Shark Tank star Rohan Oza bet on health soda Poppi in 2018 — now it’s paying dividends with $1.95B Pepsi deal

Over the past few years, you wouldn’t be able stroll down a grocery store beverage aisle without catching a flash of hot pink, orange or purple cans of Poppi.

Poppi isn’t your typical soda. Instead of being packed with sugar and artificial flavor, it started as a kitchen experiment by Allison Ellsworth, who was searching for a drink that made her feel good without doing harm to her body.

At nine months pregnant, Ellsworth took that idea to Shark Tank alongside her husband and co-founder, Stephen. On a 2018 episode, they made a deal with Rohan Oza — known in the industry as “The Brandfather.” Oza invested $400,000 for a 25% stake and quickly reshaped the brand.

The rebrand was dramatic: Mother Beverage became Poppi. The liquid evolved from an apple cider vinegar tonic into a sparkling prebiotic soda. Glass bottles gave way to sleek cans, and the homespun, farmer’s-market aesthetic was swapped for bold, Instagram-ready colors.

“There’s no consumer audience in the world that is willing to embrace new brands as rapidly as Americans are,” Oza says. “I came here with a dream. It’s full circle.”

That dream paid off. In May, PepsiCo announced it was acquiring Poppi in a $1.95 billion deal. Here’s how the man behind the brand turned a soda dream into a billion-dollar reality.

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Eye for the market

Poppi may have been Oza’s latest billion-dollar bet, but it wasn’t his first. And with the global non-alcoholic beverage market valued at $1.22 billion in 2023, it’s easy to see why spotting the right brand at the right time can pay off.

Born in Zambia and raised in the U.K., Oza calls himself a lifelong soda drinker. After working at Mars on the Snickers brand — where one boss told him marketing might not be his thing — he doubled down with an MBA from the University of Michigan. His real break came in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola handed him the struggling label Powerade, which at the time, faced a 15% sales drop. Under Oza’s leadership, sales rebounded 35% the very next year.

That track record landed him at VitaminWater. Oza had the foresight to call up rapper 50 Cent with an idea: endorse the brand. But 50 Cent wanted more than a paycheck, he wanted equity. As a result, Formula 50 was born, a collaboration between VitaminWater and 50 Cent, and sales doubled to $160 million in a year. The rapper’s 2% stake would later net him a windfall when Vitaminwater’s parent company, Glaceau, sold to Coca-Cola in 2007 for $4.1 billion.

Why Poppi?

Oza had passed on dozens of beverage pitches before the Ellsworths stepped onto Shark Tank. But one sip of their orange soda stopped him in his tracks.

“This is the product I’ve been looking for,” Oza recalls thinking. “Package, wrong. Brand, wrong. Everything is wrong, basically. But this liquid, that’s it.”

Packaging can be redesigned, but a winning product is harder to come by. With Oza’s backing, the Ellsworths rebranded as Poppi in 2020, just as the pandemic pushed consumers online. Influencers helped the soda break through, driving $4 million in sales by year’s end.

Momentum built quickly. By 2023, sales had surpassed $200 million, and in 2024 revenue skyrocketed 150% to $500 million. With national retail placement, celebrity backing from Olivia Munn and the Chainsmokers, and Pepsi’s global distribution network, Poppi proves that the right product paired with smart marketing can chart its own path to success.

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Mastering your own idea

Poppi’s billion dollar brand started as a simple idea that met a real need. Ellsworth wasn’t chasing a trend when she mixed apple cider vinegar and sparkling water — she was looking for something that made her feel better. That authenticity gave Poppi its foundation, but it took Oza’s rebranding and smart timing to transform it into a household name.

In this case, value lives at the intersection of product and perception. More than one-third of Americans make additional income through a side hustle, according to new data from Bankrate’s Side Hustles Survey. When you’re building one of your own, think like Poppi: start with something that solves a real problem, even if the packaging isn’t perfect yet. You can refine the branding later, but the core product — your service, skill or idea — has to deliver real value.

The same applies to investing. Instead of chasing stocks or trends, focus on fundamentals: companies with products people actually use, loyal customers who return and the potential to grow over time. Just like Poppi’s rise, sustainable success comes from substance first, hype second.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.