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.
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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
