PepsiCo is making a bold move into the rapidly growing functional soda market with its latest acquisition – Poppi – for a staggering $1.95 billion, announced Monday morning. The deal includes $300 million in anticipated cash benefits, bringing the net purchase price down to $1.65 billion, reportedly.
With this acquisition, PepsiCo secures a stronger foothold in the booming market of health-conscious sodas, featuring lower sugar and gut-friendly ingredients like fiber, prebiotics, and probiotics. This comes after the company scrapped its previous attempt, Soulboost, to break into the category.
Poppi’s addition follows PepsiCo’s strategic shift toward better-for-you brands, including its recent $1.2 billion acquisition of Siete Foods and its buyout of Sabra Dipping and PepsiCo-Strauss Fresh Dips & Spreads International.
Poppi’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. Founded in 2015 by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, the brand originally launched as Mother before taking off following an investment deal with Rohan Oza on Shark Tank in 2018.
Allison Ellsworth expressing confidence that Pepsi will preserve what makes Poppi special while propelling it into its next phase of growth and innovation.
Read more: Coca-Cola Enters The Prebiotic Soda Market With Simply Pop
A key driver behind Poppi’s success has been celebrity endorsements and influencer marketing. The brand has built a cult following, with A-list backers including Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Ellie Goulding, Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Olivia Munn, Post Malone, Nicole Scherzinger, and Russell Westbrook.
One of its boldest marketing stunts came ahead of Super Bowl 59 in February when the brand sent 32 full-sized Poppi vending machines to influencers nationwide—sparking massive buzz around its Big Game ad. However, the move wasn’t without controversy. Critics accused Poppi of elitism, questioning why luxury vending machines were being gifted to already well-off influencers.
Poppi later clarified that the machines were loaners, not gifts, and disputed the widely reported $25,000-per-unit price tag, saying it was inflated by 60%.
But did the stunt pay off? Absolutely. According to Tubular Labs, Poppi racked up an eye-popping 26.9 million views on TikTok between Feb. 9 (Super Bowl Sunday) and Feb. 14—a clear win in the world of viral marketing.
With PepsiCo now at the helm, Poppi’s reach is set to grow even further – bringing its gut-friendly, functional sodas to an even wider audience worldwide.
For more updates, be with Markedium.
Leave a comment