Olipop turned “healthy soda” into a real grocery aisle, and it did that while its biggest rival was swallowed by a giant. Poppi now belongs to PepsiCo, but Olipop is still standing on its own. So who owns it today? Its founders and a group of private investors, with no corporate parent.
Who Owns Olipop in 2026?
Olipop is a privately held company, and no corporation owns it. Co-founders Ben Goodwin and David Lester are reported to keep meaningful equity alongside outside investors. The most recent confirmed funding round was led by J.P. Morgan Private Capital’s Growth Equity Partners.
Olipop does not publish its cap table, so exact percentages are not public. PitchBook lists 77 investors and about $243 million raised in total. No sale or IPO filing has been announced as of early November 2026.
Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Party | Role | Approx. Stake | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Goodwin | Co-founder, chairman, drink formulator | Undisclosed | CEO until August 2026, now chairman of the board |
| David Lester | Co-founder | Undisclosed | Co-launched the brand in 2018 |
| J.P. Morgan Private Capital (Growth Equity Partners) | Lead investor of the 2025 Series C | Undisclosed minority | $50 million round at a $1.85 billion valuation |
| Celebrity and angel investors | Minority investors | Undisclosed | Jonas Brothers, Mindy Kaling, Gwyneth Paltrow, Indra Nooyi |
| Other venture investors | Minority investors | Undisclosed | PitchBook names Align Ventures, Clerisy, DML Group, Raptor Group |
| Christian Patiño Webb | CEO | No stake disclosed | First non-founder CEO, since August 2026 |
| PepsiCo | Not an owner | No stake reported | Owns rival Poppi |
| Coca-Cola | Not an owner | No stake reported | Launched its own prebiotic soda, Simply Pop |
The Origin Story: A Second Try at Healthy Soda
In 2018, Ben Goodwin and David Lester launched Olipop with about $100,000 from the sale of their earlier probiotic soda brand, Obi. The first lineup had three flavors: Ginger Lemon, Strawberry Vanilla, and Cinnamon Cola, as Wikipedia’s Olipop entry notes.
The company is based in Oakland, California. Goodwin formulates the drinks himself, drawing on years of work with fermentation and the gut microbiome, according to a 2022 TechCrunch profile.
Funding Rounds and Investors
A 2022 Series B valued Olipop at roughly $200 million. The big jump came in February 2025, when a $50 million Series C valued it at $1.85 billion, as NBC News reported.
Olipop called that its final anticipated equity round and said it turned profitable in early 2024. Sales topped $400 million in 2024. Christopher Dawe of J.P. Morgan’s Growth Equity Partners joined the board as part of the deal.
The investor list also has famous names, including the Jonas Brothers, Mindy Kaling, Gwyneth Paltrow, and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, per Food Dive.
What “Owned by Founders and Investors” Really Means
Olipop is a venture-backed company. Founders typically keep a large share of the equity, while investors hold minority stakes in exchange for their money. Some investors also get board seats, which is why J.P. Morgan has a voice in major decisions.
No outside investor is reported to control the company on its own. That is why nobody can honestly say one person or one firm “owns” Olipop outright.
A New CEO in August 2026
In August 2026, Christian Patiño Webb became Olipop’s first non-founder CEO. He previously ran the hydration brand Electrolit for four years and worked at Unilever before that, according to Food Dive.
Ben Goodwin moved into a research and strategy role and became chairman of the board. A leadership change does not change ownership, because executives run the company while shareholders own it. Patiño Webb’s stated goal is to reach $1 billion in sales.
Is Olipop for Sale? Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the Poppi Deal
Big soda has been circling for years. In 2023, Goodwin told CNBC that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo had both approached Olipop about a sale.
In March 2025, PepsiCo announced it would buy Poppi for $1.95 billion, and it completed the deal in May 2025. Coca-Cola took a different route and launched its own prebiotic soda, Simply Pop, as Just Drinks reported.
Goodwin has ruled out selling. In an August 2026 Yahoo Finance interview, he called an IPO a valid option because the company has the profit record to support one.
Still, Axios Pro reported in May 2026 that Olipop planned to raise more than $200 million, a pivot after talks with strategic buyers stalled the year before. No confirmed close of that round has been announced.
Where Olipop Is Sold and How It Competes
By early 2025, Olipop was available in nearly 50,000 retail locations, including Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods Market, which is owned by Amazon, according to FoodBev.
It competes in a crowded corner of the food and beverage business. Players like Keurig Dr Pepper have also pushed into wellness drinks, and Patiño Webb says roughly one new rival enters the category every week.
Olipop leans on nutrition to stand out. Its cans carry up to 9 grams of prebiotic fiber, compared with about 2 grams in Poppi, according to the same CEO interview.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Olipop in 2026?
Co-founders Ben Goodwin and David Lester plus private investors led by J.P. Morgan, with no corporate parent.
Q2. Is Olipop owned by PepsiCo or Coca-Cola?
No, PepsiCo owns rival Poppi, and Coca-Cola launched its own Simply Pop.
Q3. Who founded Olipop?
Ben Goodwin and David Lester launched it in 2018 with about $100,000 from the sale of Obi.
Q4. Who is the CEO of Olipop?
Christian Patiño Webb has been CEO since August 2026, and Goodwin is chairman.
Q5. How much is Olipop worth?
Its last confirmed valuation is $1.85 billion, set in the February 2025 Series C.
Q6. Is Olipop publicly traded?
No, it is privately held and has not announced an IPO filing.
Q7. Who owns Poppi?
PepsiCo bought Poppi for $1.95 billion, and the deal closed in May 2025.
Q8. Is Olipop for sale?
Goodwin has ruled out selling, but he says an IPO remains an option.
Official website: drinkolipop.com
Olipop is owned by its co-founders Ben Goodwin and David Lester and a group of private investors, led by J.P. Morgan Private Capital’s Growth Equity Partners. It has no corporate parent, and neither PepsiCo nor Coca-Cola owns any part of it. Its last confirmed valuation is $1.85 billion.
Rival Poppi sold to PepsiCo, while Olipop stayed independent and just handed day-to-day leadership to a new CEO. Its founder keeps an IPO open as a future option.
