ICYMI: Allison Ellsworth - Founder of Poppi

Summary

Climbing in Heels with Rachel Zoe: ICYMI - Allison Ellsworth, Founder of Poppi

In the March 28, 2025 episode of Climbing in Heels with Rachel Zoe, host Rachel Zoe sits down with Allison Ellsworth, the dynamic founder of Poppi, a rapidly growing health-focused soda brand. The conversation delves into Allison's entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of balancing business with motherhood, and the strategies that propelled Poppi to success.

Early Life and Entrepreneurial Roots

Allison Ellsworth hails from Texas, a state deeply ingrained in her entrepreneurial spirit. Despite spending her early childhood in Colorado, she considers herself a true Texan, a sentiment mirrored by Rachel, who appreciates the drive and friendliness characteristic of Texans. Allison's family background is rooted in the oil and gas industry, with both her father and sister prominent figures in the sector. However, Allison's passion for entrepreneurship extended beyond traditional paths.

Transitioning from Oil to Wellness

Allison's pivot from the oil industry to wellness beverages was driven by personal health challenges. She recounts, "I discovered apple cider vinegar... and I just came really passionate about just better for you lifestyle" ([06:41]). Her commitment to a healthier lifestyle led her to create Poppi—a healthier soda alternative infused with apple cider vinegar. This innovation was born out of necessity and personal experience, highlighting her ability to identify market gaps and respond with authentic solutions.

Founding Poppi: From Kitchen Creation to Market Success

Poppi's inception was serendipitous. Allison shares, "I just went to my kitchen... it was a total accident, not an entrepreneurial journey at all" ([07:59]). The positive feedback from her husband and early testers encouraged her to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Allison and her husband invested their life savings into the venture, setting up their own manufacturing facility despite being newly pregnant. Their dedication paid off quickly, with Whole Foods expressing interest within three weeks of launching at local farmers markets. "Kelly Landrieu... told us, 'You guys should be in Whole Foods,'" Allison recalls ([11:04]).

Navigating Shark Tank and Securing Investment

A pivotal moment in Poppi's journey was their appearance on Shark Tank. Allison was nine months pregnant during the pitch, a testament to her resilience and determination. She states, "If you get too nervous, you're gonna go into labor" ([31:22]). Their persistence resulted in a deal with Rohan Oza, a seasoned beverage expert, securing $400,000 for 20% equity in the company. This investment was instrumental in rebranding and scaling Poppi during the challenging onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adapting to Pandemic Challenges and Leveraging Digital Marketing

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Poppi to rethink traditional launch strategies. Instead of focusing on physical events, Allison turned to digital platforms like TikTok, amassing over 2 billion views and establishing Poppi as a digital-first brand. "We were just scrappy at the beginning," she emphasizes ([34:18]). This agility allowed Poppi to connect authentically with a younger demographic, leveraging influencer partnerships and organic growth to build a robust brand presence online.

Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship

Allison's journey is also marked by her ability to balance the demands of building a business while raising three young boys. She shares the immense challenges and sacrifices involved, including working with a baby strapped to her while managing the bottling operations. "We could not afford a babysitter. My mom would come down on the weekends when she could to help" ([15:56]). Her partnership with her husband, who oversees innovation and supply chain, has been crucial in maintaining both family and business life. Allison emphasizes the importance of not adhering to traditional leadership roles, stating, "My title is Chief Brand Officer" ([22:10]), and highlights the significance of empowering her team and fostering a creative work environment.

Leadership Philosophy and Organizational Growth

As Poppi experienced explosive growth, Allison made the difficult decision to bring in an external CEO to manage the expanding operations. This move allowed her to focus on her strengths in brand vision and creative strategy. "Being a CEO, it's a lot of people management... there's so many things that I'm like, oh, wow, I don't want to do any of that" ([22:10]). She advocates for founders to recognize their own strengths and delegate roles that fall outside their expertise, fostering a collaborative and efficient organizational structure.

Marketing Strategies: Authenticity Over Celebrity

Poppi's marketing strategy has always prioritized authenticity. Allison explains, "I did it with no makeup on. I had my kids running around in the background" ([34:58]), which resonated with consumers seeking genuine brand connections. While initially leveraging affordable influencer partnerships, the rising costs of influencer marketing have prompted Poppi to seek more meaningful collaborations. Their partnership with Post Malone is a prime example: "He gave up big soda. He lost like 30 pounds... that was authentic" ([36:38]). This approach ensures that endorsements align with the brand's values and mission, maintaining consumer trust.

Achievements and Future Outlook

Poppi's achievements include becoming the official soda of the Los Angeles Lakers and dominating the Amazon marketplace as the number one soda. Allison expresses both pride and humility, stating, "I'm dominating. We are disrupting soda" ([38:21]). Despite the success, she remains focused on continuous growth and innovation, refusing to rest on her laurels and always striving to push the brand forward.

