Poppi Co-Founder: Every Creator Jetty Approaches Asks for Equity

Every creator Allison Ellsworth approaches to promote Jetty, her new hydration brand, asks for an equity stake and an advisory role before signing — a direct consequence, she says, of Poppi's $1.95 billion sale to PepsiCo. Ellsworth, who co-founded the prebiotic soda brand, made the comments on the "Hot Smart Rich" podcast published November 11, six days after Jetty launched on November 9.

"I'm actually really struggling locking in creators because every single creator I reach out to to work with, they ask to get advisory and to invest because they saw what happened at Poppi," Ellsworth told host Maggie Sellers Reum. "That's like a whole new world that I'm navigating."

What do the new deal terms look like?

Ellsworth said the creators are right to demand ownership. "They're so much smarter and they should be asking for these things. They're helping build these brands," she said. "They should really participate in the upside as well."

Jetty is structuring two advisory-plus-investment partnerships, with terms tailored to each person. The first is deliverables-based:

• one to two TikToks per month
• a set number of quarterly appearances
• one production day
• possible use of the content in paid ads

The second deal targets a partner Ellsworth described as a "thought leader" who is less active on social media and would make a "best effort" to include Jetty in a podcast and a book tour. "I really feel strongly it needs to be curated to that talent or investor," Ellsworth said. She did not name either partner.

For affiliates and agencies tracking disclosure risk, Ellsworth's operating preference raises a flag. She said creators who invest in Jetty should post without brand approvals, so they can "organically work it in to their lives and not have to put hashtag paid on every single post." The FTC's guidance for influencers states that a financial relationship with a brand — equity included — is a material connection that must be disclosed. An investment stake does not exempt a post from disclosure requirements.

Why creators expect Poppi-scale upside

PepsiCo announced the Poppi acquisition on March 17, 2025, at $1.95 billion including $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits, and closed the deal that May. Alix Earle, who starred in a Poppi Super Bowl ad, held equity in Poppi ahead of the sale.

Ellsworth said Poppi signed Earle and Jake Shane "when they were like 90,000 followers and in college." Earle counted 8.6 million TikTok followers as of August. Brands now approach Ellsworth for introductions, and her answer is consistent: "They're too big for you now, honey." Her advice is to "go find the next talent."

That mid-tier recruiting logic matches industry data. A 5W report published in April found about 70% of productive seeding budgets at consumer packaged goods brands go to creators with 10,000 to 250,000 followers — the exact tier Ellsworth described recruiting from at Poppi.

Is the pay-for-performance playbook now table stakes?

Ellsworth called the Poppi formula — "being founder led, social digital first, working with creators, doing gifting, getting celebrities on your cap table" — "table stakes" now that competing brands have copied it. Jetty's addition to the playbook is a budget rule: 80% of marketing spend is committed to planned moments such as festival season and back to school, while 20% stays unallocated so the brand can deploy money when a cultural moment arrives.

Equity-for-promotion deals have spread across the creator economy throughout the year. Skincare brand ESW Beauty named TikTok creators Katie Fang and Aliya Rachinski its first "creator equity partners" in July, and comedian Druski took an equity stake in Gopuff in October.

Who funds Jetty next?

Jetty has no outside investors. Ellsworth and her co-founder, Stephen Ellsworth, have put about $2.5 million of their own money into the company and are weighing whether a first round should come from "celebrity influencers" or "strategics." CNBC reported on November 8 that Ellsworth expects to raise outside capital in 2027. Jetty is sold at Whole Foods and online at Target and Amazon, according to Food Dive.

Ellsworth did not disclose how much equity Jetty is offering creators or whether any creator will participate in the first round — the open variable that will determine whether the advisory-plus-equity model scales beyond two curated deals.