– Soda success. Ten years ago, Allison Ellsworth started mixing fruit, apple cider vinegar and soda water in her kitchen with the goal of making a “healthy” soda that was low in sugar and high in fiber. Last month, PepsiCo closed the acquisition of Ellsworth’s beverage company, now known as Poppi, for $1.95 billion (this figure includes an estimated $300 million of cash tax benefits).
“From day one, we knew that this [selling the company] was always something we wanted to do,” says Ellsworth, who cofounded Poppi with her husband, Stephen, and will remain with the brand as a creative advisor. It was PepsiCo who made the first approach, and the big draw from Poppi’s perspective—in addition to the dollar signs, of course—was the impact an acquisition would have on its distribution system, she adds. In 2024, Poppi, which brands itself as “prebiotic soda,” had annual revenue of more than $500 million, according to the company, and was sold in over 120 different retailers, including Whole Foods, Target, and CVS. It is currently only available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. “There were places we couldn’t get in before, like sports arenas and certain fast casual restaurants,” Austin-based Ellsworth explains. “Now we have a Ferrari underneath us for distribution.” (The “functional” beverages market, meaning drinks that claim to offer health benefits beyond hydration, was worth around $175.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to soar to $339.6 billion by 2030.)