Reflections and Takeaways

Rachel Zoe concludes the episode by highlighting Allison's courage in relinquishing the CEO title and her unwavering commitment to her brand and family. This approach serves as an inspiring model for female entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of business and personal life. Allison's story underscores the importance of authenticity, adaptability, and leveraging one's strengths to build a successful and sustainable business.

Notable Quotes:

• "I just went to my kitchen... it was a total accident, not an entrepreneurial journey at all." — Allison Ellsworth ([07:59])

• "If you get too nervous, you're gonna go into labor." — Allison Ellsworth ([31:22])

• "We were just scrappy at the beginning." — Allison Ellsworth ([34:18])

• "My title is Chief Brand Officer." — Allison Ellsworth ([22:10])

• "He gave up big soda. He lost like 30 pounds... that was authentic." — Allison Ellsworth ([36:38])

This episode of Climbing in Heels offers valuable insights into the balance of entrepreneurship and motherhood, the power of authentic branding, and the strategic decisions that drive business growth. Allison Ellsworth's journey with Poppi serves as a testament to resilience, creativity, and the importance of staying true to one's vision.

Transcript

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[Rachel Zo]

Hi, everyone. I'm Rachel Zo, and you're listening to Climbing in Heels. For your weekly dose of glamour, inspiration, and fun, I'm joined today by the wonderful and incredibly passionate entrepreneur and founder of Poppy, Alison Ellsworth. Alison has built the most fantastic and successful brand that's rooted in a product that she created truly out of necessity. She discovered the health benefits of apple cider vinegar and created a healthier soda that's become the fastest growing beverage of all time. That is insane. While simultaneously giving birth and raising three young boys. I am so incredibly inspired by Alison's vision. So let's jump right in. You are going to love this episode. I'm so excited to have you on. You know, I drink poppy. My team drinks poppy. We all like my. My refrigerator is filled with poppy. But I also want to say how cool it is for me when I like a brand, when I see, like, kind of all these different people coming in from the wild, holding the brand, which I imagine is the greatest thing for you. So I want to talk about this because I want to dive back to the beginning for a second. So you grew up in. In Texas? Born and raised.

[Alison Ellsworth]

So born in Colorado, lived there for, like, a year. But I don't claim that I'm a Texas girly through and through. I grew up here, lived here, forced my husband to move back here. I'm obsessed with Texas.

[Rachel Zo]

You are. I love that.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Like, I love Texas.

[Rachel Zo]

I love that. I love that you love Texas. Having so many people in my life from Texas, there is this overarching common thread of friendliness. And first of all, everybody's tall. So I do want to really?

[Alison Ellsworth]

I am tall. Yes.

[Rachel Zo]

Literally every friend I've ever had from Texas is incredibly tall, except for one. The guys are gigantic. They are actually gigantic. And the women are also very, very tall. But there's this happiness about Texans. The people I'VE met from Texas are driven, they're happy, they love Texas.

[Alison Ellsworth]

No, I've always said I started the company in Texas and I always feel like if I wouldn't have, I don't know if we'd be so successful. I was like, Texans love Texas brands, like everything about it. But also other people like Texas brands.

[Rachel Zo]

Yes.

[Alison Ellsworth]

And usually don't get a lot of better for you products. Right. You usually are like New York, Louisiana. And so it was really exciting to have like a better for you product coming out of the south as well.

[Rachel Zo]

Yes.

[Alison Ellsworth]

So I love that about it.

[Rachel Zo]

I want to talk about that. I want to understand a little bit why you created Poppy because you started in oil. Which is funny because I was saying earlier to my producer, it's funny because when you're in la, you're like, oh, are you in the industry? And it's very clear what industry that is when you're in la, when you're in New York, it's like, are you in the industry? Meaning fashion or art or theater, but. Or finance. And then, and then I feel like Texas, it's like, okay, you're in the industry and that's oil. Right. So, so how do you go and why do you go from working in the oil industry to saying, I'm gonna start a wellness sparkling soda?

[Alison Ellsworth]

It's interesting because I kind of come from a family of entrepreneurs, so my sister and my dad are both in the oil and gas industry and I graduated and I've never been from college. I've never been a person to like want to go work in like a cubicle or for another person. And there's a lot of financial freedom and just like, I don't know, career freedom. When you work in oil and gas and you're on the road and you're, you're basically have no boss. Right. So you have to be very much a self starter. And so I did that. But I was never like, I was good at it, I was really good at it, but I wasn't like passionate about it. And while I was on the road, I'm sure you've spent many years where you're like traveling and you're on the road. It's like what I call is like this like I got like road warrior belly, like where your tummy hurts, you're tired and your skin's off and you're dehydrated and it's like all of the above. And it was just really wearing on me. So much so that I started like going to the doctors and being like, what's going on? And. And really it came down to my diet. Like, at the end of the day, this was like almost 10, 12 years ago, before the gluten free phase where people are like, oh, what you put in your body can actually, you know, affect the way that you feel. And I discovered apple cider vinegar. I started working out and reading ingredients and nutrition panels. And I just came really passionate about just better for you lifestyle.

