Latest news with #BenGoodwin
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
LAST CHANCE: Visit Olipop's virtual drive-thru today for mocktails, DIY summer drinks
LAST CHANCE: Visit Olipop's virtual drive-thru today for mocktails, DIY summer drinks If you missed Olipop's first-ever drive-thru experience in Los Angeles, don't fret, you can still enjoy it virtually. However, you'll need to act fast as today is the LAST day for your chance at a DIY mocktail starter kit or a case of the newest Olipop flavor for free. The Virtual Drive-Thru opens for one final time from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM PST, with the final batch of winners selected to get the sweet taste of Olipop for free! Since it opened last week, by the end of Monday, 1,000 customers will have been selected. Olipop lovers can even enjoy 20% off their next order. More on that below. So act fast, because the sweet taste of Olipop viral healthy soda at the Virtual Drive-Thru is driving away today! When is the Olipop Virtual Drive-Thru? From Monday, May 12 to Monday, May 19, Olipop will host a Virtual Drive-Thru at open daily from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM PST. More Olipop Drive-Thru: Visit Olipop's retro Drive-Thru today and enter to win fun bubbly for summer 🍊 How do you enter to win Olipop freebies? Simply enter your name and email. Olipop will notify you within 48 hours if you're one of the selected winners. Winners will win one of the following freebies: Olipop Drive-Thru Mocktail Kit: In partnership with KOIA, Olipop is bringing the sparkle home with all the ingredients you need to create your own Dirty Protein Soda featuring the new Olipop Orange Cream flavor. You can also create the internet's most viral drink right now, the Sleepy Girl Mocktail, in partnership with Pomona Organics and Moon Juice. Olipop 12-Pack of Orange Cream: Don't miss your chance to get a 12-pack of the new Orange Cream flavor delivered right to your doorstep. See Official Rules for full details on how to enter, eligibility requirements, odds, prize descriptions and limitations. Void where prohibited. Enter to win here To continue the bubble celebrations, Olipop is offering a 20% discount when shoppers use coupon code DRIVETHRU20 at checkout at The coupon can be applied to all purchases sitewide. What is Olipop? Olipop launched in 2018 as an alternative to regular soda. The functional beverage was formulated by the brand's CEO, Ben Goodwin, and a group of scientists to create a flavorful soda that supports digestive health. Today, Olipop flavors include Vintage Cola, Classic Root Beer, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Vanilla, Watermelon Lime, Tropical Punch, Ginger Ale, and more. Olipop is non-GMO, paleo, vegan, and gluten-free. Each can of Olipop has nine grams of fiber, two to five grams of sugar, and is packed with prebiotics and plant-based fiber for supreme digestive health. Does Olipop soda have caffeine? Some Olipop flavors have caffeine. Right now, the only Olipop flavors that contain caffeine are Vintage Cola, Cherry Cola, and Dr. Goodwin. The rest are caffeine-free! The caffeine in those three Olipop flavors consists of 50mg of caffeine derived from green tea extract.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How prebiotic soda Olipop leveraged social media to grow from a $100,000 investment to a $1.85 billion brand on shelves at Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods
Soda is becoming a superfood. Next time you go down the soft drink aisle at the grocery store, you may notice a growing number of new names and designs vying for your dollars. They aren't just promising a refreshing satisfaction to your sweet tooth or carbonation craving—the new industry is promising a healthy alternative to the long-dominant soda companies Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The one company now leading the charge is Olipop. Olipop calls its drinks 'a new kind of soda' because of their emphasis on nutrition versus sugary craving—with prebiotics, plant fiber, and natural sweeteners found in each of its 18 flavors (vintage cola, grape, and crisp apple are the most popular). However, going from a startup big to a household consumer brand has been no easy feat; to spread the word, the company relies on social media and on showing up where consumers are, such as at sporting events. With a valuation of $1.85 billion, Olipop is profitable and surpassed $400 million in revenue last year. And its biggest competitor, Poppi, was recently acquired by PepsiCo for $1.65 billion, leaving Olipop one of the largest independent challengers to the soda giants. Getting loyal soda drinkers to try a new product has not been an easy task—it's taken years of recipe experimentation, long-shot retail pitches, and thousands of social media posts to find success. Ben Goodwin cofounded Olipop in 2018 and now serves as CEO of the Oakland-based company. He says the secret hasn't been based on encouraging people to give up their love and nostalgia for soda, but instead making a new version that's craveable and has real health benefits. 