Olipop Versus Poppi
If you are on TikTok actively and care about prebiotic drinks, you have most likely heard about the drama that surrounded the brand Poppi. If not, here’s a very quick recap:
Poppi is a brand that makes flavoured prebiotic sodas and drinks. The brand launched in 2020 and gained massive success due to its products’ supposed health benefits and also the brand’s relatability. Poppi is now so successful, in fact, that it even managed to secure an ad during the Superbowl. If you’re familiar with the Superbowl and just how huge it is in American culture, then you know that paying for an ad to air during the Superbowl is not cheap…at all. This should tell you just how well Poppi is doing.
Along with their ad, Poppi also decided to do a little marketing campaign where they sent a number of custom vending machines, filled to the brim with Poppi drinks, to popular (and therefore presumably well-off) influencers. With one of their major competitors, Olipop, actively commenting on social media that each vending machine cost about $25000 United States green ones, this campaign did not go over well with Poppi’s customers, who felt that it was simply a tone-deaf move. With everything happening worldwide financially for the average individual, many social media users and prebiotic drink enthusiasts felt that Poppi was losing its relatability and not interested in “the little guy” anymore, focusing on catering to the rich and luxury consumers simply because their profits are up. Naturally, Poppi did respond to the backlash in what I thought was a gracious enough statement, but even that didn’t appease the masses.
Now, one might say that all publicity is good publicity, and Poppi’s campaign certainly went viral so that may be a good thing, right? Maybe. But there is certainly one brand that particularly benefitted from Poppi’s situation. And that is the aforementioned Olipop, who are also in the business of prebiotic drinks.
If you had bothered to follow the prebiotic battle, you would have seen that Olipop was 100% playing a ruthless character on social media in regards to capitalising on Poppi’s marketing faux pas, with harsh criticisms of the Poppi brand. They were managing their socials somewhat like D-brand, with relatability and speaking like a human being and not a “brand” so to speak. And the TikTok girlies were eating it up! I will say, this method of opportunity-grabbing works on a platform like TikTok because it is a little more informal and care-free, but I wouldn’t recommend it in the “real world.” In other words, different platforms and scenarios require different management. Trolling works under some circumstances, but it’s not for every marketing campaign. It can look gimmicky or sleazy if done wrong or if you have an audience/customer-base that doesn’t exactly relate to that kind of behaviour. But, in Olipop’s case, it has worked out splendidly, with some former Poppi drinkers finding them to be an alternative that isn’t tone-deaf in their eyes. And Olipop really does seem to be raking in some of Poppi’s disappointed customers who are even promoting them on TikTok. As much as Olipop’s open statements against Poppi were not exactly conventional, they have worked out for them in this instance. But, again, I would like to state that it is not a conventional tactic to use as a business and can only work under very specific circumstances and with a certain type of audience.
Now, do I think this whole situation will end Poppi’s successful trading? Probably not. In fact, if anything, I think both brands will benefit by each finding new markets and customers. They both have strong fan bases and we all know that the health and fitness market is a top-earner, and that probably isn’t going to change anytime soon.
What are your thoughts on Olipop’s approach to Poppi’s backlash and do you think Poppi’s marketing strategy was a bad idea?
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