[Rachel Zo]

And.

[Alison Ellsworth]

And I noticed just there was no, like, better for you soda. I grew up drinking soda. It was just part of my household. It's like this nostalgic feeling that, like, you have it with movies, you have it with, you know, every get together. And there was just nothing out there. So once I kind of discovered that, I just went to my kitchen. I love cooking. And I kind of just created the first version. And it was a total accident, not an entrepreneurial journey at all. And I shared it with my husband and with other people, and they were like, this is really good. You should do something about it. My dad was like, you should sell your hooch. And I was like, I don't know. Okay, sure. But I was just so excited to share with others rather than like to monetize it. And I kind of feel like some of the most beautiful things come from, like, passion, emotion, versus, like, a business plan and I'm gonna do this to get rich, like, type of situation.

[Rachel Zo]

That's so interesting because they do know what you mean. Because the first five, 15 years of my career, I was like, on a plane. I wasn't sleeping. I mean, you're eating on set. Like, you know, we had these. There's something on set called craft services, which I'm sure you know, and you just graze and you eat like, things that. And you just feel so sick every day. And then when you fly and you just feel constantly out of sorts, really. And I don't think people recognize until it's too late very often the impact of travel on our bodies and work, travel specifically, because it's not elective most of the time. And. And I think as we get older, our bodies are like, just kidding. That's not going to work for you anymore. Like, you got to change something. And so being in Texas, which is not the world of wellness, and, you know, I always think of it as the steak and potatoes and like milk and all the things, because I'm sort of like, maybe this is why everyone's tall. Like, like, they actually do drink the eight glasses of milk you're supposed to have or whatever it is that, you know, my, my poor 13 year old son is so vertically challenged right now. And every day wakes up, he's like, should I start drinking milk, mom? Like, maybe I'm going to go.

[Alison Ellsworth]

It's okay. Men are late bloomers. My, my husband, in every way, he grew. No, I mean, I think like being in Texas. Yeah, definitely. I didn't grow up with the emphasis on like health and wellness. To your point. Yeah. Steak, potatoes, it was like a normal once a burger, tacos, Tex Mex, all of those things. So it was like one of those moments where I, I felt like we had discovered something, me and my husband on doing this and I was like, I just want to share it with people. So I wanted to also start a family. At the time we bought a house in Dallas, we was kind of putting our roots down. And no kidding, you like, we bought the house in December, January, got pregnant like so quick.

[Rachel Zo]

Doesn't it just work like that?

[Alison Ellsworth]

We were like, it was not part of the plan, but we embraced it. And I was like, I can't go back on the road. So I want to just start selling this at our local farmers market, which is what I think a lot of better for you. Products start off testing and within three weeks we had Whole Foods come by our booth because they're a Texas company. And she's like, you guys should be in Whole Foods. And it was the first moment I was like, oh, I have a business here. And I, I don't. That second, that conversation. I still remember her name. Kelly Landrieu. She changed my life. And I looked at my husband, I said, we're putting our life savings into this. We're doing. He's like, what are you talking about? We just bought a house. You're three months pregnant. Like, what? Like, what are you talking about? And I'm like, we're doing this. Like, I was so determined from that.

[Rachel Zo]

And how old were you then at that point?

[Alison Ellsworth]

So that was like six years ago. So I was 30, 29, 30 at that point. And you know, just started really going down that we opened our own manufacturing facility, put our life savings in and just kind of went all in and got to the point where we needed funding. So of course the next step in the American dream is Shark Tank. And went on Shark Tank at that point had been like, we got on Shark Tank.

[Rachel Zo]

I mean, that's like, that's not easy.

[Alison Ellsworth]

It's not. And what I didn't realize is the show like reaches out to people. We went, stood in line and did the open casting call with hundreds of other people. I'd had my first. I was pregnant with my second. I was like, let's just keep. I was like, I refuse to just pick one or the other. Like, that's, like, my motto in life. I do too much, like, all the time. So I was pregnant with my second when we went on to Shark Tank, and I was nine months pregnant on Shark Tank. Had the baby 10 days later. So stop it. It's been wild.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah, girl, what sign are you? Are you Virgo?

