What is OLIPOP?
A functional soda brand selling low-sugar, high-fiber prebiotic soda.
- Category
- Functional soda
- Headquarters
- Oakland, CA
- Founded
- 2018
- Employees
- Remote; ~400+ reported
- Total funding
- $55M+ disclosed
- Valuation
- $1.85B (Feb 2025)
What is OLIPOP?
OLIPOP is a functional soda company that sells nostalgic soda flavors with low sugar, plant fiber, and prebiotics. It was founded by Ben Goodwin and David Lester to compete with legacy soda while positioning the product around gut health and modern wellness.
OLIPOP's core product is a canned soda with 2-5 grams of sugar and about 9 grams of fiber per can, sold in flavors such as Vintage Cola, Classic Root Beer, Cream Soda, Strawberry Vanilla, and limited seasonal drops. By early 2025 the brand was sold in almost 50,000 doors across major retailers including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, Costco, Starbucks, and Wawa.
The company has scaled from a niche functional beverage into one of the defining brands in the prebiotic soda category. Public coverage says OLIPOP generated about $400 million in 2024 sales and became profitable in early 2024, which is unusually strong for a venture-backed consumer brand. Its market position sharpened after PepsiCo acquired Poppi, validating the category while also turning the largest competitor into a strategic-backed rival.
What does OLIPOP offer?
OLIPOP sells functional soda in classic and fruit flavors through retail, DTC, Amazon, subscriptions, wholesale, and foodservice-style channels.
- Vintage Cola· Classic soda
- Classic Root Beer· Classic soda
- Cream Soda· Classic soda
- Lemon Lime· Fruit soda
- Strawberry Vanilla· Fruit soda
- Shirley Temple· Limited / seasonal
- Variety packs· Ecommerce
- Wholesale cases· Retail / wholesale
Sources:OLIPOP shopOLIPOP wholesale
How does OLIPOP make money?
OLIPOP makes money by selling canned soda through national retail, ecommerce subscriptions, Amazon, and wholesale accounts.
OLIPOP's model is premium CPG. A typical online 12-pack is priced around the mid-$30 range before discounts, while subscriptions and retail promotions lower the effective per-can price; wholesale pricing is handled through a separate wholesale channel rather than a public enterprise price list. Gross margin depends on ingredients, co-manufacturing or production costs, freight, trade spend, retailer margin, and promotional intensity.
The growth engine is retail velocity plus household penetration. Because OLIPOP sells a repeat-purchase beverage, the company can grow through more doors, more facings per door, more flavors, and more consumption occasions. Its profitability milestone in early 2024 suggests the brand had moved beyond pure paid acquisition, with retail discovery and repeat purchase carrying more of the growth.
Who leads OLIPOP?
OLIPOP is led by co-founder, CEO, and formulator Ben Goodwin, with co-founder David Lester associated with the brand's founding and commercial buildout.
- Ben GoodwinCo-founder, CEO & FormulatorCo-founder, since 2018Leads OLIPOP and personally drives product formulation and the health-oriented soda strategy.
- David LesterCo-founderCo-founder, since 2018Co-created OLIPOP with Goodwin after years working on healthier beverage concepts.
- Steven VigilanteGrowth / marketing executivePublicly associated with OLIPOP growthKnown for creator-led and community-led marketing around the brand.
- Amanda PagaPeople / operations leaderPublic employee listingRepresents the people and operating layer behind OLIPOP's remote-first team.
How do you contact OLIPOP's leadership?
OLIPOP publishes public aliases for customer support, recruiting, and wholesale. LeadIQ and Clay report a first-initial-last email pattern, but personal executive emails are not company-published, so use public aliases unless you have independent verification.
firstinitiallast@drinkolipop.com reported by LeadIQ/Clay; personal emails not company-publishedHow much funding has OLIPOP raised?
OLIPOP has disclosed at least $55 million of institutional funding, with its February 2025 $50 million Series C valuing the company at $1.85 billion.
OLIPOP's earliest public financing included seed backing from consumer-focused investors after its 2018 launch. Bloomberg reported that its prior valuation was around $200 million in a 2021 round, before the prebiotic soda category accelerated. The company then scaled sales dramatically, reaching about $400 million in 2024 sales and profitability in early 2024.
In February 2025, OLIPOP raised a $50 million Series C led by J.P. Morgan Private Capital's Growth Equity Partners at a $1.85 billion valuation. The company described the round as its final anticipated equity financing, aimed at product development, marketing, and distribution expansion. Later social posts suggested new fundraising discussions, but no company-confirmed round superseding the Series C was found by June 2026.
How did OLIPOP get here?
OLIPOP built the functional soda category through formulation, nostalgic flavors, retailer expansion, and a large 2025 growth round.
- 2018OLIPOP foundedBen Goodwin and David Lester launch a new kind of soda focused on fiber, prebiotics, and lower sugar.
- 2021Growth funding and ~$200M valuationA prior round reportedly values OLIPOP around $200M as the brand expands retail presence.
- 2023Retail accelerationOLIPOP grows beyond specialty grocery into major chains and begins competing directly with legacy soda occasions.
- Early 2024Profitability milestoneThe company says it achieved profitability in early 2024.
- 2024$400M sales year reportedThird-party coverage reports roughly $400M of 2024 sales.
- Feb 2025$50M Series CJ.P. Morgan leads the Series C at a $1.85B valuation.
Who are OLIPOP's competitors?
OLIPOP competes with other prebiotic sodas, probiotic sodas, legacy soft drinks, and functional beverage brands.
- PoppiPrebiotic soda competitor now backed by PepsiCo after acquisition.
- Culture PopProbiotic soda brand focused on live probiotics and fruit-forward flavors.
- Simply PopCoca-Cola's Simply-branded prebiotic soda line, leveraging a trusted juice brand.
- SunSipBetter-for-you soda from Health-Ade's ecosystem, positioned around gut-health beverages.
- Coca-ColaLegacy soda incumbent with massive distribution and marketing scale.
OLIPOP — frequently asked questions
