March 28, 2025 • 37 mins
Congratulations are in order for Allison Ellsworth and the entire Poppi team after PepsiCo acquired the brand for $1.95 billion! We were lucky to have Allison on the podcast last year and if you haven't heard her incredible story, you must!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Zoe 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. Allison has built the
most fantastic and successful brand that's rooted in a product
(00:29):
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 well simultaneously giving birth and raising three
young boys. I'm so incredibly inspired by Alison's vision, So
(00:52):
let's jump right in. You are going to love this toppisode.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm so excited to have you on. You know, I drink.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Poppy, my team drinks Poppy. We all like 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.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Is the greatest thing for you.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So I want to talk about this because I want
to dive back to the beginning for a second.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So you grew up in Texas, born and raised.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So born in Colorado, lived there for like a year.
But I don't claim that I'm a Texas girl. Through
and through. I grew up here, lived here, forced my
husband to move back here. I'm obsessed with Texas.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You are.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
I love that I love Texas.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I love that I love that you love Texas.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Having so many people in my life from Texas, there
is this overarching common thread of friendliness.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
And first of all, everybody's tall, so I do want
to really I am tall.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Yes, literally every.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
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.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Love it.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
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 you'd be so successful. It was like
Texans love Texas brands, like everything about it. But also
other people like Texas brands yes, and usually don't get
a lot of better for you products, right, Usually you're
like New York, LA, and so it was really exciting
(02:46):
to have like a better for you product coming out
of the South as well.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yes, so I love that about it.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I want to talk about that.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
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,
(03:15):
are you in the industry meaning fashion or art or theater,
but or finance 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 too, saying I'm
(03:36):
going to start a wellness sparkling soda.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
It's interesting because I kind of come from a family
of entrepreneurs. So my sister and my dad are both
in the Olan 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 gas and you're on the road and you're
(04:01):
you're basically have no boss, right, so you have to
be very much a self starter.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
And so I did that, but I was never like
I was good at it.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
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 year where you're like traveling
and you're on the road, it's like what I call
is like this carier Like I got like road warrior belly,
like where your tummy hurts, you're tired, and your spoons
off and you're dehydrated, and it's like all of the above.
And it was just really wearing on me so much
(04:30):
showed that I started like going to the doctors and
being like, what's going on, And really it came down
to my diet.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
Like at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
This was like almost ten twelve years ago, before the
gluten free phase where people are like, oh, what you
put in your body, you can actually you know, affect
the way that you feel.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
And I discovered apple cider vinegar. I started working out.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
And reading ingredients and nutrition panels, and I just came
really passionate about just better for you lifestyle. And I know,
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 filling that like you have it
with movies, you have it with you know, every get together,
and there was just nothing out there.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
So once I kind of discovered that, I just went
to my kitchen.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I love cooking, and I kind of just created the
first version and it was a total accident.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Not an entrepreneurial journey at all.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And I shared it with my husband and with other people,
and they were like, this is really good.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
You should do something about it.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
My dad was like, you should sell your hooge, and
I was like, I don't know, Okay, sure, but I
was just so excited to share it with others rather
than like to monetize it. And I kind of feel
like some of the most beautiful things come from like
passionate emotion versus.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Like a business plan and how do I do this
to get rich? Like type of situation.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's so interesting because they do know what you mean.
Because the first high fifteen years of my career, I
was like on a plane, I wasn't sleeping.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I mean, you're eating on set.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
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
(06:31):
work travel specifically, because it's not elective most of the time.
And I think as we get older, our bodies are like, ooh,
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,
(06:52):
I always think of it as the steak and potatoes
and like milk and all the things, because I'm sort
of like.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Maybe this is why everyone's tall, Like.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
They actually do drink the eight glasses of milk you're
supposed to have or whatever it is that you know.
My my poor thirteen year old son is so vertically
challenged right now and every day makes up He's like,
should I start drinking milk?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Mob Like, maybe I'm gonna go.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
It's okay.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Men are late bloomers. 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
or wellness. To your point, yeah, steak potatoes. It was
like a normal once a burger, tacos, text mix, all
(07:39):
of those things. So it was like one of those
moments where I felt like we had discovered something, me
and my husband on doing this, and I was like,
I just want to share with people. So I wanted
to also start a family. At the time we bought
a house in Dallas was kind of putting our roots
down and no kidding you, Like we bought the house
(08:00):
in December January, I got pregnant, like so quick, We're.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
No nitches work like that.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
You're like, it was not part.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Of the plan, but we embraced it, and I was like,
I can't go back in the road. So I want
to just start selling this that 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,
(08:27):
I have a business here and I I don't that
second that conversation. I still remember her name, Kelly Landrew.
