Prebiotic soda Poppi announces latest investment round

Pop culture personalities, CAVU Ventures among recent investors

(Image courtesy of Poppi)

Prebiotic soda brand Poppi, Dallas, announced a round of investment from some of pop culture’s most notable personalities.

Famous names in the music, film and sports industries like Russell Westbrook, the Chainsmokers, 24kGoldn, Kygo, Halsey, Kevin Love, Ellie Goulding, Olivia Munn and Nicole Scherzinger alongside highly-influential social media personalities like Chantel Jeffries, Bryce Hall, Noah Beck, Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson and Blake Gray are placing their bets on the better-for-you beverage. Consumer goods investment firm CAVU Ventures also committed to the investment pool, helping pave the way for the beloved functional soda brand.

“We’re really excited to have these new celebrity partners as an extension of our Poppi team – we have no doubt that they will play important roles in helping us scale awareness and grow our community as we continue to challenge big soda. We firmly believe in the product we’ve created and consumers’ desire to choose prebiotic soda made with far less sugar, no artificial ingredients and gut health benefits over other soda options on the shelves today,” said Stephen Ellsworth, founder and CEO of Poppi, in a statement.

This latest funding round comes as functional soda becomes the fastest growing category in all of beverages (up 465% year over year based on 52-week data from SPINS ending March 21) with proceeds from the round being used to expand distribution, scale our internal team and continue to invest in major marketing opportunities.

“Poppi is disrupting the multi-billion-dollar soda category by offering great tasting, low sugar, bubbles with benefits wrapped up in a culturally relevant brand,” said Rohan Oza, co-founder of CAVU Venture Partners. “As a digital first, celebrity and influencer favorite, Poppi has exploded into the marketplace over the last year and a half, growing exponentially both online and at retail. Poppi is the soda for the modern generation and we’re thrilled to be leading this raise.”

Poppi was founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife duo, Stephen and Allison Ellsworth, after Allison recognized the gut healing power of apple cider vinegar (ACV) for her chronic health issues. Knowing she wasn’t the only one who could benefit from a better tasting ACV experience, she set out to create a digestive health product that would make each ACV sip nothing short of enjoyable. The brand’s latest funding round ― and rapid growth ― is proof of the power of its mission since landing its deal with Oza on Shark Tank in December 2018.

At $2.49 a can, Poppi comes in nine flavors ― Watermelon, Strawberry Lemon, Raspberry Rose, Orange, Ginger Lime, Grapefruit, Cola, Root Beer, and DocPop ― and is available in more than 7,500 retail doors, including Target, Safeway, Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods, as well as online at Amazon.com.

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