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If you’re a fan of the deep cuts and b-sides of this newsletter, you’ll recall that in our 16th edition, which ran back in mid-January, I featured a Creator Fact about Olipop, everyone’s favorite prebiotic soda company. The numbers for Olipop are truly impressive, and worth reiterating in this, our 25th edition of the newsletter.
But why reiterate when you can, um, reiterate with a twist? Retwisterate? (I’ll work on that one.)
Because there’s another cool-kid soda brand on the block, and that’s right: it’s also prebiotic. Oh, and the names are also very similar, to the point of confusion. Great.
I’m writing, of course, about Poppi. You might have heard of it if you watched a little thing called the Super Bowl, where Poppi ran an ad declaring that Soda is Back, and that Poppi is the Future of Soda—which means, by the transitive property, that Poppi is Back to the Future.
So we’ve got two hip, youth-forward soda brands promising new spins on old flavors, low-sugar satisfaction, and gut health. And they also both have ‘pop’ in their names. Things really do come in pairs (though neither brand offers a pear flavor). It’s kind of an Armageddon vs. Deep Impact situation.
There are plenty of nutritional breakdowns showing how these brands stack up against each other. (TLDR: they each have their benefits, but don’t overdo it with soda, no matter how prebiotic it might be.) But there isn’t yet a data-driven influencer marketing strategy breakdown, or at least not one that’s appeared in a newsletter called How to Build Brands and Influence People. Let’s change that.
Olipop vs. Poppi: There Can Only Be One*
*There can definitely be both.
Let’s run through several key metrics and see which soft drink reigns supreme:
EMV
Olipop and Poppi 2023 EMV Performance
Advantage: Olipop
With a very convenient ~$100M EMV between then, it’s a 60-40 split for Olipop. But which brand saw the most momentum in 2023?
YoY EMV Change
Olipop and Poppi YoY EMV Change 2023
Advantage: Poppi
Despite its smaller EMV total, Poppi pulled ahead when it came to YoY growth. However, it’s worth noting that both brands more than doubled their respective EMV totals from 2022 to 2023. Clearly, the prebiotic soda market is booming.
Number of Creators:
Olipop and Poppi Number of Creators in 2023
Advantage: Poppi
This is an interesting result—normally, you’d expect the brand with a higher EMV total to draw mentions from a greater number of creators. Not this time.
On the flipside, this does mean that Olipop’s creators had Poppi beat when it came to potency. But how about YoY community growth?
YoY Community Growth
Olipop and Poppi Number of Creators YoY Change in 2023
Advantage: Poppi
Well alright then. Poppi scores another one, just about doubling its community between 2022 and 2023.
It was a similar story for content volume, where Poppi beat out Olipop despite the latter brand’s higher EMV total, and saw higher growth in this category. For variety, we’ll go graphless this time:
Olipop and Poppi Number of Posts and YoY Change in 2023
Poppi’s really pulling ahead here. Can Olipop catch up when it comes to Engagement, and YoY Engagement growth?
Engagement, and YoY Engagement Growth
Olipop and Poppi 2023 Engagement
Olipop and Poppi 2023 YoY Engagement Change
Advantage: Olipop
Pretty clear-cut: Olipop’s content garnered greater engagement in 2023, and enjoyed more momentum behind this engagement. This resulted in the brand’s higher EMV total relative to Poppi.
In addition to its dominance in Engagements, Olipop also led Poppi in Impressions by a wide margin. However, in a photo-finish, Poppi juuuust eked out an advantage in YoY Impressions growth, with both brands posting bonkers numbers:
Olipop and Poppi Number of Posts and YoY Change in 2023
So in the end, much like those nutritional breakdowns, each brand has its strengths.
I think it’s safe to say that both Olipop and Poppi will be around for quite some time. I’m excited to see how the rivalry evolves, and whether both brands can remain tentpoles in a pretty niche market—or even if other competitors emerge. Between Poppi’s Super Bowl commercial and Olipop’s viral marketing campaign to find (and handsomely compensate) everyday soda influencers, I expect these two to be topping the pop charts for a while yet.
For more stats and insights into what Olipop and Poppi are doing so well, and what’s driving growth for both brands (hint: it starts with ‘Tik’ and ends with ‘Tok’), then give a listen to the inaugural episode of How to Build Brands and Influence People: the Podcast. You won’t regret it. But if you do, email me and I’ll try to make it up to you.
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