She changed my life. And I looked at my husband
and say, we're putting our life savings into this we're
doing He's.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Like, what are you talking about.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
We just bought a house, you're three months pregnant, Like like,
what are you talking about?
Speaker 4 (08:44):
And I'm like, we're doing this. Like it was so
determined from.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
That How old were you then at that point?
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So that was like six years ago.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
So I was thirty twenty nine thirty at that point,
and you know, just started really going down that we
opened our 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
(09:12):
on Shark Tank. At that point, it'd been like you.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Han't got on Shark Tank. I mean that's like that's
not easy. It's not.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
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 model life.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
I do too much, like all the time.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So I was pregnant with my second when we went
onto Shark Tank and I was nine months pregnant on
Shark Tank, had the baby ten days later.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So stop it. It's been wild. Yeah, girl, what sign
are you?
Speaker 4 (09:54):
You?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Virgo?
Speaker 4 (09:55):
I'm a Capricorn. I'm a pretty hardworre capcorn.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Wow, I'm so infanty read very Virgo by the way,
but Virgo's and cops. My baby 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
I think it was like three or four weeks before
I had my first son. And I remember standing there
(10:19):
with the models and styling the looks for the collection,
and women's were 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.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Nope, nothing's going to change. Nope. I got this. I'm
going to do this.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
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 honestly 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 going to come to the house to work today,
(10:53):
or I'm going to 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 what's going to happen, you know, And I always say,
(11:13):
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 data and you're like, honestly, my passion I
left it.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
It was you know, 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.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
But I cheve entrepreneurship, by the way.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, And I think we left an insanely successful career
to go into this. And I always say, like, unless
you really are passion about it, like you're not going.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
To leave that security.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
And then just being a mom was also just a
really big goal in my life. My husband grew up Mormon,
like family is 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 was just like, why do I have to cheat?
Like that's just how I am. If you tell me no,
I'm like, oh, I'm talking to the wrong person. And
(12:06):
I just feel like it was just I wanted both
and I didn't have to choose.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
But was it way harder, Oh my gosh. Yes.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
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, like we could not
afford a babysitter. Like my mom would come down on
the weekends when she could help, you know, got to
the point where you know, we're just like, this is
like can we do this?
Speaker 4 (12:34):
The low lows, the high highest type of situation. But
just looking back on I wouldn't change any of it.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
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.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
And I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
No, But I mean I think we could say that
that was a runnal in. 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.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Is your husband your partner?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
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 like. I
(13:36):
think at 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 and great. And then I
had a third and that was such a different experience. Yeah,
(13:59):
I was gonna ask, you know, it was on flights
with me twenty times, who are six months old and like,
and you are running around doing interviews, will breastfeeding on
the subway, you know, like all of those things. So
I think I got to experience both. And you know,
I look back and it's just a built grit to
get me to continue to get where I am. And
now I'm like, maybe I need more good things happen
(14:20):
at Poppy. When I get pregnant.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I'm going to predict you are likely having a fourth.
I mean, even if you didn't say that just now,
I'm going to think.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
That you are.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
I love chaos, I well.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Clearly, but I think it's interesting.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I want to talk about the not making a choice
because I think I think that is 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
(15:00):
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, and then I'm
(15:20):
going to start my business after I have my kids
and they're.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Like all in school and whatever.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
I have many entrepreneur friends, many successful, many of 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,
(15:45):
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
(16:06):
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
(16:28):
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 No.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
I'm not, nor would I ever want to be.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
I think it's so funny when people start their businesses
is 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 You are to say visions that letting
go of allowing people that actually know better than you
is one of the hardest things you will ever go
(17:08):
through in your career.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
So started the company, me and my husband.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
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
sold on Amazon, We're in one in ten household. It's
just been absolutely crazy. And when you have that kind
of explosive growth, I've never done this before. Now, my
(17:37):
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
born We're like, we need to.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Bring in a CEO. It was really hard. I like cried.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
We were like going through this, like, how can 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.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Be part of the decision.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Don't allow it to happen to you and get to
a point where it's like so you're removed and it's
like this dramatic No, it's okay, it's growth.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
I'm learning from our CEO, right, And I.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
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.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Like I do run a team. I run our creative team.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
We have like an internal agency, which I adore my creatives.
