From the archive: This episode was originally recorded and published in 2021. Our interviews on Entrepreneurs On Fire are meant to be evergreen, and we do our best to confirm that all offers and URL’s in these archive episodes are still relevant.

Allison Ellsworth is the Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Poppi, the leading prebiotic soda infused with apple cider vinegar for a happy gut. Along with being a full-time mom, Allison has grown her business rapidly. Since its inception in 2015, Poppi has expanded to national retailers and become a best-seller on Amazon. Now, Poppi is the #1 fastest growing brand in the SPINS Natural Channel functional beverage category. Prior to creating Poppi, Allison worked as a landman in the oil and gas industry and attended the University of North Texas.

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Drink Poppi – Be Gut Happy, Be Gut Healthy. Drink Poppi!

3 Value Bombs

1) You can be successful and have a family at the same time.

2) Be strategic and work with the influencers of the influencers.

3) Being authentic is the key. Identify what works for each platform, and once you go viral, you have to continue doing what works.

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Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.

Today’s Audio MASTERCLASS: Why Your Branding Needs to Take a Digital-First Approach with Allison Ellsworth

[1:38] – Allison shares something that she believes about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

• She believes that you can be successful and have a family at the same time.

[2:25] – What was your Shark Tank experience like?

• Her whole experience with Shark Tank was fantastic, and it changed her life.
• When they started the company, they were having success, and she told her husband that they needed to invest to be seen
• She saw an open-casting call for Shark Tank, and it took them six months to finally get on the show.
• They got a deal with Rohan Oza.

[4:18] – Where did the name Poppi come from?

• It took them eight months to figure out the name.
• The word Poppi comes from a play on soda pop.
• Poppi as a brand is colorful, pops off the shelf, and makes everyone smile.
• Mother Beverage was their brand name before Poppi.

[6:45] – Why should brands take a digital-first approach?

• They knew that they wanted to be a digital-first company; however, they did not know how quickly they could execute and achieve that.
• They launched Poppi during the pandemic in March 2020.
• They were forced from day 1 to become a digital-first company, and it was one of the best decisions ever made for their company.

[7:48] – Who did Poppi’s branding?

• They worked closely with Rohan and his branding team, and they spent a good amount of time deciding what their packaging would look like.
• They came up with a work-of-art so the packaging would stand out.

[9:32] – Can you tell us about Poppi’s success numbers-wise?

• They have 2 healthy businesses – through Amazon and retail.
• They were included as one of Amazon’s Top 10 hottest new products.
• They invested in the Amazon platform, and it worked well for Poppi.

[11:20] – Are you trying to turn a profit?

• Poppi is not trying to make a profit.
• They believe in the marketing strategy that the first few years of your business are spent raising awareness and getting as many samples as possible to as many consumers as possible.
• Currently, their main focus is to continue to spend to get awareness.

[12:46] – A timeout to thank our sponsor!

• HubSpot: Get ready for growth, without the growing pains! Visit HubSpot.com/spotlight to see the dozens of major product updates that’ll make impossible growth feel impossibly easy!

[15:49] – How should brands determine which influencers they align with?

• You want to look at having various influencers, on top of having different levels of macro and micro-influencers.
• Be strategic and work with the influencers of the influencers

[17:21] – Allison shares more about “Influencers of influencers.”

• They recently did a campaign with Jennifer Lopez.
• You don’t look at her to convert, but to create awareness.
• Your brand bearer should be authentic and transparent. JLo was already a fan of Poppi

[19:14] – Can you share any approximate numbers to get an influencer like JLo to promote with you?

• The most expensive thing with celebrities, influencers, or any talent is their time.
• There are metrics on looking at what you want to pay the influencers.
• It will depend on their scope of work.

[21:12] – Allison shares some tips for achieving virality and what to do when you hit it big.

• She is obsessed with TikTok. For her, it is the way of the future. Video, in general, is the way of the future.
• One day she sat down and told her story about how she started Poppi, going on to Shark Tank, and why Poppi was important to her. That video hit around 14M views with over 400k comments.
• Being authentic is the key. Identify what works for each platform, and once you go viral, you have to continue doing what works.

[24:07] –  Allison’s parting piece of guidance.

• TikTok is the way of the future. Just post and have some fun.
• “Doing something is better than doing nothing by an infinite amount.”
• Drink Poppi – Be Gut Happy, Be Gut Healthy. Drink Poppi!

[25:04] – Thank you to our Sponsor!

• HubSpot: Get ready for growth, without the growing pains! Visit HubSpot.com/spotlight to see the dozens of major product updates that’ll make impossible growth feel impossibly easy!

Killer Resources!

1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!

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