PepsiCo Expands Better-For-You Offering With Poppi Acquisition
Poppi, meet Pepsi. Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, Inc. is acquiring the prebiotic soda brand poppi for a cool $1.95 billion. The deal puts the fast-growing beverage into PepsiCo’s formidable portfolio as the company seeks to meet the tastes and health and wellness needs of today’s consumers.
Over the last few years, poppi has built a strong consumer base as demand for functional beverage has grown. The line of products include low-calorie sodas made with fruit juice, prebiotics and apple cider vinegar, available in a range of flavors and sold in colorful cans. The brand was launched by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth and propelled to visibility through the “Shark Tank” program, backed by “guest shark” and CAVU Consumer Partners investment firm co-founder Rohan Oza.
Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, said the deal is a win for the startup, the venerable CPG and for beverage drinkers. "We've been evolving our food and beverage portfolio over many years, including by innovating with our brands in new spaces and through disciplined, strategic acquisitions that enable us to offer more positive choices to our consumers," he explained. "More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness. poppi is a great complement to our portfolio transformation efforts to meet these needs."
The founders agree that move will help expand poppi’s market reach. "When I created poppi in our kitchen, it was fueled by a desire to create a better-for-you soda," said Allison Ellsworth. "We never imagined how many people we could reach through hard work, determination and a clear mission to create a functional soda that stands the test of time. We believe poppi is the soda that will be embraced for generations to come, and we're beyond grateful to the amazing poppi team, our partners who believed in us from the very beginning and most importantly our incredible community. We can't wait to begin this next chapter with PepsiCo to bring our soda to more people – and I know they will honor what makes poppi so special while supporting our next phase of growth and innovation.”
Added Oza, whose company provided early seed money for the product: "We're beyond thrilled to be partnering with PepsiCo so that even more consumers across America, and the world, can enjoy poppi – a truly modern soda for the next generation."
The probiotic soda category remains hot. In February, The Coca-Cola Co. announced that it is launching a prebiotic soda called Simply Pop, containing up to 30% fruit juice with no added sugar and sold in Strawberry, Pineapple Mango, Fruit Punch, Lime and Citrus Punch varieties.