Like I'm not saying that, but it's like we have
over two hundred 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.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Like I've never bought.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
A Super od 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,
(19:00):
as an entrepreneur, our founder is a really powerful title.
My title is chief brand Officer and a run brand.
But I wish more people talked about that, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
That's why I want to talk about it, because 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 going to say that most of them are CEO.
But what I would say to that is, over the
(19:31):
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
(19:53):
literally this summer, was like, I, for the first time
in fifteen years, don't have a CEO title.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
And we were like, I'm like, how does it feel.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
She's like, weird, peaceful, like I can sleep. 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
(20:23):
the best person around you to fill those spots.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Right, 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 through by the way, yeah, through brainstorming.
And some of our most magnificent ideas have come from
like junior people and me just like tell me a
little bit more about that or push the wiser why
(20:50):
they'll come up with the idea.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I'm like, why can't we do it? I'm like, why
can't we do it?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
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 crazy we can have and be, but we'll
play in our calendars. We'll get like eighty percent of it,
(21:14):
like super in Stone. But you can't be culturally relevant
if you're planning like what you're doing in twenty twenty six.
I don't know what's going to be cool in twenty six.
So this ability to move quick is like such a gift,
and I agree 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
(21:36):
amazing retail program or media program or you know, sales team.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Right. So no, I love that.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I love that you asked that question because like, no,
I'm not coo, and nor do I want to be.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
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
(22:07):
okay to not want that role.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Right, Yeah, I mean one hundred percent. I love that
you said that.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
I love our CEO.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
We totally stole them basically from another company I'd been
out from fourteen years. You'd worked his way up from
like hr all the way to CEOs. In every position,
we're great. I'm great friends with this wife. So it's
like it can be a beautiful relationship as well. I
should be, 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.
(22:37):
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 sit 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,
(22:58):
stay home, and like that. That's a decision that I've
been like, never thought I would have to think through.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
But I'm like, whoa, I'm missing?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
How old are they? The boys?
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Two? Six and eight?
Speaker 1 (23:08):
So that's perfect because you can still really confidently make
those choices and not miss a thing. Yeah, so 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.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You are who you are in this company. You can
do both.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
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 when
they go to sleep, you know, And there's there's that,
(23:50):
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.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Uh huh, okay, why tell me?
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So when I first started it, it's like apple side
of vinegar was kind of like the key and like
you're the mother of vinegar, and it was like we
were almost this what I always used to like in
us too is like the sister to kombucha, right we
it was just more.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Farmers marketing, health focused.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
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 you're happy, it
screams pop, it screams soda.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
So it just made a lot of sense to change
the name.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And I'm 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 third, twenty twenty, the first week of COVID,
which is like absolutely crazy, But I love it because
I think hold on, wait, let me backtrack.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
So you went on Shark Tank. You were due in
ten days, you had a toddler or baby, yes, 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 is it called Poppy? It
was called the Mother Beverage? Okay, So what happened on
Shark Tank? And how nervous were you in that moment?
Speaker 3 (25:28):
So I actually wasn't that nervous good? Because I was like,
if you get too nervous, you're gonna go into labor.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
I was gonna say, you imagine O.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Praying the best days, just being like you have to
say so calm. On the other hand, I swear because
I was that way. I look over my husband's like
pouring sweat. He's seen he can't like 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 ten days later, and then it usually takes it's
(26:00):
like four or so months for the episode air.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
And honestly, if you get a deal. It's not even
guaranteed the air, so at the end of the day,
it's a TV show. As to make it right, of course,
we did spoiler, We're alert.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
We did get a deal, closed the deal the friday
before the episode aired.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
So what did they offer you?
Speaker 3 (26:16):
We did four hundred thousand I think for twenty percent
of the company.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
And who which shark?
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Which shark?
Speaker 3 (26:22):
So his name was Rohan Oza and he was more
in the beverage world, which was amazing. And I love
guest sharks because they don't have a lot of deals.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
So I think he's done one or two Shark Tank deals.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
And it's nice because we get his time and his
team and I met an amazing person.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Is right him person?