'Our approach has celebrated these intergenerational connections rather than trying to replace them. By honoring that emotional connection while elevating the experience, we've built a brand that doesn't just replace soda—it evolves it,' Goodwin tells Fortune. From the very beginning, Olipop knew it had to break conventions to make it in the cutthroat soda world, and Steven Vigilante, part of the founding Olipop team, took to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to propel the brand as a fun new way for young people in particular to get their soda fix. '[We] don't take ourselves too seriously,' Vigilante, now the director of strategic partnerships, tells Fortune. 'We're soda. We play in the soda space. We have the gut health stuff. There are very obvious ties between fiber and poop, and we shouldn't be afraid of that.' On top of leaning into toilet humor and viral trends, Olipop has emphasized being human-first as a way to gain name recognition against multibillion-dollar brands. If you scroll through Olipop's social feeds on TikTok or Instagram, you won't find highly produced content, but you will find short and sweet plays on viral trends, emojis, and soda cans. 'I always tell the team, if you're going to write a comment from the account, make sure it sounds like it's coming from a person, not a brand, because every brand sounds the same,' Vigilante says. It's a lane that Coca-Cola, for example, has yet to embrace. The $300 billion company (over 150 times that of Olipop) has about three times more TikTok followers than Olipop but only posts a fraction of the content. Olipop's goal to chip away at the market slowly has been working, with the product now found in some 50,000 retailers, like Target and Whole Foods. Moreover, according to Vigilante, Olipop is now a 'nine-figure business' at Walmart. And even though a 12-pack of prebiotic soda may cost you over three times more than Coke or Pepsi, many customers don't mind—and it's catching the eye of the big brands. However, instead of buying up competition like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola seems to be going its own way. Earlier this year, it launched a prebiotic soda under the Simply Juice brand name, with flavors like strawberry, fruit punch, and pineapple mango (there is no cola-flavored or 'Coke' prebiotic option). Moreover, on the product's web page, there is, notably, a 'Commonly Asked' question section that calls out competitors by name, offering an answer to how Simply Pop compares with Olipop and Poppi. But it's not just supermarket shelves where functional soda is expanding—it's in sporting venue contracts, too, an area that soda brands once thought was impenetrable. Last year, the Barclays Center in New York approached Olipop with a desire to carve out its existing Pepsi contract to sell prebiotic soda—something Vigilante says is unprecedented in the beverage industry. Now Olipop is sold in six different major sporting venues—including the $2 billion L.A. Clippers Intuit Dome—as well as being the official beverage partner of two professional soccer teams. While product placement and creator partnerships have overall aided Olipop in growing its brand, Vigilante credits simply being at the right place at the right time and following consumer demands. 'I'm obsessed with being in the zeitgeist, and I think as a brand, especially in the soda space, where soda is so deeply in the consumer zeitgeist already, it becomes more and more important, the bigger we get, to keep showing up in different places,' he says. According to Sam Shapiro, a principal at L.E.K. Consulting who has followed the beverage market for close to a decade, the demand for traditional soft drinks has been slowly declining as consumers have opted away from high-fructose corn syrup and sugar in their diet. Functional products, like prebiotic soda, have been able to fill the gap with 'durability.' 'Alternative sodas have just dramatically outpaced the broader soda market, in terms of retail sales, volume sales, and even the presence in food service,' Shapiro tells Fortune. And with growth unlikely to slow down anytime soon, businesses like Olipop are a perfect example of how to properly embrace and cater to a market shifting toward younger consumers. 'Our generation is in charge now,' Vigilante, who is a millennial, says. 'The businesses that have figured that out are winning, and the businesses that still have legacy people with legacy ways of thinking in these seats—it's reflected in their company performance and their stock price right now.' This story was originally featured on
Axios
13-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Olipop talks growth, social media at Axios House
