Allison Ellsworth, who co-founded prebiotic soda brand Poppi and sold it to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion in 2025, said creators now ask for ownership before they will promote Jetty, the hydration brand Ellsworth launched on November 9, in an interview on the “Hot Smart Rich” podcast published November 11.
“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, whose show joined Steven Bartlett’s FlightStory portfolio in December 2025. “That’s like a whole new world that I’m navigating.”
Ellsworth said the creators are right to ask. “They’re so much smarter and they should be asking for these things. They’re helping build these brands,” Ellsworth said. “They should really participate in the upside as well.” Jetty is looking at “investment plus advisory type partnerships” with many of the creators it approaches, Ellsworth said.
Ellsworth said Jetty is structuring two such deals and that the terms differ by person. The first is built on deliverables: “one to two TikToks a month,” a set number of quarterly appearances, a production day and possible use in ads. The second is for 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. Ellsworth did not name either partner.
Ellsworth added that creators who invest 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 Federal Trade Commission’s guidance for influencers says a financial relationship with a brand is a material connection that has to be disclosed.
Ellsworth Says Alix Earle and Jake Shane Had About 90,000 Followers When Poppi Signed Them
Ellsworth traced the demand to Poppi. PepsiCo announced the acquisition on March 17, 2025, at $1.95 billion including $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits, and closed it that May. Alix Earle, who starred in a Poppi Super Bowl ad, held equity in Poppi ahead of the sale.
Ellsworth said Poppi began working with Earle and Jake Shane “when they were like 90,000 followers and in college.” Earle had 8.6 million TikTok followers as of August. Brands now ask Ellsworth for a route to the pair, and Ellsworth said the answer is the same each time: “They’re too big for you now, honey.” The advice Ellsworth gives is to “go find the next talent.”
A report 5W published in April found that about 70% of productive seeding budgets at consumer packaged goods brands go to creators with 10,000 to 250,000 followers, the tier Ellsworth described recruiting from at Poppi.
Ellsworth called the Poppi approach of “being founder led, social digital first, working with creators, doing gifting, getting celebrities on your cap table” “table stakes” now that other brands have adopted it. Jetty’s addition is a budget rule, Ellsworth said: 80% of marketing spend is committed to planned moments such as festival season and back to school, and 20% is left unallocated so the brand can spend when a cultural moment arrives.
Equity Requests Reach a Self-Funded Brand
Creator equity deals have run through the Creator Economy all 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.
Jetty has no outside investors yet. Ellsworth said the founders, Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, have put about $2.5 million of their own money into the company and are discussing 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
Ellsworth did not say how much equity Jetty is offering creators or whether any creator will take part in the round.
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