[Alison Ellsworth]

I'm a Capricorn. I'm a pretty hardcore Capricorn.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah. Wow. I'm so impet. You read very Virgo, by the way. But Virgos and cops. My. My baby's son is a cap similar to you. I was. I got pregnant. Wasn't trying. Was launching my clothing collection and launched it literally. Like, it was like three or four weeks before I had my first son. And I remember standing there with the models and styling the looks for the collection and womenswear daily, taking a picture of me. I had this tummy. I was wearing thigh high boots. I was wearing, like, all the things. And I'm like, nope, nothing's going to change. Nope. Nothing's going to change. Nope. I got this. I'm going to do this. But, like, I want to talk about how that was for you, going on Shark Tank and doing this whole thing and being pregnant, having a child, like, and. And obviously being young. I had my kids late. Right. I had already built my career, so I was able to sort of say, okay, my team's gonna come to the house to work today, or, I'm gonna bring my son with me on this trip or whatever. I was able, I think, to dictate a little bit more of how that went for me, but it was still incredibly challenging. So I want to know, as you were launching this dream that you didn't even know was going to happen.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Right.

[Rachel Zo]

You know, and I always say, there's no blueprint for this. Right. You can't. I'm sure people ask you all the time, like, how did you do this? Da, da. And you're like, honestly, my passion. I loved it. It was, you know.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Right. Yeah. And you. A lot of sleepless nights, lots of tears, lots of ups, lots of downs, lots of fear, lots of, you know, the list goes on.

[Rachel Zo]

But I see entrepreneurship, by the way.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yeah. And I think, look, we left an insanely successful career to go into this. And I always say, like, you, unless you really are passionate about it, like, you're not going to leave that security. And then just being a mom was also just a really big goal in my life. My husband grew up Mormon. Like, family's just, like, a really big piece. He's like one of six. I'm, like, one of four. We just, like, always wanted that from, like, a young age. And I. I was just like, why do I have issues? Like, that's just how I am. If you tell me no, I'm like, oh, I'm talking to the wrong person. And I just feel like it was just. I wanted both and I didn't have to choose. But was it way harder? Oh, my gosh, yes. Like, it got to the point where he had to get, like, a second job. We were working bottling during the week. I would work with the baby strapped to me. I did delivers with them strapped to me. We could not afford a babysitter. Like, my mom would come down on the weekends when she could to help, you know, got to the point where, you know, we're just like, this is like, can we do this? The low lows, the high highs type of situation. But just looking back on, I wouldn't change any of it. I remember with my first being on the bottling line going into labor, was back on with the baby strapped to me two weeks later because we, like, needed to keep going. And I wouldn't. I don't know. It didn't seem hard at the time, looking back, like, oh, my gosh, I don't know if I could do that again.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah. But I mean, I think we could say that that was adrenaline. You could say that that was, like, excitement and determination. You could say that. You know, when you tell your kids this story, they're going to be so proud of you. Is your husband your partner?

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yes. So, yeah, and he runs, like, at Poppy. I run, like, all of our creative brand vision, and he runs, like, our innovation and our supply chain. So we're very opposites as well. And he, like, I couldn't do it with him. He couldn't do it without me. But he does allow me to be crazy, which I. I think it Poppy like. Like the level of quickness that we work through, and, like, we move at the speed of culture. Like, we have to be, like, really nimble, crazy, and willing to take risks. But it's funny because I had my first two pregnancies and, like, children while growing the business. And then I waited four years, and Poppy was, like, humming along great, and then I had a third, and that was such a different experience.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah, I was gonna ask you.

[Alison Ellsworth]

You know, he was on flights with me 20 times before he was six months old. And, like in New York, running around doing interviews while breastfeeding on the subway, you know, like, all of those things. So I think I got experience both. And, you know, I look back and it's just. It built grit to get me to continue to get where I am. And now I'm like, maybe I need one more. Good things happen at Poppy.

[Rachel Zo]

When I get pregnant, I'm gonna predict you are likely having a fourth. I mean, even if you didn't say that just now, I'm gonna think that you are.

[Alison Ellsworth]

I love chaos.

[Rachel Zo]

So I. Well, clearly. But I think it's interesting. I want to talk about the not making a choice, because I think. I think that is the. The hardest decision that women have to face. If you want to have a business, I think. I don't want to say it's totally different, but I want to say there are differences between building a business of your own versus working for an established business where you have job security, you have hopefully, you know, you have your health benefits, and you have all these things when you're starting a business ground up. That is a real choice for women to say, you know, I'm going to have kids later, let me build this, and then I'm going to have kids, or I want to have my kids be a mom, then I'm going to start my business after I have my kids, and they're like, all in school and whatever. I have many entrepreneur friends, many successful, many have closed businesses, many have grown and sold and all the things. And we talk about a lot at our dinners and our events, like how hard that is to do simultaneously. And I don't want to skim over it because to your point, I think being an entrepreneur in general, there is not a woman I've had on this pod who would tell you it is not the fucking hardest, most rewarding, most painful, most exhausting, most exhilarating. All the things you want to quit, you want to throw it in, you have to keep it going. And it's all the things. Being a mother is also like that, right? Because I think we. There is so much guilt in that motherhood of I don't want to miss anything. But I think what's evident is your determination to succeed. And I think for me, what really stands out is doing this in Texas, where it isn't the expected, the saturated. I mean, here in la, I'm pretty sure there's a wellness brand launched every Hour in different categories. But there is a question I wanted to ask you that I noticed, and I'm not. I'm not positive. Are you the CEO or.