Speaker 3 (26:43):
We just like from that moment, decided to rebrand, change
the name, and then decided, you know, the month of
covid to launch it.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
But so, okay, I want to talk about that. So
covid did you have in your breakdown?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
No, we'd flown out to California though, like to set
off for exost, a big event the first week, and
then they canceled the event. I remember like flying out
that like maybe three to ten cases and we were
flying home.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
They had thousands and we were so devastated.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
It was like our coming out yeah party basically, but
it was a blessing disguise.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
I wouldn't say like Covid was, but just yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
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 TikTok. I have over
two billion views on TikTok. A third of platform is
(27:47):
seeing my face seven times.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
I always say it's so fun.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I'm thirty seven year old mom of three and gen
Z like loves me, Like that's.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
So great that. By the way, that is no easy feat.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
It's not. I just think we jumped on It was
the wild world West.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
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 just grown, grown, grown, and
then now we're starting to do in.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
Real life stuff and have had some amazing pop ups
this year. But we got scrappy at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
I love it. What I'm so, I'm so impressed with it,
I really am.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
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,
(28:53):
how do you think the impact has shifted?
Speaker 2 (28:57):
And do you consider your face the face of.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
The brand or do you use a lot of outside
talent and will you continue to do that?
Speaker 3 (29:04):
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.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
So we worked with influencers.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
And at the time I didn't realize that I was
building myself as face of the company.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
But it was free for me.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
You get online and post of course right right, and
it just I did it with no makeup on. I
had my kids running around the background like I was
just posting it.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
It was desperate for.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Everyone to learn about Poppy and it just like Mekanically,
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 theirselves
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 good ones.
(29:58):
But we've also worked with celebri 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 there's so much
more willing because it's like they don't have the job themselves,
whereas if you were with a celebrity.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
It's not as authentic as it used to be.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
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 of 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 and he lost like thirty pounds.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
I was like, this whole thing in complex like all
these people.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
I was like, Okay, that's authentic, right, that's a good
reason not I want to put so and so sure,
you don't have to.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
It's almost like you went in the you went in
the front door instead of the back.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
Yeah, totally, and so like for me.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
The one thing though, as a brand, the creator economy
is very expensive. Yeah, and I don't know what point
smaller brands.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
Can sustain they can't.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
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 start out were five thousand.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Now they're like and fifty thousand for a social post.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
And so I don't know. Something I think eventually has
to give and I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
What I'll end up giving.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
And I've seen it sort of with the fashion influencer world,
is they don't they just don't get hired, yeah, and
then they have to and then they have to work
for less because at some point the brand is like, uhh,
we're taking the upper hand back because we're not spending
this money on you.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
And then all of a sudden, most of them aren't working, and.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
So the ones that want to work are either going
to have to charge less 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 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
(32:11):
going to 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.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
It's it's really amazing.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Poppy is the official soda of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
So we just have like insane is are you pinching yourself?
Speaker 4 (32:35):
So I'm so annoying and I'm going to say.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
People ask me this all the time, and I think
I should reframe how I answer.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Usually I'm like no, because I still got shit to do.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
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'm dominating, we are disrupting soda. It's like
this whole thing that I'm like, I'm not ready to
(33:07):
sit back in pitt result, but I do have to.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
I think, no, I think listen.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
But I would say now, because I'm you know.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
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, because
it was just and so and I never once stopped
(33:47):
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 Spirit?
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Do you believe these things?
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Because in the most and 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
into anyone listening is because you stop for ten 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
(34:20):
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 live
in that moment for a minute and then go onto
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,
(34:42):
that'll be documented for you.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
But social media also makes it easier to document.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Everyone's like, yes, right, a journal I'm like, oh, that's
my word.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
You don't even need to and there.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
Just I'll just go back on my TikTok feed.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
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 just like,
I don't know how you do it, Alison. Look, I'm
a creative and I have to allow that space to
be creative.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
So I will take your advice.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Just try to stop, even for an hour, just recognize
it and then move on to the next thing.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
But take it in from any of those beautiful boys.
I love that you're a boy.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Mom. Yes, next time you come here, let me know
and we'll go have drinks. I love it, happy in
tequila love.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Say thank you so.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Much, Anny, Thank you so much to Alison for being
on the pod. I honestly lived for our conversation, and
I really really loved how loud and proud she is
(35:55):
about not holding the title of CEO, because I think
as females, over the last several years, we have become
so 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.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
And I think that's been one of.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
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
(36:35):
truly means, and that that's not.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Actually where they excel.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
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
(36:59):
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 iheartapp, or wherever you get your podcasts so you
don't miss a single episode this season. Be sure to
follow me on Instagram at rachel Zo and the show
(37:21):
at Climbing in Heels pod for the latest.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Episodes and updates. I will talk to you soon.
Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Zoe 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. Allison has built the
most fantastic and successful brand that's rooted in a product
(00:29):
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 well simultaneously giving birth and raising three
young boys. I'm so incredibly inspired by Alison's vision, So
(00:52):
let's jump right in. You are going to love this toppisode.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm so excited to have you on. You know, I drink.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Poppy, my team drinks Poppy. We all like 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.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Is the greatest thing for you.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So I want to talk about this because I want
to dive back to the beginning for a second.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So you grew up in Texas, born and raised.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So born in Colorado, lived there for like a year.
But I don't claim that I'm a Texas girl. Through
and through. I grew up here, lived here, forced my
husband to move back here. I'm obsessed with Texas.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You are.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
I love that I love Texas.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I love that I love that you love Texas.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Having so many people in my life from Texas, there
is this overarching common thread of friendliness.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
And first of all, everybody's tall, so I do want
to really I am tall.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Yes, literally every.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
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.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Love it.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
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 you'd be so successful. It was like
Texans love Texas brands, like everything about it. But also
other people like Texas brands yes, and usually don't get
a lot of better for you products, right, Usually you're
like New York, LA, and so it was really exciting
(02:46):
to have like a better for you product coming out
of the South as well.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yes, so I love that about it.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I want to talk about that.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
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,
(03:15):
are you in the industry meaning fashion or art or theater,
but or finance 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 too, saying I'm
(03:36):
going to start a wellness sparkling soda.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
It's interesting because I kind of come from a family
of entrepreneurs. So my sister and my dad are both
in the Olan 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 gas and you're on the road and you're
(04:01):
you're basically have no boss, right, so you have to
be very much a self starter.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
And so I did that, but I was never like
I was good at it.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
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 year where you're like traveling
and you're on the road, it's like what I call
is like this carier Like I got like road warrior belly,
like where your tummy hurts, you're tired, and your spoons
off and you're dehydrated, and it's like all of the above.
And it was just really wearing on me so much
(04:30):
showed that I started like going to the doctors and
being like, what's going on, And really it came down
to my diet.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
Like at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
This was like almost ten twelve years ago, before the
gluten free phase where people are like, oh, what you
put in your body, you can actually you know, affect
the way that you feel.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
And I discovered apple cider vinegar. I started working out.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
And reading ingredients and nutrition panels, and I just came
really passionate about just better for you lifestyle. And I know,
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 filling that like you have it
with movies, you have it with you know, every get together,
and there was just nothing out there.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
So once I kind of discovered that, I just went
to my kitchen.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I love cooking, and I kind of just created the
first version and it was a total accident.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Not an entrepreneurial journey at all.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And I shared it with my husband and with other people,
and they were like, this is really good.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
You should do something about it.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
My dad was like, you should sell your hooge, and
I was like, I don't know, Okay, sure, but I
was just so excited to share it with others rather
than like to monetize it. And I kind of feel
like some of the most beautiful things come from like
passionate emotion versus.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Like a business plan and how do I do this
to get rich? Like type of situation.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's so interesting because they do know what you mean.
Because the first high fifteen years of my career, I
was like on a plane, I wasn't sleeping.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I mean, you're eating on set.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
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
(06:31):
work travel specifically, because it's not elective most of the time.
And I think as we get older, our bodies are like, ooh,
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,
(06:52):
I always think of it as the steak and potatoes
and like milk and all the things, because I'm sort
of like.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Maybe this is why everyone's tall, Like.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
They actually do drink the eight glasses of milk you're
supposed to have or whatever it is that you know.
My my poor thirteen year old son is so vertically
challenged right now and every day makes up He's like,
should I start drinking milk?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Mob Like, maybe I'm gonna go.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
It's okay.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Men are late bloomers. 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
or wellness. To your point, yeah, steak potatoes. It was
like a normal once a burger, tacos, text mix, all
(07:39):
of those things. So it was like one of those
moments where I felt like we had discovered something, me
and my husband on doing this, and I was like,
I just want to share with people. So I wanted
to also start a family. At the time we bought
a house in Dallas was kind of putting our roots
down and no kidding you, Like we bought the house
(08:00):
in December January, I got pregnant, like so quick, We're.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
No nitches work like that.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
You're like, it was not part.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Of the plan, but we embraced it, and I was like,
I can't go back in the road. So I want
to just start selling this that 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,
(08:27):
I have a business here and I I don't that
second that conversation. I still remember her name, Kelly Landrew.
