Talk about digestive support: Attempting to ingest the staggering volume of piping-hot takes on the blockbuster Poppi-Pepsi deal that have flooded timelines and inboxes over the last 48 hours have left us in dire need of some mental prebiotics. Send all of your goods to Managing Editor Marty Caballero as he guides us through the mayhem. 

But rather than musing on strategic pivots or portfolio restructuring (don’t worry, we’ll get to those), today’s update sees a potential exit of another kind, as Poppi (VNGR Beverages) appears to be nearing a settlement to multiple lawsuits over its gut-support claims.

Plaintiffs in three active cases, which were consolidated last September, have asked the federal judge presiding over the case to confirm a proposed $8.9 million settlement, filing a motion for preliminary approval last Friday.

The three cases, all filed in California, take aim at one of Poppi’s brand pillars: gut health. The filings argue that the agave inulin Poppi uses as its primary source of prebiotic fiber was far too low to have any meaningful impact on the gut, and that the presence of sugars harms the balance of good bacteria in the digestive system.

The motion for approval acknowledged the challenge of proving its allegations, which Poppi has denied and promised to defend itself “vigorously” in a potential trial. According to a report in Law360, the two parties have been in mediation over a settlement since December 2024.

Those pending cases didn’t seem to weigh on Poppi’s agreement with Pepsi, though the newly acquired brand seems certain to separate itself further from gut-health claims even more than it already has…

Read the full story on BevNET for more on the case and potential settlement. What does all of this indicate about the potential for prebiotic pops? Send your thoughts to mcaballero@bevnet.com.

Go Deeper with Taste Radio: Were We All Wrong About Olipop & Poppi? 

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Supplements brand 8Greens has been acquired by personal care and household products maker Grove Collaborative and it plans to begin selling 8Greens on its direct-to-consumer storefront next month.

🔀 Publicly-traded Grove is several years into executing a turnaround and most recently posted its first quarter-over-quarter revenue increase during Q4 2024.

🥬 Founded in 2015, 8Greens gives Grove an established line of powders and drink mixes with an existing consumer base as it works to grow online sales.

📚 8Greens founder Dawn Russell will serve as a consultant for the brand going forward, working to “develop educational content focused on wellness and human health while also supporting integration and ongoing product development,” according to the company.

San Diego-based family-owned company Infinium Spirits has scooped up banana flavored whiskey Howler Head. 

• Infinium has been growing its portfolio since 2005 with names like Templeton Rye, Corralejo Tequila, Zaya Rum and Seagram’s Vodka. 
• The acquisition is, in part, thanks to the trend of major spirits groups offloading non-core brands. 
• Campari acquired a minority stake in Howler Head for $15 million from London-based Catalyst Spirits in 2022, and later bought a minority stake in Catalyst Spirits. But as of December, Campari’s stake in the whiskey was “in the process of being unwound.”
• Launched in the U.S. in 2021, Howler Head produces an 80 proof, banana-flavored super-premium Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey that is the official flavored whiskey of UFC.

It’s been a terrible few weeks for Holy! Water co-founder Jasmine Mooney. After submitting an incomplete immigration form at the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico, the Canadian national was taken into custody by the U.S. Immigration and Customs, spending two weeks in detention. It has now been confirmed she was deported to Canada.

Mooney wrote about her experience for The Guardian, including how one official told her to prepare for the possibility of being held for months. The account explains what she went through, details on others she met being detained under questionable circumstances and reflects on the trials seeking asylum in the U.S.

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Here’s a look at marketing activations and product drops that have caught our attention this week:

🏋️ Functional group workout community F45 Training signed a multi-year global partnership with Red Bull for sampling, cooler integration and leveraging F45’s content creators.

🏀 March Madness and the NBA gearing up for the playoffs, Shaq is showing up big… in beverage. In the past week he’s been named an investor in RTD cocktail maker BeatBox, backing a Blueberry Lemonade flavor, and leveraged his candy brand Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies to partner with 7-Eleven on an exclusive Sour Pineapple slurpee. 

🩲 Heard of the Finnish tradition Kalsarikännit, or the art of drinking at home in your underwear? Long Drink is bringing the cultural tradition to the States with a new campaign just in time for March Madness.

🟠 Bang is partnering with streamer community Any Means Possible on an exclusive flavor: Bang Any Means Orange.

💦 Niagara Bottling has signed an NIL deal but not with a student-athlete. The bottled water brand is betting on the water boy, signing UCLA's head student manager Finn Barkenaes to bring visibility to the business.