[Alison Ellsworth]

No, I'm not, nor would I ever want to be. I think it's so funny when people start their businesses, and this is something that I speak on quite a bit. And just. I think a lot of people start your business and you want to own it. All, right? You want to your decisions that letting go of allowing people that actually know better than you is one of the hardest things you will ever go through in your career. So started the company, me and my husband, you know, I ran all of our marketing, create, like, all of this stuff. And about a year in, like, Poppy, just for context, is the fastest growing beverage in the history of beverage. We're four years old. We are the fastest growing beverage in the nation. We're the number one soda on Amazon. We're in one in 10 households. It's just been absolutely crazy. And when you have that kind of explosive growth. I've never done this before now. My intuition has gotten us so far, but we got to the point where we were like, hey, we have to bring someone in. And I. We actually went to our board, and we're like, we need to bring in a CEO. It was really hard. I, like, cried. We were like, going through this. Like, how could we go through this? Once we went through it and got it, we found the right person. We were part of that decision. That's always something I always try to say to other entrepreneurs. Be part of the decision. Don't allow it to happen to you. And get to a point where it's like, so you're removed or. And it's like this dramatic. No, it's okay. It's growth. I'm learning from our CEO, right? And I realized being a CEO, it's a lot of people management. It's a lot of process. It's a lot of P and L budgeting. There's so many things that I'm like, oh, wow, I don't want to do any of that. Like, I. I do run a team. I run our creative team. We have, like, an internal agency, which I adore my creatives. Like, I'm not saying that, but it's like, we have over 200 employees. And then a few a year after that, I was running the marketing, and I was like, we're about to buy a Super bowl ad. Like, we are running tv. Like, I've never bought a super ad. Like, have you? It's like, you know. And so we went to. Once again I said I want to bring in a traditional cmo. And you know, that was one of the hardest years of my life and did coaching and worked through that. But I think like, I think people hold on to the word CEO, you know, and it's like this thing where it's like as an entrepreneur, a founder is a really powerful title. My title is chief brand officer and a run brand. But I wish more people talked about that.

[Jenny Garth]

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[Rachel Zo]

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[Alison Ellsworth]

Hi friend. It's your inner child calling. And they want churros.

[Jenny Garth]

A new toy.

[Rachel Zo]

And a new adventure.

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Or maybe five with the bestest besties on earth.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Find your moment at Walt Disney World Resort.

[T-Mobile Advertiser]

My dad works in B2B marketing, but I never really knew what that meant. Then one day my dad came by my school for career day and told everyone in my class he was a big Roaz man. Then he just kept saying things like the bigger the Roaz, the better. Over and over. My friends still laugh at me to this day. I think it means calculating a return on ad spend. One thing's for sure, I'll be known as the Roaz man's kid for the rest of my days. Why couldn't you just be a fireman or a lawyer? Why? You ruined my life, dad. Not everyone gets B2B. But LinkedIn has the people who do. And with ads on LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people based on job title, industry, likelihood to buy, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. We'll even give you $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com customer to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com customer. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn, the place to be. To be.

[Rachel Zo]

You know, that's why I want to talk about it, because I. I found that really interesting because I have. I can't even count how many badass women that I have in my life. And I'm gonna say that most of them are CEO, but I. What I would say to that is, over the last year, many have stepped down as CEO. Many are dying to not be the CEO. And it's releasing that control and that title. And a very successful friend of mine who has started five companies successfully, all of them, literally this summer was like, I, for the first time in 15 years, don't have a CEO title. And we were like. I'm like, how does it feel? She's like, weird. Peaceful.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yeah.

[Rachel Zo]

Like, I can sleep, like. And so I think, to your point, it's about being involved. And I think the key to being a successful entrepreneur is to recognize your strengths, recognize your challenges, and then hire the best person around you to fill those spots. Right.

