OLIPOP is having fairly per week.
First, they engaged in a snark war with rival low-sugar prebiotic soda model, Poppi, throughout the Tremendous Bowl — and by all accounts got here out the victor.
Poppi reportedly spent $16 million on a one-minute Tremendous Bowl advert that includes well-known content material creators — and despatched 32 fully-stocked merchandising machines to social media superstars. The advertising and marketing stunt fizzled out quick. Clients complained on social media that giving wealthy individuals free drinks was ludicrous and that the model may have donated the machines to varsities or hospitals, or put these funds towards reducing the drinks’ costs.
OLIPOP jumped in, fanning the flames with feedback like “32 machines occasions $25K per machine yikes” and “we do not have merchandising machines however who needs a jersey !!”
we do not have merchandising machines however who needs a jersey !! https://t.co/FZtTfZc4hU
— OLIPOP (@drinkolipop) February 9, 2025
Second on OLIPOP’s hit parade: the corporate made an announcement that absolutely had many cans popping in celebration.
Simply seven years after its launch, after closing its Collection C with J.P. Morgan, OLIPOP has hit a $1.85 billion valuation.
For anybody who thought the thought of a more healthy soda would fall flat, apparently prospects had been thirsty for simply that. The model is bought in practically 50,000 shops throughout the U.S., together with Walmart, Goal, Wawa, Entire Meals Market, Kroger, Costco and Starbucks.
Ben Goodwin, the 39-year-old co-founder of OLIPOP, instructed Entrepreneur in 2023 (again when the corporate was solely valued at $200 million) that the enterprise was impressed largely by weight and well being struggles in his early teenagers. He stated he misplaced 50 kilos at age 14, which led to a lifelong obsession with more healthy diets and train.
“After dropping out of school, I grew to become a relentless researcher on the microbiome and product formulation and ultimately went on to develop the components for OLIPOP,” he stated, on the time.
Goodwin additionally shared his recommendation for entrepreneurial thinkers who, like him, have an excellent thought and keenness, however do not know whether or not they’re fairly prepared to start out.
“I believe individuals do not essentially must have the total imaginative and prescient of the tip sport once they start,” he suggested, including that market response provides you with the suggestions you should know what your product is doing proper, the way it can enhance, and the way your organization can develop.
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And for these in search of funding, he burdened the significance of working with buyers who “deal with you with respect, take the time to take heed to your imaginative and prescient, and are focused on your small business.”
If a possible investor feels the necessity to dominate conversations and acts like they’re the savior of your organization? “Keep away from them,” Goodwin says. “We have now a functionality to develop via nice imaginative and prescient and energy,” he says. “The longer term shouldn’t be fastened, neither is our capacity to facilitate that change.”
Watch Entrepreneur’s dialog with Ben Goodwin in its entirety here.
