How a Pregnant Mom Built $2 Billion Soda Brand Poppi From Her Kitchen (ft. Allison Ellsworth)

8 snips

Dec 11, 2025

Allison Ellsworth, the founder of the prebiotic soda brand Poppi, transitioned from oil and gas to creating a $2 billion product from her kitchen. She shares her journey from farmers’ markets to a dramatic Shark Tank appearance at nine months pregnant. Allison discusses the power of TikTok marketing that led to overnight sales success and reflects on the challenges of co-founding with her husband. With candid insights on burnout and identity shifts post-acquisition by PepsiCo, her story is a wild ride of entrepreneurship blended with personal growth.

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ANECDOTE

From Kitchen Tonic To Whole Foods Breakthrough

Allison turned a kitchen apple-cider-vinegar tonic into a product after feeling sick from travel and testing recipes herself.
She launched at a farmers' market while pregnant and soon got a Whole Foods buyer interested, which made it a business.

ANECDOTE

Shark Tank Moment Sparked A Full Rebrand

The brand began as Mother Beverage and went on Shark Tank while Allison was nine months pregnant and got a deal.
They rebranded to Poppi over nine months to craft personality, consumer focus, and marketing strategy.

ADVICE

Use Founder-Led Social For Early Growth

Do prioritize authentic social content early because algorithms amplify raw founder stories and product education.
Allison credits TikTok virality and founder-led videos for massive brand growth during COVID.

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Allison Ellsworth went from oil & gas spreadsheets to building Poppi, the prebiotic soda that broke the internet, rewrote the rules on “healthy soda,” and sold to PepsiCo in a multibillion-dollar deal.

In this episode of The Burnouts, Allison joins Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni to share how a DIY apple-cider-vinegar tonic from her Texas kitchen turned into the soda of the next generation. She walks through the whole arc: farmers’ markets, Whole Foods, Shark Tank while nine months pregnant, a risky rebrand, and the TikTok storytime that quietly did $100K on Amazon overnight.

Allison also gets brutally honest about working with her husband, hiring too slowly while growth rockets, and what happens to your identity when you suddenly have both a Super Bowl ad and an exit. She shares the unglamorous side of lawsuits, burnout, mom guilt, and figuring out “what’s next” when you technically never have to work again.

If you’re building a consumer brand, obsessing over content, or just trying to stay ambitious without completely frying your nervous system, this episode is a masterclass in playing the long game — and still having fun.

Chapters
00:00 – From Texas kid to unexpected founder
02:00 – ACV shots, health issues & the Poppi spark
04:30 – Farmers’ market hustle → Whole Foods breakthrough
06:30 – Shark Tank at 9 months pregnant
08:30 – The risky rebrand: Mother Beverage → Poppi
11:00 – Launching Poppi during COVID
13:00 – TikTok virality & selling out overnight
16:00 – Creator-first marketing & celebrity fans
19:00 – Flavor wins, flavor fails & building a real soda
22:00 – Working with your husband (and being wrong sometimes)
24:30 – Sugar, lawsuits & building in CPG
27:00 – Inside the PepsiCo acquisition
30:00 – Life after the exit & what’s next for Allison

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The Burnouts brings you raw, unfiltered conversations with today’s top founders, creators, and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the show goes beyond headlines to explore the real stories, breakdowns, and breakthroughs that define your 20s.

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