Wer ist der Zauberer hinter Poppis Verkauf an Pepsi für 1,9 Milliarden US - Dollar?

Over the years, Rohan Oza has earned millions of dollars through beverage businesses for stars like Jennifer Aniston and 50 Cent (born Curtis James Jackson III). In May of this year, this old acquaintance from the show "Shark Tank" closed another sensational deal - the prebiotic soda brand Poppi was acquired by Pepsi for $1.9 billion. And he will continue to be active.

Rohan Oza sits in his office in Manhattan, whose walls are covered with glittering, purple and orange Poppi cans that look like works of art. He tells visitors about his 20 - year search for the "perfect soft drink".

"Americans yearn for up - and - coming brands," says the 53 - year - old Oza. He is the co - founder of the Los Angeles private - equity fund Cavu Consumer Partners and was, in May of this year when Pepsi acquired the prebiotic soda Poppi for $1.9 billion, the chairman of the brand and at the same time its largest individual shareholder. "In thirty years, Poppi will be the lemonade for my children's generation."

The Poppi deal was Oza's biggest exit so far, but by no means his first success. In the last twenty years, he has played a key role in several major beverage acquisitions, including Vitaminwater, Smartwater, which was sold for $4.1 billion in 2007, and the antioxidant beverage Bai, which was sold for $1.7 billion in 2016. In these deals, Oza was both the "idea generator" and the "bridge". Through participation agreements, he got 50 Cent for Vitaminwater, Jennifer Aniston for Smartwater and Justin Timberlake for Bai as shareholders and translated the star power into concrete sales increases.

Image source: RYAN WEST FOR FORBES

"When Rohan and I closed the Vitaminwater deal, he became the template for future participation agreements," recalls 50 Cent. "We proved that stars can invest in themselves and achieve great success - and he's still doing it today."

01

Oza's connection to Poppi began in the popular ABC startup show "Shark Tank", in which he was often seen. In an episode from 2018, he acquired a 25% stake in a beverage brand founded by the entrepreneur couple Stephen Ellsworth and Allison Ellsworth from Austin, Texas, for $400,000. (Estimates suggest that the Ellsworths held around 12% of Poppi at the time of the Pepsi acquisition, which was worth about $150 million after taxes.)

Subsequently, Oza fundamentally redesigned the brand. He changed the name "Mother Beverage" given by the Ellsworths to "Poppi", transformed the product from an apple cider drink into a prebiotic soda and switched the packaging from glass bottles to cans. The brand style changed from a "craft marketplace style" to a brightly colored design for millennials.

Before Pepsi acquired Poppi at three and a half times its sales value, "Forbes" estimated that Oza owned around 21% of the brand, while his startup fund Cavu held another 37%. This deal directly brought him about $250 million (after taxes) and another about $50 million through Cavu. Together with the reinvestment profits from previous exits and his 50% stake in Cavu, his net worth is estimated to be about $500 million.

Oza says that such achievements embody his personal "American dreams". He is an immigrant from Zambia and came to the US in 1995. Then he earned an MBA at the University of Michigan. Today he lives in Miami and commutes between the headquarters of Cavu in Los Angeles, his office in New York and his apartments in the Yellowstone Club in Montana and on the island of Antigua.

"There is no other consumer market that takes up new brands as quickly as the US. I came to this country with dreams, and now I can say that I've realized them," says Oza.

02

Oza grew up in Livingstone, Zambia, and was an absolute lemonade lover as a child.

"I used to display lemonade cans on my shelf like medals of honor," he recalls. After graduating from the University of Nottingham in Nottingham, England, Oza started working for the confectionery manufacturer Mars on the Snickers brand in 1992. But his supervisor at the time told the 22 - year - old Oza, "I'm not sure if marketing is right for you," and removed him from the management promotion path. Disappointed, he returned to Zambia before traveling to Michigan. "If you really believe in yourself, you have to try twice as hard and persevere to the end," he says.

His next chance came in Atlanta.

He joined Coca - Cola and initially took over the brand marketing work for Sprite and later in 2001 led Powerade, which was his first independent brand assignment. In the year before his takeover, Powerade's annual sales had dropped by 15%, but after his measures, they increased by 35% the following year. This success made him interesting for Vitaminwater, a company with an annual sales of $35 million.

After being appointed the new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Vitaminwater, he contacted 50 Cent to find out if he would promote this beverage. The rapper demanded his own flavor profile - and when "Formula 50" came out in 2004, sales doubled within a year to $160 million. Estimates suggest that 50 Cent got about 2% of the brand's stake as a result.

In 2007, Vitaminwater reached sales of $400 million. In the same year, the New York - based parent company Glaceau (Smartwater was also one of its brands) was acquired, which was the largest non - alcoholic beverage deal at that time. 50 Cent earned about $100 million from it and triggered a trend of star - business collaborations: "Suddenly everyone said, 'I want to do a business like 50 Cent'."

