last-minute Super Bowl ad, Ellsworth breaks down what it really takes to build a category-defining consumer brand — and what she looks for now that she’s back on Shark Tank as an investor herself.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:12 Poppi’s journey from the kitchen to Shark Tank
02:00 Was an acquisition always the plan?
03:11 Building the brand & finding favorite flavors
04:09 Going digital-first & TikTok strategy
05:51 Authenticity tips for founders
07:55 Listening to customer feedback
09:18 How Poppi scored a last-minute Super Bowl ad
10:59 The influencer vending machine controversy
12:43 PepsiCo acquisition and maintaining Poppi’s brand
14:24 Competitors catching up (Olipop, Simply Pop)
16:29 Is food & beverage a safe investment?
18:25 Coming back to Shark Tank as an investor
20:48 Due diligence & what first-time founders don’t know
23:08 How much capital does a consumer brand actually need?
25:41 Outro
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