Company: Poppi
Title: Co-Founder
Industry: Retail
Standout achievement in 2025: Closed the nearly $2Â billion sale of her viral prebiotic soda brand, Poppi, to PepsiCo.
In 2018, Ellsworth appeared on "Shark Tank" alongside her husband, Stephen, to pitch a drink that aimed to revolutionize the beverage market, combining prebiotics and fruit juice to create a low-calorie soda with just five grams of sugar.
In 2020, the rebranded beverage launched as Poppi and quickly took off. In May 2025, Ellsworth sold the business to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion, marking one of the largest beverage acquisitions in recent history.
As the brand's co-founder, she was instrumental in taking the brand from a kitchen experiment to one of the fastest-growing beverages in the U.S., igniting consumer demand and helping to create a new category of modern soda. Still advising on the brand's vision and long-term strategy alongside PepsiCo, Ellsworth has reframed what soda can be for the next generation.
