PepsiCo (PEP) has the Poppi brand lined up to be its next beverage star as the strong growth for the brand it acquired about a year ago continues.
Poppi is a prebiotic soda brand founded by husband‑and‑wife team Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, who began by bottling an apple-cider-vinegar–based beverage in their kitchen and selling it at a Dallas farmers’ market before rebranding to Poppi and scaling into retail and national distribution. Early traction came from Whole Foods placement, a 2018 Shark Tank appearance, and subsequent venture funding. Poppi delivered explosive topline growth from 2020 to 2024 as distribution expanded to thousands of retail doors, including Whole Foods (AMZN), Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), CVS, and other mass and natural channels across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
PepsiCo (PEP) announced its $1.95B acquisition of Poppi on March 17, 2025. The deal was framed as a way for the company to advance its “positive choices” growth strategy by adding a differentiated functional soda positioned around gut health and low sugar to its beverage portfolio. The brand has already benefited from PepsiCo’s (PEP) scale in manufacturing, distribution, and marketing. On March 5, PepsiCo (PEP) will launch Poppi sales in the U.K. at selected Tesco (TSCDF) stores & Pret A Manger nationwide before rolling out more widely later in the year. The UK will be the brand’s second international market after Canada.
Before Poppi, PepsiCo’s (PEP) last major success with a new beverage brand was bubly, its internally developed flavored sparkling water line launched in 2018. However, PepsiCo (PEP) does benefit through its distribution deal with Celsius Holdings (CELH) for its namesake brand and the red-hot Alani Nu brand.