She changed my life. And I looked at my husband
and say, we're putting our life savings into this we're
doing He's.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Like, what are you talking about.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
We just bought a house, you're three months pregnant, Like like,
what are you talking about?
Speaker 4 (08:44):
And I'm like, we're doing this. Like it was so
determined from.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
That How old were you then at that point?
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So that was like six years ago.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
So I was thirty twenty nine thirty at that point,
and you know, just started really going down that we
opened our 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
(09:12):
on Shark Tank. At that point, it'd been like you.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Han't got on Shark Tank. I mean that's like that's
not easy. It's not.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
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 model life.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
I do too much, like all the time.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So I was pregnant with my second when we went
onto Shark Tank and I was nine months pregnant on
Shark Tank, had the baby ten days later.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So stop it. It's been wild. Yeah, girl, what sign
are you?
Speaker 4 (09:54):
You?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Virgo?
Speaker 4 (09:55):
I'm a Capricorn. I'm a pretty hardworre capcorn.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Wow, I'm so infanty read very Virgo by the way,
but Virgo's and cops. My baby 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
I think it was like three or four weeks before
I had my first son. And I remember standing there
(10:19):
with the models and styling the looks for the collection,
and women's were 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.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Nope, nothing's going to change. Nope. I got this. I'm
going to do this.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
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 honestly 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 going to come to the house to work today,
(10:53):
or I'm going to 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 what's going to happen, you know, And I always say,
(11:13):
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 data and you're like, honestly, my passion I
left it.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
It was you know, 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.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
But I cheve entrepreneurship, by the way.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, And I think we left an insanely successful career
to go into this. And I always say, like, unless
you really are passion about it, like you're not going.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
To leave that security.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
And then just being a mom was also just a
really big goal in my life. My husband grew up Mormon,
like family is 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 was just like, why do I have to cheat?
Like that's just how I am. If you tell me no,
I'm like, oh, I'm talking to the wrong person. And
(12:06):
I just feel like it was just I wanted both
and I didn't have to choose.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
But was it way harder, Oh my gosh. Yes.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
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, like we could not
afford a babysitter. Like my mom would come down on
the weekends when she could help, you know, got to
the point where you know, we're just like, this is
like can we do this?
Speaker 4 (12:34):
The low lows, the high highest type of situation. But
just looking back on I wouldn't change any of it.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
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.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
And I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
No, But I mean I think we could say that
that was a runnal in. 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.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Is your husband your partner?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
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 like. I
(13:36):
think at 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 and great. And then I
had a third and that was such a different experience. Yeah,
(13:59):
I was gonna ask, you know, it was on flights
with me twenty times, who are six months old and like,
and you are running around doing interviews, will breastfeeding on
the subway, you know, like all of those things. So
I think I got to experience both. And you know,
I look back and it's just a built grit to
get me to continue to get where I am. And
now I'm like, maybe I need more good things happen
(14:20):
at Poppy. When I get pregnant.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I'm going to predict you are likely having a fourth.
I mean, even if you didn't say that just now,
I'm going to think.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
That you are.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
I love chaos, I well.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Clearly, but I think it's interesting.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I want to talk about the not making a choice
because I think I think that is 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
(15:00):
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, and then I'm
(15:20):
going to start my business after I have my kids
and they're.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Like all in school and whatever.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
I have many entrepreneur friends, many successful, many of 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,
(15:45):
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
(16:06):
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
(16:28):
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 No.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
I'm not, nor would I ever want to be.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
I think it's so funny when people start their businesses
is 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 You are to say visions that letting
go of allowing people that actually know better than you
is one of the hardest things you will ever go
(17:08):
through in your career.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
So started the company, me and my husband.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
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
sold on Amazon, We're in one in ten household. It's
just been absolutely crazy. And when you have that kind
of explosive growth, I've never done this before. Now, my
(17:37):
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
born We're like, we need to.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Bring in a CEO. It was really hard. I like cried.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
We were like going through this, like, how can 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.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Be part of the decision.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Don't allow it to happen to you and get to
a point where it's like so you're removed and it's
like this dramatic No, it's okay, it's growth.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
I'm learning from our CEO, right, And I.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
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.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Like I do run a team. I run our creative team.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
We have like an internal agency, which I adore my creatives.
