Poppi Founders Ink PR Deal for Their Billion-Dollar Second Act

NEW YORK, NY – March 02, 2026 – Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, the entrepreneurial duo who transformed a kitchen-counter concoction into the billion-dollar prebiotic soda brand poppi, have enlisted the high-energy public relations agency SolComms to orchestrate their next chapter. The move signals a deliberate pivot from brand operators to influential industry figures, coming just a year after the landmark sale of their company to beverage giant PepsiCo.

Following the staggering $1.95 billion acquisition in 2025, the Ellsworths are now focusing on a new phase of their careers: advising fellow consumer brands, making angel investments, and sharing their meteoric success story on the speaker circuit. The partnership with SolComms is designed to strategically build their personal brands and establish them as prominent thought leaders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

From Farmers Market to Fortune

The story of poppi is a modern entrepreneurial fairytale. It began in Allison Ellsworth’s kitchen in Austin, Texas, where she sought to create a tastier way to consume apple cider vinegar for its health benefits. The result was a prebiotic-infused soda that found its first customers at a local farmers market under the name “Mother Beverage.”

A pivotal 2018 appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank secured an investment from Rohan Oza, a branding expert known for his work with Vitaminwater and Bai. This partnership catalyzed a full rebrand, and in early 2020, poppi was born. With its vibrant packaging and digital-first marketing strategy, the brand exploded in popularity, cultivating a loyal community of over a million followers and generating more than two billion views on TikTok.

Under Stephen Ellsworth's leadership as CEO and Chief Product Officer, the company’s operations and supply chain scaled at a breakneck pace to meet surging demand. Within five years, poppi became one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the United States, culminating in the PepsiCo acquisition. In its announcement, PepsiCo cited the brand's cultural relevance and strong operational foundation as key drivers for the deal. Despite its success, the journey wasn't without hurdles; the company settled a class-action lawsuit for $8.9 million in early 2024 regarding its “gut health” claims, leading to adjustments in its marketing language.

Now, post-exit, the founders are leveraging their hard-won experience. Allison has returned to Shark Tank as a guest investor for Season 17 and is a sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship and brand building, while both are actively advising and investing in the next wave of consumer startups.

Crafting a Post-Exit Narrative

For many founders, a successful exit is the end of the story. For the Ellsworths, it is the beginning of a new one. Their decision to hire SolComms underscores a growing trend among successful entrepreneurs: the strategic cultivation of a personal brand as a primary business asset.

SolComms will be responsible for driving the couple's executive communications, encompassing storytelling, media relations, and securing thought leadership opportunities at major conferences. The goal is to transition their public identity from “the founders of poppi” to influential investors, mentors, and voices for American entrepreneurship.

“The American Dream is alive and well, and we are living proof of that,” the Ellsworths stated in a joint announcement. “We are so fortunate to have experienced tremendous and rapid growth with poppi, and we now have our eyes set on helping other entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and goals. SolComms shares our grit and hustle when it comes to public relations and brand marketing, and we’re looking forward to partnering with them as we begin writing our next chapter.”

This sentiment was echoed by Bruno Solari, Founder and CEO of SolComms, who has a history with the brand. “I first crossed paths with Allison and Stephen in 2022, serving as the lead PR strategist on their Series A announcement, and have long-admired how intentional, brand-savvy and community-centric they were in building poppi,” Solari said. “I’m proud to partner with the Ellsworths as they enter the next phase of their careers, building upon their legacy and telling their story.”

The Agency Behind the Founders

SolComms, though relatively young, has quickly carved out a niche as a go-to agency for high-growth companies and their founders. Launched by Solari in April 2023, the New York-based firm has seen its own rapid ascent, reaching $1 million in revenue in its first ten months and on track to surpass $6 million in 2025.

The agency's executive positioning practice is home to a roster of well-known founders, including Melissa Ben-Ishay of Baked By Melissa, Kim Vacarella of Bogg Bags, and Amy Errett of Madison Reed. This focus on elevating executives into thought leaders has become a key differentiator, attracting clients who understand that a founder's reputation is inextricably linked to their venture's success and their own future opportunities.

SolComms’ strategy combines traditional PR with a deep understanding of the modern media landscape, a quality that likely appealed to the digitally native Ellsworths. The agency’s expansion into influencer marketing in early 2025 further demonstrates its integrated approach to brand building, whether for a company or an individual.

The Booming Business of Personal Branding

The Ellsworth-SolComms partnership is a high-profile example of a larger market shift where personal branding for founders is no longer a vanity project but a critical business function. In a crowded startup ecosystem, a founder's reputation can be a powerful moat. Research indicates that a strong personal brand builds trust, differentiates a venture, and directly impacts the bottom line.

Industry studies show that a majority of consumers are more likely to trust and buy from companies whose leaders are active and visible on social media. For investors, the calculus is even clearer; a founder's well-developed personal brand and established thought leadership are often seen as de-risking an investment. According to industry reports, nearly 90% of investors view a founder's strong personal brand as a significant factor in their decision-making process.

For post-exit entrepreneurs like the Ellsworths, this strategic branding is about leveraging past success to unlock future influence. A powerful narrative can attract higher-quality deal flow for angel investments, lend credibility to their advisory roles, and command higher fees on the speaking circuit. It is the mechanism through which their financial capital, earned from the poppi sale, is converted into reputational capital, allowing them to shape the industries they operate in. This partnership represents a sophisticated understanding that in today's economy, the story is as valuable as the balance sheet.