Olipop & Poppi

When we’ve spoken with entrepreneurs about the brands that inspire them, about the marketing strategies they admire, they just can’t decide: is it Poppi, or is it Olipop? 

We’ve decided for them. It’s Olipop. And it’s Poppi. 

Right now, the spotlight on both far outshines any daylight between them, and they’ve captured the collective imagination of retailers, entrepreneurs, and consumers alike. Together, these brands have busted through the long-held notion that soda is on the way out, that craft soda would always be a bit player, that gut health would never live up to its promise, or that premium pricing was never coming back to CSDs. And in doing so, the competitors have found close to $1 billion in revenue between them.

Olipop is the creation of a pair of entrepreneurs who had been burned before, only to come back stronger, with a better plan and an easier-to-understand product in classic soda flavors. Poppi is the result of a pivot, with investor Rohan Oza and founders Allison and Stephen Ellsworth rebooting Mother, an apple cider vinegar-based health drink as the wildly flirtatious, fruit-forward and TikTok friendly Poppi. 

Together, these brands have finally legitimized alternative sodas as a category, initially flying under the aegis of gut health but gradually forming brand identities of their own. Poppi has made it clear that it’s angling for the mainstream, while Olipop continues to hew more closely to its prebiotic roots. Regardless, both brands are trending up sharply: around 300% year-over-year, according to a recent analysis of Nielsen IQ data by Goldman Sachs. Both brands hold steady price points well in excess of $2 per can, and have solid conventional runways, eyeing multipacks in grocery, single serve convenience, and heavier food service presence as ways to build share. Their respective dives into pro sports partnerships this year signals they still have plenty of new venues and audiences to capture, as well. 

Who will sell first? Who will sell the highest? Right now, that question doesn’t matter - the only thing that matters is that they’re in lockstep as they share the title of BevNET’s Best Brand of 2024.