It’s official – Poppi is going to Pepsi. PepsiCo announced this morning it will acquire the prebiotic soda maker in a $1.95 billion deal, leapfrogging the CSD giant to the top of the next gen, better-for-you soda set with the brand that has established itself (alongside others like Olipop) as a leader in low-sugar, functional CSD innovation. The deal includes $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits, bringing the net purchase price to $1.65 billion, according to a press release. The final tally beats the rumored value of $1.5 billion reported by Bloomberg last week, and marks one of the largest beverage M&A deals of the last 12 months. It also comes just months after PepsiCo closed on its $1.2 billion acquisition of Siete Foods, showing the New York conglomerate is once again an active buyer in the CPG space "More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness. poppi is a great complement to our portfolio transformation efforts to meet these needs," said PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta in the press release. In a statement shared with BevNET, Poppi CEO Chris Hall praised the brand’s founders, Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, on their work creating the brand. “The growth poppi has experienced in just five years is unprecedented,” Hall said. “It has been an honor to work alongside the Ellsworths, the poppi team, and our partners as we created a leading brand, a movement, and a community like no other. I am thrilled to enter this next chapter with PepsiCo as they support our continued growth and innovation and broaden our availability.” - According to NielsenIQ, U.S. retail dollar sales of Poppi were up 167.3% in the 52-week period ending January 11 to over $359.9 million, and volume sales grew 178.2% in the same period.
- The brand launched its second Super Bowl ad campaign this year. Although it sparked a little controversy with its decision to loan vending machines to a select number of social media influencers, Poppi has demonstrated its won the attention (and loyalty) of a broad swath of mainstream consumers.
Read the full story on BevNET. We will be back in your inbox later today with the full edition of today's Daily Briefing. Until then, catch up on all things poppi from the past year – from class actions against its core claim to a controversial Super Bowl stunt. | 
