Poppi Culture (soda billionaires, influencer beverage investors, and the Alex Alix of it all)

Be There in Five

Kate Kennedy

Personal Journals, Comedy Interviews, Comedy, Entertainment News, News, Society & Culture

4.8 • 7.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2025

⏱️ 118 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, we're deep diving PepsiCo's $1.95 billion acquisition of the prebiotic soda brand Poppi, discussing the shift towards health-conscious beverages and their potentially misleading claims, and digging into influencer-adjacent beverage drama like cheater brands, "vending machine gate" and rumors about if the investments of Alex Cooper and Alix Earle in beverage companies have something to do with their public falling out (and Alix being "dropped" from the Unwell network). This deep dive touches on many topics: the broader trends in the beverage industry, influencer culture, the "Health Halo Effect" of unregulated better-for-you sodas, and, most importantly, the power of branding. Enjoy!00:00 Intro03:27 The Evolution of Poppi's Branding06:00 The Rise and Valuation of Poppi30:50 The Health Halo Effect38:38 The Rise of Functional Beverages41:22 The OliPop and Poppi Rivalry48:05 Vending Machine Gate01:03:16 Celebrity Investors in Poppi and Other Bevs01:16:35 Alex/Alix, Unwell Network, and Influencer PodcastsOrder Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here!Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH!Take control of your hormonal health with Allara Health. Visit allarahealth.com/BETHEREINFIVE (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://allarahealth.com/BETHEREINFIVE&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1742995169572607&usg=AOvVaw3ll8ht_pRMoItN739NP7P8) to get your personalized treatment plan and see if Allara is right for you. With insurance, you can get started with Allara Health for as little as $0. Experience Allara Health’s expert, compassionate care today. Visit allarahealth.com/BETHEREINFIVE (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://allarahealth.com/BETHEREINFIVE&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1742995169572607&usg=AOvVaw3ll8ht_pRMoItN739NP7P8) to get started. Copays may apply. See allarahealth.com/promo (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://allarahealth.com/promo&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1742995169572607&usg=AOvVaw3Wq6zamOoIiWW_rKu9In8l) for full terms and conditions.Because amika loves Be There in Five listeners as much as we love them, they’re giving you a one-time use code for 20% off your first order through the end of March. Just go to loveamika.com/bethereinfive (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://loveamika.com/bethereinfive&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1742995169572607&usg=AOvVaw2Uq3fa4Y6yBlQcJ8h93tE5) and use code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Be There in Five podcast. I'm Kate Kennedy, your host. And today we're going to talk about a new story that sits at the intersection of many things I feel passionate about. Pepsi Co is planning to acquire
0:21.3	the prebiotic soda brand Poppy for $1.95 billion with a B, marking a major shift toward health
0:28.5	conscious beverages. Traditional soda sales have been declining, and I'm not contributing to that.
0:34.8	I, Catherine Kennedy, support big soda. And I love beverages.
0:39.2	Currently on my desk, I have three. I have a propel, owned by Gatorade. Is that PepsiCo? Maybe.
0:44.9	A Starbucks and a Kirkland signature water bottle. Now, I like to shop local, think global. I don't mean for my consumer choices to make you feel bad about yours, but,
0:54.6	you know, it's always nice to support niche artisans. I love a mass-produced beverage, but I don't
0:59.6	drink these like better for you sodas, with the exception of their cherry lime made flavor, which I do
1:03.9	think is revelatory and delicious. This topic doesn't sit at the intersection on my interest because
1:08.4	I'm a super fan of gut health sodas.
1:12.5	Yeah.
1:12.9	I still, I don't know if I have a microbiome, quite frankly.
1:16.5	I don't think I understand what it means.
1:18.2	I'm not like other girls.
1:19.4	I don't pay attention to my gut bacteria.
1:21.4	But like I really kind of don't.
1:23.4	But also I should because I don't respond well to these drinks.
1:25.8	So yeah, my interest doesn't have a ton to do with, like, the taste of the product itself, though that is an incentive because I know so many of you love it.
1:35.9	And I love that you love things.
1:38.3	My interest, my skin in this game is that I love stories involving, honestly, consumer packaged goods, because this
1:46.0	is the biz I used to work in. I love talking about influencers with money. I love a masterclass in
1:51.8	branding. I think this is a fascinating burgeoning category that has the potential to be the next
	...

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