[Alison Ellsworth]

I have this beautiful. I think, like, one of my strengths as a leader or just in life is I have this ability to get people to believe they can do anything. By the way. Yeah. Through brainstorming, some of our most magnificent ideas have come from, like, junior people. Me, just like, tell me a little bit more about that or push the wise or. Why? Well, they'll come up with an idea. I'm like, why can't we do. I'm like, why can't we do it? Like, let's think about that. Right? And I do think that's one of my strengths, to get us to think differently. We move really quick. And just like, for example, last year we did a Super bowl ad. We bought that super bowl the Wednesday before the Sunday of Super Bowl. Like, that's crazy. We can have and be, but we'll. We'll play in our calendars. We'll get like 80 of it, like super in stone. But you can't be culturally relevant. If you're planning, like, what you're doing in 2026, I don't know what's going to be cool on 26. So this ability to move quick is like such a gift. And the team has seen that and they've found ways to support me in that. Right. And like, that my strength isn't going out and building the most amazing retail program or media program or, you know, sales team. Right. So, no, I love that. I love that you asked that question. Cause, like, no, I'm not CEO and I, nor do I want to be.

[Rachel Zo]

But I love how proud you are to not want to be. Because that's another thing I really try to teach people is like, not everyone has to be. Not everyone wants to be, and not everyone should be. And I think that's the thing that what you're saying is so important for young people to understand that it's absolutely okay to not want that role. Right? Yeah. I mean, 100%. And I love that you said that.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Like, I love our CEO. We totally stole him basically from another company. Had been at from 14 years. He'd worked his way up from like HR all the way to CEO in every position. We're great, great friends with his wife. So it's like, it can be a beautiful relationship.

[Rachel Zo]

As well it should be.

[Alison Ellsworth]

You know, look at it as a downside. So, no, I love that. And it allows, you know, back to like, just being a mother throughout all of this. It's funny, like, when you were saying that stuff earlier, I, you know, what came to mind is the different challenges that were when we're starting are so different now. Now I'm gone a lot and I don't get to be with my kids and my husband's down at home more. And just recently I'm like, wow, I'm missing a lot. And I'm kind of having to step back and be like, I maybe should say no more. Reprioritize, stay home. And like, that's a decision that I've been like, never thought I would have to think through, but I'm like, whoa, I'm missing.

[Rachel Zo]

How old are they? The boys?

[Alison Ellsworth]

2, 6 and 8.

[Rachel Zo]

So that's perfect because you can still really confidently make those choices and not miss a thing. Yeah, but think about that, really. Because I only say that because you don't get it back, but you don't necessarily have to make the choice. You can do both because you are who you are in this company. You can do both.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yeah.

[Rachel Zo]

And I think they're at ages where you can bring them with you. So you do get to do both, because that's what I was doing. Because I was. To your point, I wouldn't make the choice. And so when they were little, I would just take them. And then in between everything, I got the hugs, and I got the meals, and I got the bedtime. And then if I had to go to an event, you go. And they go to sleep, you know, and there's. There's that. And that's also the gift. I want to talk to you about a couple of things. I want to talk to you about naming it Poppy because it was called the Mother Beverage. Okay. Why? Tell me.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Okay, so when I first started, it's like apple cider vinegar was kind of like the key, and, like, you had the mother of vinegar, and it was like we were almost this. What I always used to likeness to is like the sister to kombucha, right? We. It was just more farmers markety, health focused. But when we rebranded and realized we were soda for the next generation, modern soda, what kept coming up over and over again is, like, Pop Soda Pop. And so we named it Poppy off of Soda Pop. And I just love it because it just. Even when you just say it makes you happy. The colors are happy. It screams pop. It screams soda. So it just made a lot of sense to change the name. And I'm so glad. We went from bottles to cans, and then we launched Poppy. So, like, all the Shark Tank and all the mother stuff was previous. But then we launched poppy March 3, 2020, the first week of COVID which is, like, absolutely crazy, but I love it because I think.

[Rachel Zo]

Hold on. Wait, let me backtrack. So you went on Shark Tank. You were due in 10 days. You had a toddler or baby.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Had. Yes.

[Rachel Zo]

And you went on Shark Tank. You do the whole pitch. At the time you went on Shark Tank, was it called the Mother beverage, or was it called Poppy? It was called the Mother Beverage. Okay, so what happened on Shark Tank and how nervous were you in that moment?

[Alison Ellsworth]

So I actually wasn't that nervous.

[Rachel Zo]

Good.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Because I was like, if you get too nervous, you're gonna go into labor.

[Rachel Zo]

Yes, totally. I was gonna say, can you imagine? And I was.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Oh, pregnant. Backstage, just being like, you have to stay so calm. On the other hand, I swear, because I was that way. Look over. My husband's, like, pouring sweat.

[Rachel Zo]

He's.

[Alison Ellsworth]

He seen. He can't. Like, I. There's these, like, shots of him where it's, like, very close up, and he will never live those Down. But no, we had the baby. So we get the deal. We have the baby 10 days later and then it usually takes like four or so months for the episode to air. And honestly if you get a deal, it's not even guaranteed that it airs at the end of the day. It's a TV show. Has to make good, right? Of course we did. Spoiler alert. We did get a deal. Close the deal the Friday before the episode aired.

