Big Deal talks about Poppi Soda success story
From a kitchen experiment to a multi-billion-dollar soda brand with a Superbowl ad spot.
It all started in a kitchen.
Not in a startup accelerator or a boardroom, but with a simple recipe made for personal use.
That’s the story shared by Allison Ellsworth, founder of Poppi, on the Big Deal podcast hosted by Cody Sanchez.
At the beginning, there was no ambition to build a global brand.
Just a personal frustration: the lack of healthy, appealing beverage options on the market. Instead of settling, Allison decided to make her own. She created Mother Beverage with her husband in 2015. Her prebiotic sodas are made with fruit juice and apple cider vinegar to improve gut flora.
The Shark Tank moment
The real inflection point came with her appearance on Shark Tank in 2018.
Pitching Poppi while nearly nine months pregnant, Allison delivered a powerful and memorable moment that propelled the brand into the national spotlight. She got a deal with Rohan Oza for $400k investment and used it to rebrand. Mother Beverage became Poppi.
Execution is everything
Building a beverage brand is notoriously difficult: supply chains, distribution, margins, intense competition. And yet, Poppi was launched during one of the most uncertain periods in recent history: Covid.
Rather than following traditional playbooks, Allison made bold strategic decisions. One of the most impactful was betting early on TikTok. Long before it became an obvious channel for brands, she recognized its potential and chose to speak directly to Gen Z with authenticity and simplicity. She built a powerful community.
That choice helped Poppi become more than a product, it became a cultural brand.
In the years that followed, Poppi’s growth accelerated dramatically, eventually attracting the attention of major industry players, including PepsiCo, which bought the brand for nearly $2 billion in 2025.
The real takeaway: leadership over product
But what stood out most to me in this podcast wasn’t the growth curve or the deals.
It was Allison’s perspective on leadership.
She repeatedly emphasizes that Poppi’s success is first and foremost a people story. From the beginning, she focused on surrounding herself with individuals who were not only talented, but deeply aligned with her vision, values, and energy. She built a company culture rooted in trust, curiosity, and humanity.
Her approach to hiring is refreshingly clear:
Prioritize values, curiosity, and the ability to learn and adapt over résumés, titles, or degrees.
To me, this is a true leadership masterclass and a powerful reminder that the most meaningful success stories are rarely just about products, but about the people who bring them to life.
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