From farmers markets to $1.95B PepsiCo sale

How Poppi – Allison and Stephen Ellsworth built Poppi from apple cider vinegar experiments into a prebiotic soda business that grew to more than $500 million in yearly sales before selling to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion. Their story is also a cautionary tale about cash crun

On a Texas day hot enough to bake a car seat, Stephen Ellsworth drove an old truck with no AC—because the couple had sold one of their cars to buy bottles and equipment for their soda startup.

Allison Ellsworth still remembers what that meant in practical terms: they were building Poppi before they had the money to stop moving. Before they had breathing room. Before the payoff that came last spring, when they sold Poppi to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion.

The Ellsworths spoke about what it took to reach that moment—what they risked, what they sacrificed, and how they’ve been trying to keep their three young children from growing up sheltered from the reality that wealth can slip into carelessness.

All of it started in 2016, when Allison was experimenting with home remedies for stomach pains and skin issues. She turned to apple cider vinegar, couldn’t stand the taste, and tried mixing it with sparkling water and fresh fruit—an experiment that became Mother Beverage.

To sell their early drinks, she enlisted Stephen to help them trade their concoctions at farmers’ markets. Within months, they won over a Whole Foods buyer, and the premium grocery chain began stocking their drinks.

Allison’s belief in the product—and the positive feedback from customers, backed by the early Whole Foods endorsement—pushed them to go all-in.

Stephen described the emotional logic of that leap, saying: “She was willing to jump off the cliff, knowing that I could help build the plane while we were falling to make sure that we didn’t totally crash and burn.”

Building Poppi required more than conviction. The pair maxed out their credit cards, borrowed money, welcomed investment from friends and family, and took out personal loans to support growth.

In the early days, they were also forced to ask repeatedly for time. Stephen said they were “begging and pleading” vendors and suppliers to give them more time to pay for ingredients.

Their next turning point came in 2018, when they pitched their business on “Shark Tank,” securing a $400,000 investment from marketing whiz Rohan Oza.

The Ellsworths said that publicity. fresh funding. mentorship. and support in building a team helped professionalize the business and improve how they scaled. With Oza’s help. Allison and Stephen rebranded the company in 2020 as Poppi. positioning it with a younger. more vibrant identity as a seller of prebiotic sodas.

But they launched right as the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The shock didn’t just show up in the headlines; it hit their cash flow and their relationships with suppliers.

Stephen said Poppi faced cash crunches and that suppliers terminated contracts. To weather the storm, the company was forced to raise as much as $25 million in extra capital.

The pandemic also blurred the usual rules of growth. The pair hired people they later realized were experienced—but not necessarily for this kind of fast expansion.

Allison said, “We almost had to throw the playbook out the window and do everything different from the beginning.”

They still pushed through. Poppi grew to over $500 million in yearly sales by 2024, then sold the company to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion last spring.

Before that sale, there was the moment that made the rest of the story inevitable: Allison and Stephen quitting their jobs to work full-time on the startup.

Allison was three months pregnant and they’d just bought a house when they made the decision.

She went on to have three children while building the company, saying it “absolutely made it harder,” even after her mother moved nearby to help with childcare.

The couple put their family finances on the line because they believed their startup had potential—and because they wanted to create a legacy they could pass down. Their reasoning was blunt and personal: while they were young, they would “buckle up” and “do whatever it takes” to succeed.

Early on, Allison said there was no work-life balance. She recalled not making time to exercise or take care of herself, traveling too much, and struggling to switch off from work.

Family time became something they postponed. Allison said that because the relationship felt secure, they agreed to put it on the back burner—focusing on their kids and the business.

She described telling Stephen that she didn’t need flowers for Valentine’s Day, go on date nights, or even celebrate birthdays or anniversaries.

“You have to be willing to do what others won’t, to be able to have what others can’t have,” Stephen said.

But she also set boundaries around self-deception. Entrepreneurs, Allison said, need the self-awareness to know if they’re “dropping the ball” in their marriage or parenting—and to “make sure that nothing gets so far out of balance that it can’t be corrected.”

She still feels some “mom guilt” over the hours she put into Poppi, yet she’s proud that her children describe her as a businesswoman, a dealmaker, and a successful entrepreneur.

“The way my kids see me is just really endearing and awesome,” Allison said.

Stephen, looking back, didn’t soften the difficulty. He said they “really, really sucked in the moment,” but added that those hardships were also the story.

“How boring would it be if we didn’t have those stories?” he said.

A year after the PepsiCo acquisition, the windfall is real—but they’ve tried to treat it like responsibility rather than a reset button.

They said they’ve been cautious in spending and have stayed grounded. They only recently bought a new house and new cars.

This summer, instead of flying to Europe or taking some other “extravagant” trip, they plan to go to Wyoming to “fish and sit by a fire” as a family for two weeks.

They described spending their wealth on experiences rather than things, and on removing friction from daily life so they can spend more quality time together.

That includes hiring more help around the house and flying private with their extended family to save time and hassle when traveling.

They’ve also given back. Allison and Stephen said they’ve funded mission trips around the world and sponsored a local school. Allison contrasted those choices with the kinds of philanthropy people sometimes associate with large deals.

She said she prefers those actions to buying seats at charity galas or starting foundations, adding: “that stuff’s very cringy for me.”

Keeping wealth from changing their kids is still a priority. The couple said they want to raise “good kids” who “work hard” and are kind to others.

Stephen and Allison still expect their children to clean up after themselves, do chores, and have jobs when they’re older.

Stephen said he wants his kids to think differently about dollars than he did growing up. He described his childhood as “very conservative,” with a family mantra of scrimping and saving.

Now he wants to “flip that script” and teach them how money can be put to work.

He added that he’ll encourage them to “do hard things.”

“Lean into hard, because that’s where the growth happens, and with that growth, that’s where the fulfillment and purpose really happens,” Stephen said.

After the deal, the pair largely cut ties with Poppi. They took a few months off after the PepsiCo acquisition to play golf and travel, but Allison said they soon realized they were “too young to retire.”

What they missed most wasn’t luxury—it was the team and the work.

“And what we missed more than anything was the team, the grind, the hard work,” she said.

Their next step is already taking shape. Alongside investing their wealth and mentoring other entrepreneurs, Allison said they plan to turn the lessons from Poppi into a new venture.

“We are actually starting another company soon,” she said.

Poppi PepsiCo Allison Ellsworth Stephen Ellsworth prebiotic soda Shark Tank Rohan Oza COVID-19 $1.95 billion acquisition $25 million fundraising entrepreneurs