Prebiotic soda maker Olipop is betting on up-and-coming influencers — and its own competitors — to help the brand grow. Why it matters: The prebiotic soda market is booming, with the world's biggest soda makers jumping into the race. Driving the news: Olipop co-founder and CEO Ben Goodwin spoke with Axios during South by Southwest about the Oakland, California-based company's competition and marketing strategy. What they're saying: "They've done us an enormous favor because they basically just put a big neon sign up saying: 'This is mainstream,'" Goodwin said of Coca Cola, Pepsi and Keurig Dr Pepper's recent move into the prebiotic soda lane. The big picture: There's been an explosion of brands — wrapped in trendy, colorful packaging — like Olipop, Poppi, Culture Pop, Vina and Mayawell that make "functional" claims, usually related to gut health. Olipop, for example, says its prebiotic, plant fiber and botanical extracts combination gives its sodas digestive health benefits. Olipop products are available at Walmart, Target and other major retailers. The company was valued at $1.85 billion in its latest funding round, per CNBC. Yes, but: The steep competition has come with its own drama. Austin-based Poppi faced backlash in February over its Super Bowl marketing, which included sending personalized vending machines filled with Poppi to influencers. Critics called it wasteful and out of touch, and competitor Olipop jumped in the fray, saying the vending machines "cost $25K each." Poppi has disputed the pricing claim. During SXSW, Goodwin declined to talk about Poppi's Super Bowl experience because he doesn't want to "mud sling," but discussed some lessons for brands using social media. Goodwin said brands should make sure they're structuring their "messaging in a way that you are making your average, everyday consumer feel good about themselves and their life." Olipop has tried to lean on first-time content creators and "everyday people," he added. "That's an important piece of how we just try to work with customers in general — just really connect with them at the human level," Goodwin said. "I think brands would be wise to do that as much as they can." The brand is also moving toward TV hits to gain slightly older customers, but "we'll always have a blend," of social media spots and television marketing, according to Goodwin. What's next: Goodwin declined to say whether Olipop is pursuing an IPO. "My eyes are on building to $1 billion in revenue" and keeping the company sustainable, he said. "We've got some really great flavors coming out, some limited-time offerings and an enormous partnership that's going to land about two-thirds of the way through the year."
Bloomberg
20-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
A Soft Drink with a Hard Mission: Functional Soda
The high-fiber, lower-sugar soda-startup Ollipop is officially a unicorn. The company raised $50 million in its Series C funding round at a valuation of $1.85 billion. The funding comes as both Coke and Pepsi are preparing entrants into the 'healthy soda' market. CEO Ben Goodwin joined Bloomberg Open Interest to talk about what's next for his company and the "healthy soda" category. (Source: Bloomberg)
CBC
19-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
From Coca-Cola to local Canadian brewers, the prebiotic soda industry is booming. Here's why
Social Sharing Coca Cola is introducing a line of prebiotic sodas, marking the legacy beverage brand's first foray into the "functional" soft drink market led by upstarts Olipop and Poppi — and further tightening competition as more Canadian brands launch their versions of the fizzy drinks. The company announced on Tuesday that it would introduce the sodas, called Simply Pop, which it said will have prebiotic ingredients aimed at digestive health. They'll first be available in the U.S. before expanding to other markets later this year. Prebiotic sodas usually pair low-sugar and high-fibre content with ingredients meant to promote gut health — similar to kombucha and other fermented drinks. They're referred to as "functional" because they're sold as a wellness product, though some health professionals have tempered expectations of their health benefits. Olipop co-founder and CEO Ben Goodwin said in a statement shared with CBC News that it was validating to see the "modern soda category" had gone mainstream, and would have a bright future with Coca-Cola entering the market. "It's a massive honour that the largest soda brand in the world has decided that the category … is a great place for them to seek growth," Goodwin said. Coca-Cola, which will launch the sodas in three flavours, is making its entry into a market thirsty for younger drinkers and people opting out of alcohol. But even as the beverage giant goes probiotic, smaller Canadian brands are intent on carving out their own niche. Why the drinks are seeing a surge The prebiotic soda market is dominated by California company Olipop and its Texas-based competitor, Poppi. The latter was founded when its creators made a 2018 appearance on the business pitch reality show Shark Tank. Both brands have grown exponentially since then: Olipop was most recently valued at $1.85 billion US, while Poppi claims it made over $100 million US in sales in 2023. A spokesperson