The shelves of Target and Whole Foods tell a story of change. Where traditional sodas once reigned supreme, a new category has bubbled up to challenge the status quo. The prebiotic soda category has emerged as consumers seek healthier alternatives to traditional sodas, combining nostalgic flavors with functional benefits. At the center of this transformation stand two brands that have become synonymous with the movement: Olipop and Poppi. By the end of 2024, these were the financial results for the top two main players in the space: Olipop achieved $400 million in sales, while Poppi reached $500 million, according to The Food Institute. While Poppi held the revenue lead, both brands had successfully carved out significant market share in the growing prebiotic soda category.
Over the years, health-conscious consumers, armed with ingredient lists and nutritional knowledge their parents never had, began demanding more from their canned sodas. They wanted the satisfying pop and familiar flavors of childhood favorites, but without the sugar crashes and empty calories. Enter the prebiotic soda revolution, a category that promised to deliver both nostalgia and wellness in every colorful can. Using Infegy Starscape, we were able to look into just how big the industry has gotten. The category as a whole hit a post volume high in 2025 of 296,000+ social media posts, as shown in Figure 1, marking a giant shift in how Americans think about this subset of beverages.
Figure 1: Prebiotic Soda Conversations (July 2020 through July 2025); Infegy Social Dataset.
The two brands at the forefront of this transformation, Olipop and Poppi, offer a compelling case study in contrasting marketing philosophies. While Olipop built its brand through authentic community engagement, Poppi pursued a celebrity and influencer-driven strategy, creating a perfect natural experiment in brand-building approaches.
February 2023 marked a significant acceleration point for both brands. Social listening data shows that mentions and brand awareness began to climb steadily for both Olipop and Poppi during this period, as seen in Figure 2. However, they took notably different approaches to building their audiences.
Figure 2: Poppi (blue) and Olipop (orange) Post Volume Growth (July 2020 through July 2025); Infegy Social Dataset.
Olipop focused on a people-driven strategy that emphasized community building with some customer education. Its creator, Ben Goodwin, told Forbes "OLIPOP is leveraging deep childhood memories and our aim was to tap into nostalgia and shared social moments," explaining that he wanted nostalgia to be the primary driver, with the health benefits as a secondary consideration. The brand also invested heavily in transparency around its ingredients and the science behind prebiotic benefits.
The newly informed customers became ride or die spokespeople who engaged with content frequently. Especially early on, when they were first breaking into the space, as seen in Figure 3. Entrepreneur notes that “Early on, Olipop spread its budget across 10 smaller influencers instead of one high-profile deal. They asked for engagement metrics before paying anyone, ensuring they partnered with the right people.”
Figure 3: Olipop Post Engagement Averaged (July 2020 through July 2025); Infegy Social Dataset.
Poppi, on the other hand, pursued a celebrity-driven strategy, partnering with high-profile influencers and securing strategic endorsements. Most of the world originally experienced Poppi on the pitch show Shark Tank. According to Forbes, they used a roster of celebrities and influencers like Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner, Billie Eilish, Russell Westbrook, JLo, Olivia Munn, and more. These celebrities were used in Super Bowl commercials and other large-scale advertisements (causing engagement spikes in Figure 4). This approach generated rapid brand recognition and broad awareness across social media platforms, particularly among younger demographics following celebrity partnerships.
Figure 4: Poppi Post Engagement Averaged (July 2020 through July 2025); Infegy Social Dataset.
The differences became more pronounced in community sentiment analysis. Olipop's education-focused approach cultivated an audience prepared to engage meaningfully with functional benefits, resulting in higher positive sentiment (Figure 5). In contrast, Poppi's celebrity-driven strategy, while effective for reach, resulted in less favorable sentiment (Figure 6).
Figure 5: Olipop’s Sentiment (July 2020 through July 2025); Infegy Social Dataset.
Figure 6: Poppi’s Sentiment (July 2020 through July 2025); Infegy Social Dataset.
The contrasting strategies of Olipop and Poppi show exactly why social listening matters. When you dig into the data of over 296,000 social media posts, you start to see the real story beyond just revenue numbers. Each strategy delivered different types of success. Poppi's celebrity-driven approach generated higher revenue ($500M vs $400M), while Olipop's community-focused strategy cultivated higher engagement rates and more positive sentiment, helping create very loyal customers.
This case demonstrates that both micro and macro-influencer strategies can achieve significant market success, with each approach offering distinct advantages depending on business objectives and market conditions. The data reveals that there's no universally "better" approach: success depends on aligning strategy with specific goals, whether that's maximizing revenue or building deep customer loyalty.