OLIPOP is having quite a week.
First, they engaged in a snark war with rival low-sugar prebiotic soda brand, Poppi, during the Super Bowl — and by all accounts came out the victor.
Poppi reportedly spent $16 million on a one-minute Super Bowl ad featuring famous content creators — and sent 32 fully-stocked vending machines to social media superstars. The marketing stunt fizzled out fast. Customers complained on social media that giving rich people free drinks was ludicrous and that the brand could have donated the machines to schools or hospitals, or put those funds toward lowering the drinks’ prices.
OLIPOP jumped in, fanning the flames with comments like “32 machines times $25K per machine yikes” and “we don’t have vending machines but who wants a jersey !!”
we don’t have vending machines but who wants a jersey !! https://t.co/FZtTfZc4hU
— OLIPOP (@drinkolipop) February 9, 2025
Second on OLIPOP’s hit parade: the company made an announcement that surely had many cans popping in celebration.
Just seven years after its launch, after closing its Series C with J.P. Morgan, OLIPOP has hit a $1.85 billion valuation.
For anyone who thought the idea of a healthier soda would fall flat, apparently customers were thirsty for just that. The brand is sold in nearly 50,000 stores across the U.S., including Walmart, Target, Wawa, Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Costco and Starbucks.
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Ben Goodwin, the 39-year-old co-founder of OLIPOP, told Entrepreneur in 2023 (back when the company was only valued at $200 million) that the business was inspired largely by weight and health struggles in his early teens. He said he lost 50 pounds at age 14, which led to a lifelong obsession with healthier diets and exercise.
“After dropping out of college, I became a relentless researcher on the microbiome and product formulation and eventually went on to develop the formula for OLIPOP,” he said, at the time.
Goodwin also shared his advice for entrepreneurial thinkers who, like him, have a great idea and passion, but don’t know whether they are quite ready to start.
“I think people don’t necessarily need to have the full vision of the end game when they begin,” he advised, adding that market reaction will give you the feedback you need to know what your product is doing right, how it can improve, and how your company can grow.
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And for those seeking investment, he stressed the importance of working with investors who “treat you with respect, take the time to listen to your vision, and are interested in your business.”
If a potential investor feels the need to dominate conversations and acts like they are the savior of your company? “Avoid them,” Goodwin says. “We have a capability to grow through great vision and effort,” he says. “The future is not fixed, nor is our ability to facilitate that change.”
Watch Entrepreneur’s conversation with Ben Goodwin in its entirety here.
Read the full article here