for Poppi had no comment in response to Coke's announcement. Coca-Cola, for its part, thinks the overall category could generate $2 billion US in sales before 2030. Its research showed that Gen-Z and millennial consumers in particular "were really interested in juice and prebiotic sodas," said Becca Kerr, chief executive of nutrition at The Coca-Cola Company, in a news release. "Since many brands in this category are new, they were looking to align with names they know and trust for both quality and taste. This was particularly true for those curious about prebiotic sodas but who hadn't yet taken the leap," she said. Many consumers are trying to drink less pop and soda, but are still looking for fizzy alternatives with a health component, said Aleena Mazhar Kuzma, senior vice-president, managing director and partner at Toronto marketing agency FUSE Create. There hasn't yet been consensus on the positive health benefits of these drinks, but experts say they generally don't do harm, which is why some consumers say they enjoy them as a guilt-free treat in moderation. However, Poppi is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from a consumer who says the company's drinks aren't as "gut-healthy" as its marketing would have consumers believe, and that the increased sugar consumption that would come with regularly drinking its products outweighs the benefits of its prebiotic fibre ingredients. WATCH | Is diet soda safe to drink?: Is aspartame safe? Why there's debate 2 years ago Duration 1:29 Meanwhile, young adults in Canada are drinking less alcohol, according to Statistics Canada, and Gen Z is particular isn't imbibing as much as the generations before them. Studies conducted in the U.S. have shown similar patterns. Beverage retailers like Poppi, Olipop and sparkling water brand Bubly are skewing their products to a younger audience by branding their drinks as "bright and vibrant and fun, but also kind of functional," said Kuzma. That demographic is "reaching for something that is fun to drink, but isn't going to compromise their health objectives," she said. A good old-fashioned rivalry between Poppi and Olipop has also drawn some comparisons to Coke vs. Pepsi, or the American beer wars between Budweiser, Miller and Coors. The feud came to a head recently, when Poppi launched a marketing campaign in which it sent vending machines full of its sodas to influencers, sparkling backlash from the public and taunting from Olipop. The controversy has largely played out online, another nod to the brands' interest in younger consumers. "I think Poppi and Olipop are both much like Coke and Pepsi. They're cheeky, they're young, they're social-first, they like getting involved in [online] conversations and cultural trends," said Kuzma. Canadian brands getting fizzy with it Both Poppi and Olipop are available for sale across Canada, but several Canadian companies have crafted their own prebiotic sodas as the category grows in popularity. At the Henderson Brewing Company in Toronto, co-founder Steve Himel wanted to create a drink inspired by the pop shops that he frequented as a child in the '70s and '80s. Using flavour blends from the company's sour beers, he conceived Solly's Craft Soda, a prebiotic soft drink made entirely with Canadian ingredients. "That was the ethos of the craft beer movement in the first place — it's all about buying local," said Himel in an interview with CBC News. "It's all about, what are the people in your community making and how can you support them?" Solly's, he explained, appeals to people who grew up drinking fountain soda but have left it behind for health reasons, and parents who want to keep drinks that are sweet but "measured" in the fridge for their children. "The challenge for us has been trying to find a provincial or national distributor, like a grocery chain, to come on board and support Solly's. [There is] a lot of competition. I think that in Canada these products still remain untested in terms of their broad appeal," he said. Other Canadian prebiotic soda brands include those from Montreal-based companies Buddha Brands and kombucha-maker RISE, which introduced a gut-focused beverage line called Better Soda in 2023; Toronto brands Crazy D's and Geez Louise, the latter of which makes flavoured sparkling water with prebiotic fibres; and Cove Soda, founded in Halifax, which says its beverages are geared to a "new generation of soda drinkers." "Coke will be cheaper and have a thousand times more points of distribution, so that does give them a huge edge," said Himel. But he's not betting on the beverage giant's long-term success in the prebiotic soda market. "The consumer that is interested in these types of products, and are willing to pay a bit more for them, will also be interested in more of a 'craft' product," he said. Himel thinks craft soda drinkers are also more likely to support local and small businesses over big corporations — and the prospect of a trade war with the U.S. has more people questioning the origin of the products they buy.
