Poppi

Poppi is a beverage company making prebiotic sodas advertised as having health benefits for the gut, brain, and immune system. The company was founded in 2018 by Allison Ellsworth.

In 2018, Allison Ellsworth tried drinking apple cider vinegar to alleviate abdominal pain and disliked the taste, so she formulated a recipe for a carbonated drink using apple cider vinegar as one of the ingredients. She called it "Mother Beverage," which remained the drink's official name through the company's initial launch. At the time, the drink was sold in glass bottles and promoted its apple cider vinegar component. Due to trademarking issues with the word Mother, the company pivoted to the Poppi brand name and changed the container to an aluminum can with a modern and vibrant two-tone graphic design.

Subsequently, Poppi has positioned itself as a more generally health-benefiting, energizing beverage. The brand has since downplayed the apple cider vinegar component of the drink, pairing it with additional claims of healthy prebiotics and immune system-boosting aspects. After the drink was rebranded, it became one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the U.S., with sales amounting to $300,000 per month by 2022.

Allison and her husband, Stephen Ellsworth, took the drink to the local farmers' market in Dallas, where it began selling out. According to Ellsworth, a customer came by her booth and expressed his wish for the product to be sold in Whole Foods. Ellsworth decided to quit her job and focus on creating a brand for her product and securing funding. At Shark Tank, the Ellsworths secured a deal with Rohan Oza, an investor with significant experience in the beverage industry. The product was subsequently rebranded over eight months and sold online through Amazon. The product's releases at Whole Foods and Sprouts were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company's monthly Amazon sales went from $9,000 the day it launched to over $150,000 one month later to well above $300,000 three months after that.

Allison Ellsworth disclosed that Poppi sold close to $35 million worth of its beverages in 2021, up from $3 million the year prior. The company's chief brand officer also expressed her belief that Poppi drinks could be sold at non-grocery outlets, such as Sephora or Ulta.

Since the company's inception, Poppi has done most of its paid advertising on TikTok with Ellsworth personally making the commercials.

The company commissioned a thirty-day study involving thirty-eight different types of people to determine how the company's drink affects varying organisms. It is important to note, however, that the purported study has not been published in any academic journal and has not undergone peer review. The study aimed to examine the following:

• The efficacy of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in the beverage in reducing gas, bloating, heartburn/acid reflux, and abdominal pain
• The effect of ACV in the beverage on bowel movements through the assessment of stool frequency and consistency (constipated, diarrhetic, and normal bowel states)
• The efficacy of ACV in the beverage in improving skin health

Thirty-eight participants drank one 12 fl oz. can of Poppi soda every day for four weeks. Outcome measurement questionnaires were completed at baseline, week two, and week four. According to the company, the study arrived at the following findings:

• 89% of participants reported a significant improvement in upper GI symptoms (including stomach pains and bloating).
• 87% of participants reported a significant improvement in the frequency of upper GI symptoms.
• 87% of participants reported a significant improvement in the severity of bowel symptoms (gas, constipation).
• 79% reported a significant improvement in the frequency of bowel symptoms.
• 84% of participants reported significantly improved skin health (reduced redness, acne, and hyperpigmentation).

According to a New York Times article, experts lack the certainty that ingestible skin-care ingredients can have benefits for skin health. Overall, they say the research to support these claims and potential benefits is flimsy at best (and nonexistent, in many instances). Rachel Strugatz opined that it is "an evolution of a largely unregulated supplement and ingestible craze."

According to Ellsworth, a single can of Poppi’s soda contains approximately one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV). Some experts have opined that there is not enough science to support many of the health claims associated with ACV. However, in one small-scale study in Japan funded by an ACV producer, study subjects taking various doses of the substance reported weight loss of 2.2 to 4.4 pounds over a twelve-week period.

Purna Kashyap, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine Microbiome Program, has expressed skepticism regarding the health benefits of ACV:

I don’t know of a study, which is well-designed and well-controlled, to tell you that it actually has an effect. It’s much easier to spread the message with marketing than to actually do the work to prove it.

Most of the ingredients of Poppi are naturally derived. The ingredients in the orange flavor of Poppi are the following:

• Sparkling water
• Organic cane sugar
• Orange juice concentrate
• Organic apple cider vinegar
• Organic agave inulin
• Natural flavors
• Lemon juice concentrate
• Stevia

Other ingredients found in various flavors include apple juice concentrate, natural tartaric acid, and green tea caffeine. The orange and lemon juice are used to create the tart flavor and color of the drink, in contrast to artificial colorants used in commercial soda brands. Although orange juice was shown to have an advantageous impact on cholesterol levels in a meta-study published in the Phytotherapy Research journal, Poppi's low content of orange juice is not expected to have any specific health effects.

Organic agave inulin is the prebiotic ingredient that allows Poppi to market itself as a prebiotic soda; however, the soda only provides 2 grams (g) of dietary fiber, which is not considered a substantial amount. In addition, "natural flavors" is a broad categorical descriptor that does not specify the flavoring agents used. A medical review published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal suggests that some natural flavoring compounds and their metabolites may be toxic to humans.

The brand has made donations from the sale of two of its pink-colored flavors to Breast Cancer Awareness. Poppi also supports Melody of Hope, which increases access to music in schools in underserved communities.