Prebiotic soda model Poppi has come a good distance because it first appeared on Shark Tank underneath its unique title, “Mom Beverage,” in 2018.
Allison Ellsworth cofounded Poppi along with her husband Stephen Ellsworth—however earlier than turning into multimillionaires, although, the Ellsworths have been maxing out their bank cards to launch Poppi.
“My husband advised me I used to be completely loopy, however he trusted the imaginative and prescient,” Ellsworth mentioned. “So we maxed out our bank cards, offered considered one of our automobiles to purchase bottles [and] opened our personal manufacturing facility.”
The pair invested $90,000 into the enterprise within the first yr, whereas her husband labored varied gigs to cowl their mortgage. In 18 months of launching what was then “Mom Beverage,” the Ellsworths generated half 1,000,000 {dollars} in income.
After locking in a cope with Rohan Orza on Shark Tank, the Ellsworths rebranded “Mom Beverage” to Poppi. All of the whereas, Ellsworth was pregnant and the couple was elevating their children, juggling faculty dropoff with early morning Zoom conferences.
“I feel it’s OK to dwell in chaos, and to love it,” Ellsworth advised the Wall Street Journal. “Lots of people speak about work-life stability. I feel if you wish to achieve success, you form of should sacrifice that.”
Whereas some see lengthy hours and infinite availability as a badge of honor, that’s not the case for all—and might include the chance of burnout. Final yr, a survey discovered that 85% of individuals mentioned work-life balance was extra essential to them than pay. Nonetheless, another 2025 survey discovered that two-thirds (65%) believed that sacrificing work-life stability is important to achieve success. Whereas staff need stability, they imagine that grinding is the value of success.
For the Ellsworths, that threat appears to have paid off. Within the years since its rebrand, Poppi’s TikTok marketing in the course of the pandemic—mixed with the drink’s vibrant packaging and taste choices—created a loyal following by billing itself as a more healthy option to different sodas.
Final yr, the Ellsworths turned centimillionaires once they offered Poppi to PepsiCo for almost $2 billion.
After the exit, Ellsworth mentioned she felt a way of unhappiness. “Folks don’t speak in regards to the post-exit blues,” she mentioned. One yr after the sale, although, Ellsworth feels content material and ready to begin her subsequent enterprise enterprise along with her husband.
“It nearly takes a yr, while you get that quantity of wealth, to set it up accurately,” Ellsworth mentioned.
“We didn’t know the way wealthy we have been,” Ellsworth added. “You don’t know the way wealthy you’re till you begin spending cash. I used to be like, ‘am I spending an excessive amount of cash on garments? Are we spending an excessive amount of cash on journey?’ And my monetary adviser stored saying, ‘you guys are superb.’ But it surely’s so onerous to make that large of a bounce.”
Because the exit, Ellsworth advised the Journal that she’s upgraded her house, purchased two extra for her mother and aunt, splurged on a $1 million monthlong household trip to Europe, employed a non-public chef, spent $27,000 on a stylist and extra.
“Some would possibly name it materialistic, however I labored actually onerous for these issues,” Ellsworth mentioned.
The couple has additionally opened funding accounts with $5,000 every for his or her three kids between the ages of 4 and 9. “They did purchase Pepsi inventory […] They mentioned ‘now we may be buyers in Poppi.’ It was actually cute,” Ellsworth mentioned.
Within the interview, Ellsworth talked WSJ reporter Gunjan Banerji by way of her favourite heels, from Prada to Christian Louboutin.
“What’s the purpose of getting all this cash if we are able to’t have enjoyable with it?” Ellsworth requested.
