There are few products that folks love as much as soda and yet feel guilty about consuming it. “In the U.S. alone, household penetration of soda is 97 percent,” says Ben Goodwin, founder and CEO of the company Olipopa company selling a completely recent variety of soda. “It’s a $42 billion industry. It has been one of the largest beverage categories in the United States for 150 years. And for many consumers, it is a product that has been with them since childhood.” But recently, the guilt many people felt about drinking the traditional soda appeared to overshadow the pleasure – especially for children. “When we first launched Olipop, soda sales had been declining for decades, and among younger consumers the decline was 60%,” says Goodwin.
So he decided to resolve the conflict so people could drink a Coke – or at least a Coke – and feel good about it by offering what Goodwin calls a “functional” soda. Olipop consists of plant substances, natural plant fiber and prebiotics that support the intestinal microbiome and help with digestive health. It only has a little sugar and a lot of fiber. And, most significantly, it still tastes much like what many consumers grew up slurping. “People love the taste of soda, but they know it’s unhealthy for them,” Goodwin says. “The reason for the decline was the internal conflict people had around the product – it wasn’t a lack of love for the product.”
Now people love Olipop. Last yr, the company had gross sales of $200 million while operating in just 28,000 individual stores. “Typically, companies priced above $200 million to $250 million are in the $80,000, $90,000 or even more than $100,000 retail sales range,” Goodwin explains. “We are racing toward half a billion dollars this year and have become fully profitable as a company. And we’re still nowhere near the norm for the number of doors for a company this size, right? August we have approximately 35,000 doors, so not only do we continue to shatter industry expectations in terms of demand rates and performance metrics, but we continue to amaze ourselves.” All of this made Goodwin one of the 20 finalists on our 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year list of innovation leaders.
It looks such as you’re beginning to get into the territory of… sip — Big Soda.
We are currently the handiest single-serve soda in the country. We are the leader in the functional soda category, but we also achieve real numbers in comparison with traditional sodas. I’m just filled with admiration because I know there are loads of them [traditional soda] brands maintain truly long-term, meaningful relationships with their customers. And when their customers determine to change into our customers, it is a great extension of trust.
Is that the goal: to lure customers away from traditional sodas?
We don’t need to shame anyone for loving other brands of traditional soda. I think this is the worst option to connect with people and get them to be open. I do not mind if you have traditional soda and then Olipop. In fact, some of our consumers are just moving away from traditional sodas altogether, but I might say the majority of our consumers drink each. If you replace some of the soda with something high in fiber and low in sugar that has other advantages, that is a win. Olipop needs to be a truly phenomenal bridge to a healthier lifestyle. And look, if we’re lucky and we actually displace a lot of soda consumption or convert a lot of soda consumption, then obviously it’s a really big category.
How did Olipop manage to master this moment?
I think people are just ready for the functional beverage category. We each created it and are leaders in it. We place great importance on actually putting real science into practice. Our motivation is not only to display the biggest empathy and effectiveness in contacts with consumers where they are emotional and to supply them with the desired taste. We also need to set recent standards for what it means to be a health and well-being product.
Olipop is groundbreaking, but there’s also a distinctly vintage feel to it. How to create this sense?
It works as deeply as the formula. When I’m building a flavor, I at all times make sure there’s something that is at least nostalgic for me personally. Since I grew up eating the same things as many other Americans, I hope there is a translation for this. But there’s also a recent take on the flavor profile that goes hand in hand with nostalgia.
So it accommodates elements that create a successful link to past experiences, but also redefine the flavor profile into the future. For almost every flavor, I could let you know a story about the way it all got here together and what it means. But it’s actually a key a part of flavor architecture for me.
It also exists in our branding. Traditional Soda has built some amazing brands, and their approach to brand structure is based on a carefree approach. Sometimes nostalgia itself actually results in taste and is based on acceptability. But for many Americans, the relationship is more complex. What they have in common with Olipop is reliving it without all the dissonance.