Through past roles at Vitamin Water and BodyArmor, Andy Steele has made a career of building brands in small format channels like convenience and drug. Now, he’s working to do the same at functional soda brand Olipop.
In the race for dominance in the emerging functional soda category, gut health focused brands have had to walk a fine line between being a wellness drink – with all the baggage that designation brings for mainstream consumers – and being a fun and lively soda pop.
After announcing the close of a $30 million Series B funding round yesterday, Olipop co-founders Ben Goodwin and David Lester told BevNET they have set the goal of both doubling the brand’s retail footprint and achieving a $100 million run rate by the end of this year.
Functional soda producer Olipop has closed a $30 million Series B funding round led by Monogram Capital and supported by a roster of celebrity investors, the company announced today. Among the notable names involved in the round are Priyanka Chopra, musician Camila Cabello and the Jonas Brothers – Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas.
As they respectively plot the future of the rapidly growing ‘prebiotic soda’ segment, a pair of function-forward, better-for-you soft drink brands are looking to the past for inspiration.
A slate of low calorie, functional products bearing the hallmarks of classic sodas has begun hitting the shelves nationwide. Generally focused on promoting gut health through the addition of pre- and probiotics, these products are still young and not wholly proven, but strong sales momentum and institutional interest suggest they may have the potential to become a viable new subcategory.
OLIPOP adds Rainforest Distribution, expands Whole Foods and adds Sprouts with exclusive launch of new Cherry Vanilla flavor; So Good So You Adds Sprouts Chainwide with three SKUs of its juice shot line; Ugly Drinks Enters Kroger in Tennessee; NOCCO Adds GNC
OLIPOP digestive tonic, the award-winning soda brand celebrated for its delicious range of refreshing drinks, introduces its fifth flavor, OLIPOP Cherry Vanilla, this May, perfectly timed to the beginning of cherry season at grocery stores nationally.
Greenbelt Kombucha Launches in Walmart; Olipop Adds Wegmans, Names New Board Member; OXIGEN Partners with Big Geyser; Tama Tea Partners with UNFI for East Coast Expansion
California-based prebiotic beverage maker Olipop has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round, the company announced today. The round’s participants include current investors Monogram Capital Partners, Rocana Capital, Finn Capital Partners, Boulder Food Group and Collaborative Fund, as well as first time investor Döhler Ventures.
Your choices for digestive health just got more wonderfully nostalgic, thanks to OLIPOP digestive tonics. The award-winning beverage brand, celebrated for its ability to reimagine classic soda flavors into delicious beverages with gut health-focused function, just introduced its fourth flavor this month: “Classic Root Beer.”
VYBES Continues Expansion with Florida Partnership; Olipop Adds 41 SoCal Whole Foods; Cann Now Available Via Eaze; Richard’s Rainwater Adds Whole Foods, The Fresh Market; Elev8 Hemp Signs with Three Distributors
