The celebrity beverage business is booming

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The celebrity-owned beverage industry appears to be following the same trajectory as the beauty industry, which took off in the 2010s when beauty gurus dominated YouTube.

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Actor Blake Lively’s Betty Buzz and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s PLEZi are two startup soda brands that generate sales by leveraging their millions of fans.

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Two major driving forces behind the sector's growth are a push for healthier beverages, which aligns with many celebrity “better-for-you” personal brands, and real-life examples that show it works. Olipop, a healthy prebiotic soda, has grown from $3.7MM in annual sales for 2020 to surpassing $325MM this year. Poppi, another prebiotic soda, has followed a similar trajectory, rising from less than $1MM in sales for 2020 to nearly $260MM in 2024.

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PepsiCo and Coca-Cola could benefit from all this new activity. Healthy soda sellers may eventually need them to help with distribution or as suitors with deep pockets when they are ready to exit.