Celebrations: 50 Cent earned about $100 million from the sale of Vitaminwater. Here he appeared at Oza's wedding in Marrakesh in 2024. Image source: ROHAN OZA

Oza also had a small stake at the time and thus received capital for investments through this deal.

In 2010, he invested $1 million in the fruity beverage brand Bai Brands from Hamilton, New Jersey, which at that time had sales of only $2 million. But Oza got Justin Timberlake on board for the promotion, which was well - received. Seven years later, Bai Brands was acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper for $1.7 billion, and Oza made a net profit of about $100 million from it.

At Bai Brands, Oza met Brett Thomas, who at the time was planning to found a private - equity fund. So in 2015, they founded a company called Cavu (an abbreviation from aviation jargon for "ceiling and visibility unlimited", which means "no cloud ceiling and visibility restrictions" and stands for ideal flight conditions), which focuses on brand building, packaging design, direct - to - consumer marketing, social media operations and collaborations with celebrities.

03

As a guest on "Shark Tank", Oza rejected several investment projects at beverage companies ("I couldn't find a reason to invest"). Only in June 2018 did the Ellsworths present Mother Beverage to him, and he tried their orange soda. "That was the product I'd been looking for all along," Oza recalls. "The packaging was bad, the brand was bad, basically everything was bad, but the beverage itself - it had exactly the right taste."

He immediately stopped the business of this company with annual sales of $600,000 and carried out a comprehensive redesign over two years.

When Poppi was re - launched in March 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, supermarkets were more interested in stocking toilet paper than soft drinks. Nevertheless, the renamed brand Poppi became very popular among influencers who were stuck at home. By the end of the year, Poppi soda's total sales amounted to $4 million.

After Poppi was offered in supermarkets like Kroger, Publix and Target, sales reached $20 million by the end of 2021. Cavu and Oza reinvested the profits and also attracted stars like the actress Olivia Munn and the duo The Chainsmokers as investors.

In 2022, Stephen Ellsworth switched from the position of CEO to the position of Chief Product Officer, and after industry expert Chris Hall took over the company, Poppi entered more retail channels like Albertsons, Stop & Shop and Costco. By 2023, the allegedly healthier soda had reached sales of over $200 million.

04

Oza is an engaged investor.

Three days before the 2024 Super Bowl, he noticed that there was still space for advertising and got Cavu to lend Poppi $10 million to run ads during the Super Bowl. "Once he's decided on something, no one can stop him," says Hall.

Two months later, Oza closed a distribution cooperation agreement to be represented in 4,600 Walmart stores in the US. He also ensured that Poppi and other competitors got their own shelf space and no longer had to be placed next to Coca - Cola and Pepsi. "He convinces retailers just as he convinces celebrities," recalls Jeff Rubenstein. Rubenstein interned under Oza at Coca - Cola 25 years ago, later worked in several brands invested by Oza and is now the Chief Growth Officer of Poppi.

In 2024, Poppi's sales increased by 150% to $500 million, and there were numerous acquisition offers. Oza says that he rejected at least three acquisition offers before closing the deal with Pepsi. "We didn't want partnerships that would only bring us money once but no guarantee for the brand's further development in the coming years," he says.

Under Pepsi's umbrella, Poppi can expand through one of the world's largest distribution networks. By the end of December, Poppi will bring its product to 100,000 sales points.

Poppi's online sales have also increased. Poppi is now the best - selling lemonade brand on Amazon, even ahead of Coca - Cola and Pepsi. The next three years will be crucial - according to the "performance - bet" provisions of the deal, if Poppi continues to grow, Oza, Cavu and the Ellsworths can earn a performance bonus of $300 million. Currently, the situation looks good: Poppi's weekly sales in Walmart have increased 20 - fold compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Oza has already started to focus on the next exit opportunities.

The next target is Skinny Dipped - a project of Oza to revolutionize the traditional baked goods and confectionery industry. This year, sales are expected to exceed $100 million, and Oza and Cavu hold around 40% of the brand's stake. In addition, there is the organic baby food brand Once Upon a Farm co - founded by Jennifer Garner. Cavu carried out a brand upgrade in 2021, and it is reported that the brand has applied for a stock market listing and has an estimated value of about $1 billion.

John Foraker, co - founder and CEO of Once Upon a Farm, remembers the first time he met Oza in a restaurant in 2018: Oza ordered a drink and had it sent back three times until it tasted right to him. "I thought, 'This man has vision, has high standards and won't be satisfied with mediocre results,'" says Foraker. "And he doesn't care what others think about his pursuit of perfection."

This article was translated from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2025/08/15/meet-rohan-oza-the-mastermind-behind-the-19-billion-poppi-deal/

Original title: "The Mastermind Behind the $1.9 Billion Poppi Deal"

This article is from the WeChat account "Forbes" (ID: forbes_china), Author: Chloe Sorvino; Translation: Lei & Rach; Proofreading: Lemin, published by 36Kr with permission.