Poppi is a fashion brand that happens to be soda. Stephen Ellsworth, Co-founder of Poppi, joins us to walk through the operating choices behind turning a vinegar problem into a modern soda badge. It’s how you build, scale, and exit a consumer brand. It’s another signal that Austin’s flywheel is real and accelerating.

Highlights
01:48 Dark days, PMF before funding
08:05 Farmers market to Whole Foods
14:50 Rebrand beat Shark Tank awareness
24:58 Poppi as Fashion
33:46 Make healthy default via taste
38:54 AI palate mapping
46:48 Austin needs cross-sector collisions
51:40 What's Next Austin?

Guest Links
Stephen Ellsworth
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenellsworth/
https://www.instagram.com/stephenellsworth_/

Poppi:
https://drinkpoppi.com/
https://x.com/drinkpoppi
https://www.instagram.com/drinkpoppi/

#poppi #CPG #Austin #healthy #austinnext