Like I'm not saying that, but it's like we have
over two hundred 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.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Like I've never bought.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
A Super od 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,
(19:00):
as an entrepreneur, our founder is a really powerful title.
My title is chief brand Officer and a run brand.
But I wish more people talked about that, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
That's why I want to talk about it, because 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 going to say that most of them are CEO.
But what I would say to that is, over the
(19:31):
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
(19:53):
literally this summer, was like, I, for the first time
in fifteen years, don't have a CEO title.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
And we were like, I'm like, how does it feel.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
She's like, weird, peaceful, like I can sleep. 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
(20:23):
the best person around you to fill those spots.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Right, 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 through by the way, yeah, through brainstorming.
And some of our most magnificent ideas have come from
like junior people and me just like tell me a
little bit more about that or push the wiser why
(20:50):
they'll come up with the idea.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I'm like, why can't we do it? I'm like, why
can't we do it?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
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 crazy we can have and be, but we'll
play in our calendars. We'll get like eighty percent of it,
(21:14):
like super in Stone. But you can't be culturally relevant
if you're planning like what you're doing in twenty twenty six.
I don't know what's going to be cool in twenty six.
So this ability to move quick is like such a gift,
and I agree 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
(21:36):
amazing retail program or media program or you know, sales team.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Right. So no, I love that.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I love that you asked that question because like, no,
I'm not coo, and nor do I want to be.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
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
(22:07):
okay to not want that role.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Right, Yeah, I mean one hundred percent. I love that
you said that.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
I love our CEO.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
We totally stole them basically from another company I'd been
out from fourteen years. You'd worked his way up from
like hr all the way to CEOs. In every position,
we're great. I'm great friends with this wife. So it's
like it can be a beautiful relationship as well. I
should be, 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.
(22:37):
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 sit 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,
(22:58):
stay home, and like that. That's a decision that I've
been like, never thought I would have to think through.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
But I'm like, whoa, I'm missing?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
How old are they? The boys?
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Two? Six and eight?
Speaker 1 (23:08):
So that's perfect because you can still really confidently make
those choices and not miss a thing. Yeah, so 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.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You are who you are in this company. You can
do both.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
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 when
they go to sleep, you know, And there's there's that,
(23:50):
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.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Uh huh, okay, why tell me?
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So when I first started it, it's like apple side
of vinegar was kind of like the key and like
you're the mother of vinegar, and it was like we
were almost this what I always used to like in
us too is like the sister to kombucha, right we
it was just more.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Farmers marketing, health focused.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
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 you're happy, it
screams pop, it screams soda.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
So it just made a lot of sense to change
the name.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And I'm 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 third, twenty twenty, the first week of COVID,
which is like absolutely crazy, But I love it because
I think hold on, wait, let me backtrack.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
So you went on Shark Tank. You were due in
ten days, you had a toddler or baby, yes, 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 is it called Poppy? It
was called the Mother Beverage? Okay, So what happened on
Shark Tank? And how nervous were you in that moment?
Speaker 3 (25:28):
So I actually wasn't that nervous good? Because I was like,
if you get too nervous, you're gonna go into labor.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
I was gonna say, you imagine O.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Praying the best days, just being like you have to
say so calm. On the other hand, I swear because
I was that way. I look over my husband's like
pouring sweat. He's seen he can't like 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 ten days later, and then it usually takes it's
(26:00):
like four or so months for the episode air.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
And honestly, if you get a deal. It's not even
guaranteed the air, so at the end of the day,
it's a TV show. As to make it right, of course,
we did spoiler, We're alert.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
We did get a deal, closed the deal the friday
before the episode aired.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
So what did they offer you?
Speaker 3 (26:16):
We did four hundred thousand I think for twenty percent
of the company.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
And who which shark?
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Which shark?
Speaker 3 (26:22):
So his name was Rohan Oza and he was more
in the beverage world, which was amazing. And I love
guest sharks because they don't have a lot of deals.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
So I think he's done one or two Shark Tank deals.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
And it's nice because we get his time and his
team and I met an amazing person.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Is right him person?
