January 22, 2025

Ep.

172

46:59

MIN

From Shark Tank to Super Bowl - the story of America's fastest growing beverage (Poppi) with Allison Ellsworth

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In this episode I'm joined by Allison Ellsworth, founder of the fastest growing beverage brand in the US, Poppi.Poppi was started as Mother Beverage in 2018 (a nod to the raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar used in the drink) but was rebranded after featuring on Shark Tank in the same year. Now, it's one of the biggest soda brands in the US, outselling Coke and Pepsi on Amazon. I speak to Allison about the journey of creating the brand, how influential TikTok was for their growth, their merch strategy and how they ended up buying a Super Bowl ad. This is a fascinating account of how a challenger brand can disrupt an industry in such a small period of time.

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Creators and guests

Jon Evans

Host

Jon Evans

Host of Uncensored CMO

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Timestamps

Intro

Allison’s experience on Shark Tank

Funding and rebrand of Poppi

Launching the brand during COVID

Outselling Coke and Pepsi on Amazon

How big is the impact of Shark Tank

Growing the brand on social media

The influencer and social first marketing strategy

How Poppi’s marketing popup worked

Why Poppi invested in merch and launching in Target

Choosing which flavours to launch with Poppi

Approach to retail and growth

Breaking into a competitive market

Poppi’s Super Bowl campaign

The journey from 2 to 200 employees

How Allison hires at Poppi

The hardest part of the journey at Poppi

How Allison would start a new startup today

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