[Rachel Zo]

So what did they offer you?

[Alison Ellsworth]

We did 400000 I think for 20 of the company.

[Rachel Zo]

Okay, which shark?

[Alison Ellsworth]

So his name was Rohan Oza and he was a more in the beverage world, which was amazing. And I love guest sharks because they don't have a lot of deals. So I think he's done one or two Shark Tank deals and it's nice because we get his time and his team and I met an amazing person, his right hand person. We just like from that moment decided to rebrand, change the name and then decided, you know, the month of COVID to launch it.

[Rachel Zo]

But so. Okay, I want to talk about that. So Covid, did you have a nervous breakdown?

[Alison Ellsworth]

No. We'd flown out to California though, like to set up for Expos, like a big event the first week and then they canceled the event. I remember like flying out, they had like maybe three to 10 cases when. And we were flying home. They had thousands and we were so devastated. It was like our coming out.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Party basically. But it was a blessing disguise. I wouldn't say like Covid was, but just it forced us to really think differently as a business fundamentally from the beginning because everything that traditionally people would do when launching a company was off the table from day one. We had to just try new stuff and really what it was is we were like one of the first brands to get on Tick Tock. I have over 2 billion views on Tick Tock. A third of the platform has seen my face seven times. I always say, so fun. I am 37 year old mom of three and Gen Z like loves me.

[Rachel Zo]

I'm like, it's so great that by the way, that is no easy feat.

[Alison Ellsworth]

It's not. I, I just think we jumped on. It was the wild, wild west. We digitally connected, we went all in on Amazon and we're just a digital first brand and it's just stayed in our DNA since we've like just grown, grown, grown. And then now we're starting to do in real life stuff and have had some amazing pop ups this year. But we got scrappy at the beginning.

[Rachel Zo]

I love It. What? I'm so. I'm so impressed with it. I really am. I mean, how do you feel now about Influencer culture? Because obviously, the pendulum is swinging all over the place at this point. And I think, obviously, given that you did. You are digital first and you did and do continue to have insane success on TikTok and everything. What are your thoughts on Influencer? I guess marketing at this point, branding. How do you think the impact has shifted? And do you consider your face, the face of the brand, or do you use a lot of outside talent? And will you continue to do that?

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yeah. So when we first launched, we did. Before we ever did a paid ad, before we ever used a PR agency or anything. Traditional marketing. Right. In real life, sampling, nothing. We can do anything. So we worked with them for Influencers. And at the time, I didn't realize that I was building myself as face of the company, but it was free for me to get online and post, of course. Right, Right. And it just. I. I did it with no makeup on. I had my kids running around in the background. Like, I was just posting. I was desperate for everyone to learn about Poppy. And it just, like, organically, I became the face. And then we've always worked the creators, and I'm obsessed with the creator. Just, like, everything that they do and the strength and, like, they're entrepreneurs theirself at the end of the day. Right. Like, the amount of the good ones. Yeah, it's absolutely wild. Yes. Yes. There's some good ones and there's not some. Some good ones. But we've also worked with celebrities, and what we're seeing is it's just such a different level to work with a celebrity as a creator. Creators get it where it's like, we need stories, you know, and they're so much more willing because it's like, they don't have the job themselves. Whereas if you work with a celebrity, it's not as authentic as it used to be. You have to find, like, a real reason why you want to work with it. So we just launched, like, a partnership with Post Malone. And why I liked it is he went on a couple podcasts saying he had given up big soda. And I was close friends with his manager. And I text him. I was like, oh, my God. And he's like, I know because I gave him Poppy. Like, he stopped and he lost, like, 30 pounds. I was like, this whole thing and complex, like, all these people. I was like, okay, that's authentic. Right?

[Rachel Zo]

Right.

[Alison Ellsworth]

That's a good reason. Not. I want to Put so and so.

[Rachel Zo]

Sure.

[Alison Ellsworth]

You don't have to.

[Rachel Zo]

It's almost like you went in the. You went in the front door instead of the back.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yeah, totally.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah.

[Alison Ellsworth]

And so, like, for me, this whole. The one thing, though, as a brand, the creator economy is very expensive.

[Rachel Zo]

Yeah.

[Alison Ellsworth]

And I don't know at what point smaller brands can sustain.

[Rachel Zo]

They can't.

[Alison Ellsworth]

It's really tricky because when we were first starting out, it was kind of on the rise of it, and you could get people for very affordable. Whereas people when we started out were 5,000. Now they're like 50. A hundred thousand. 50,000 for a social post. And so I don't know. Something I think eventually has to give, and I don't know what that is.

