Poppi founders launch Jetty, a new everyday hydration drink brand

Poppi co-founders Allison and Stephen Ellsworth launched Jetty on Monday, a new hydration brand selling ready-to-drink bottles and ready-to-mix electrolyte powders. The products are available through Jetty's website, Amazon, Target and Whole Foods stores nationwide. The brand is aimed at everyday drinkers rather than athletes, and Allison Ellsworth said it is formulated to be close to coconut water without that taste. Jetty launches with five flavors. The couple is investing $2.5 million of their own money, and the launch comes about a year and a half after PepsiCo bought Poppi for $1.95 billion. The founders describe the market as a $13 billion sports and performance drink category, where Gatorade holds about 60% of U.S. sports drink sales, according to Numerator data.

Fox Business, the right-leaning source, leads with the founders' personal investment and the size of the category, notes Jetty targets working parents and young professionals, and quotes Allison Ellsworth answering critics who doubted her Poppi plans. NBC News, the left-leaning source, instead runs an interview with Allison Ellsworth about why she started another brand after the Poppi sale, her view that nothing existed for simply living, and lessons from Poppi, and it does not cite the investment amount in its excerpt. All sources agree on the launch, the retailers, the $1.95 billion Poppi sale and the everyday-hydration pitch. CNBC, the alternative source, adds a distinct angle: a head-to-head rivalry with PepsiCo and Gatorade, with Poppi's marketing to Gen Z and millennials as the model. Right and left differ mainly in emphasis, with Fox stressing money and market size and NBC stressing the founder's personal story.