Speaker 3 (26:43):
We just like from that moment, decided to rebrand, change
the name, and then decided, you know, the month of
covid to launch it.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
But so, okay, I want to talk about that. So
covid did you have in your breakdown?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
No, we'd flown out to California though, like to set
off for exost, a big event the first week, and
then they canceled the event. I remember like flying out
that like maybe three to ten cases and we were
flying home.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
They had thousands and we were so devastated.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
It was like our coming out yeah party basically, but
it was a blessing disguise.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
I wouldn't say like Covid was, but just yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
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 TikTok. I have over
two billion views on TikTok. A third of platform is
(27:47):
seeing my face seven times.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
I always say it's so fun.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I'm thirty seven year old mom of three and gen
Z like loves me, Like that's.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
So great that. By the way, that is no easy feat.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
It's not. I just think we jumped on It was
the wild world West.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
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 just grown, grown, grown, and
then now we're starting to do in.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
Real life stuff and have had some amazing pop ups
this year. But we got scrappy at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
I love it. What I'm so, I'm so impressed with it,
I really am.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
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,
(28:53):
how do you think the impact has shifted?
Speaker 2 (28:57):
And do you consider your face the face of.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
The brand or do you use a lot of outside
talent and will you continue to do that?
Speaker 3 (29:04):
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.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
So we worked with influencers.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
And at the time I didn't realize that I was
building myself as face of the company.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
But it was free for me.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
You get online and post of course right right, and
it just I did it with no makeup on. I
had my kids running around the background like I was
just posting it.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
It was desperate for.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Everyone to learn about Poppy and it just like Mekanically,
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 theirselves
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 good ones.
(29:58):
But we've also worked with celebri 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 there's so much
more willing because it's like they don't have the job themselves,
whereas if you were with a celebrity.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
It's not as authentic as it used to be.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
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 of 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 and he lost like thirty pounds.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
I was like, this whole thing in complex like all
these people.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
I was like, Okay, that's authentic, right, that's a good
reason not I want to put so and so sure,
you don't have to.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
It's almost like you went in the you went in
the front door instead of the back.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
Yeah, totally, and so like for me.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
The one thing though, as a brand, the creator economy
is very expensive. Yeah, and I don't know what point
smaller brands.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
Can sustain they can't.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
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 start out were five thousand.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Now they're like and fifty thousand for a social post.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
And so I don't know. Something I think eventually has
to give and I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
What I'll end up giving.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
And I've seen it sort of with the fashion influencer world,
is they don't they just don't get hired, yeah, and
then they have to and then they have to work
for less because at some point the brand is like, uhh,
we're taking the upper hand back because we're not spending
this money on you.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
And then all of a sudden, most of them aren't working, and.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
So the ones that want to work are either going
to have to charge less 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 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
(32:11):
going to 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.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
It's it's really amazing.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Poppy is the official soda of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
So we just have like insane is are you pinching yourself?
Speaker 4 (32:35):
So I'm so annoying and I'm going to say.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
People ask me this all the time, and I think
I should reframe how I answer.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Usually I'm like no, because I still got shit to do.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
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'm dominating, we are disrupting soda. It's like
this whole thing that I'm like, I'm not ready to
(33:07):
sit back in pitt result, but I do have to.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
I think, no, I think listen.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
But I would say now, because I'm you know.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
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, because
it was just and so and I never once stopped
(33:47):
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 Spirit?
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Do you believe these things?
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Because in the most and 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
into anyone listening is because you stop for ten 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
(34:20):
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 live
in that moment for a minute and then go onto
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,
(34:42):
that'll be documented for you.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
But social media also makes it easier to document.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Everyone's like, yes, right, a journal I'm like, oh, that's
my word.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
You don't even need to and there.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
Just I'll just go back on my TikTok feed.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
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 just like,
I don't know how you do it, Alison. Look, I'm
a creative and I have to allow that space to
be creative.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
So I will take your advice.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Just try to stop, even for an hour, just recognize
it and then move on to the next thing.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
But take it in from any of those beautiful boys.
I love that you're a boy.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Mom. Yes, next time you come here, let me know
and we'll go have drinks. I love it, happy in
tequila love.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Say thank you so.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Much, Anny, Thank you so much to Alison for being
on the pod. I honestly lived for our conversation, and
I really really loved how loud and proud she is
(35:55):
about not holding the title of CEO, because I think
as females, over the last several years, we have become
so 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.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
And I think that's been one of.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
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
(36:35):
truly means, and that that's not.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Actually where they excel.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
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
(36:59):
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 iheartapp, or wherever you get your podcasts so you
don't miss a single episode this season. Be sure to
follow me on Instagram at rachel Zo and the show
(37:21):
at Climbing in Heels pod for the latest.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Episodes and updates. I will talk to you soon.
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