[Rachel Zo]

What I'll end up giving. And I've seen it sort of with the fashion influencer world is they don't. They just don't get hired.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yeah.

[Rachel Zo]

And then they have to. And then they have to work for less because at some point the brand is like, we're taking the upper hand back because we're not spending this money on you. And then all of a sudden, most of them aren't working. And. And so the ones that want to work are either gonna have to charge less or. Or not work. So I think that's the only way it gives, truthfully. And the same thing will happen eventually. I just think because of the virality of certain brands and certain creators, I think all of a sudden, once they have that virality, it's. They have the upper hand. Right. But I think it's always gonna do this. But very interesting. I mean, authenticity through and through. So what's next for you? I'm so excited. I'm such a fan. I love my entire team drinks Poppy. And, like, everywhere I go, there's Poppy. It's. It's really amazing.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Poppy's the official soda of the Los Angeles Lakers. So we just have like, how insane is.

[Rachel Zo]

Are you pinching yourself?

[Alison Ellsworth]

So I'm so annoying. And I'm gonna say people ask me this all the time, and I. I think I should reframe how I answer. Usually I'm like, no, because I still got to do. Yeah, I do need to. Like, that's my whole new balance that we were kind of talking about earlier. I need to sit back and enjoy this because it's so freaking special. But also, I'm like, I'm not done. Like, I have. I am dominating. We are disrupting soda. It's like this whole thing that I'm like, I'm not Ready to sit back and pitch myself. But I do have to. I think.

[Rachel Zo]

No, I think. Listen, I always say complacency is the enemy, right? Like, for me, I think. I think for serial entrepreneurs, it's clearly, you have the bug, right? But I would say now, because I'm, you know, like, a couple of years older than you, what I would say is, in many ways, some of the most exciting things that happened to me in my career are a blur. And I only remember them when people interview me about them. And then I'm like, right, yes.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Because it was.

[Rachel Zo]

And so. And I never once stopped to recognize what was happening. And people would say it to me. In the moment, do you believe you're doing. Do you believe you're on a plane with so and so? Do you believe you're flying to Monaco with Britney Spears? Like, do you believe these things? Because in the moment, it's work. It's your job. And as much as you love it, you're like. And you're leading it. So what I would say to that and to anyone listening is because you stop for 10 minutes to recognize what's happening or to maybe have a glass of champagne or whatever it is, to just be like, okay. That does not mean you are resting on success, and that does not mean you're stopping tomorrow. That just means you're taking an hour to say, I can't believe this is actually happening, and that's it. And then you. You live in that moment for a minute and then go on to your next thing the next day. But it is important to do that. It is important to do that also, like, document it, Doc. You will, obviously. Especially the Lakers. That'll be documented for you.

[Alison Ellsworth]

But social media also makes it easier to document. Everyone's like, yes, write a journal. I'm like, ugh, that's my worst.

[Rachel Zo]

You don't even need to. It's there.

[Alison Ellsworth]

I've just. I'll just go back on my tick tock feed. No, I know. It's true. Like, it's this new level of balance that I have to find in my life because I've been working so much that everyone's just like, I don't know how you do it, Allison. Look, I'm. I'm a creative, and I have to allow that space to be creative. So I will take your advice.

[Rachel Zo]

Just try to stop, even for an hour. Just recognize it, and then move on to the next thing. But take it in. Enjoy those beautiful boys. I love that you're a boy, Mom.

[Alison Ellsworth]

Yes. Thank you.

[Rachel Zo]

Next time, you come here, let me know and we'll go have drinks.

[Alison Ellsworth]

I love it.

[Rachel Zo]

Poppy and tequila Love slay. Thank you so much honey. Thank you so much to Allison for being on the pod. I honestly lived for our conversation and I really, really loved how loud and proud she is about not holding the title of CEO. Because I think as females over the last several years we have become so obsessed obsessed with having the title of CEO even if we don't know what it means, or even if we don't know if we want it or not. And I think that's been one of the biggest takeaways for me, having gone to so many events and sitting at so many tables with so many successful women. How over the last year or two, how many women are either stepping down and relinquishing that title, realizing they really don't want it anymore, realizing what it truly means and that that's not actually where they excel? That was a really big learning. And I also love how open she is about being young, being accepted by Gen Z, which is really hard, being adored by Gen Z, and I guess by definition being a millennial, having three kids and really not sacrificing her brand vision and being so proud of it. Anyway, loved this episode. Thank you so much for listening to Climbing in Heels. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Iheart app, or wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss a single episode this season. Be sure to follow me on Instagram at rachelzo and the show Climbing in Heels Pod for the latest episodes and updates. I will talk to you soon.

[Jenny Garth]

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[Alison Ellsworth]

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