Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, the founders of Poppi, launched Jetty, a new functional hydration beverage brand, on November 9, 2026. The launch comes approximately 18 months after PepsiCo acquired their prebiotic soda company for $1.95 billion, placing the founders back in the beverage market with a product designed to compete for consumers seeking alternatives to traditional sports drinks.
Jetty offers bottled beverages and electrolyte powders in five flavors, including Watermelon, Orange Mango, and Black Raspberry. Unlike sports drinks marketed primarily toward athletes, Jetty targets everyday consumers with a formulation containing electrolytes, prebiotics, and vitamins. The launch also illustrates how decisions about ingredients, advertising, trademark protection, and manufacturing agreements can affect a beverage brand before its products reach store shelves.
Poppi Founders Bring Jetty to a Crowded Hydration Market
Jetty debuted through Whole Foods Market and online retailers, including Target and Amazon, with bottled beverages priced at approximately $2.49. According to the Austin Business Journal, the company expects to reach roughly 3,200 stores by January 2027, with another major retail expansion planned for March.
The Ellsworths initially committed $2.5 million to fund the launch. Their experience building Poppi gives Jetty an established approach to product development, retailer relationships, and consumer marketing. However, a new beverage company must establish its own brand identity and protect the commercial assets it develops.
Jetty’s formulation is central to that identity. Its bottled beverage contains approximately 100 milligrams of sodium, 310 milligrams of potassium, 100 milligrams of magnesium, and six grams of sugar. The company also promotes its use of real fruit juice and the absence of artificial colors and sweeteners.
These ingredients support Jetty’s positioning as an everyday hydration drink, but they also introduce specific labeling and advertising requirements. The FDA’s food labeling rules govern how manufacturers identify ingredients, disclose nutritional information, and describe certain product characteristics. Even when a nutritional statement is accurate, the way it appears on a beverage label may be subject to additional restrictions.
Jetty’s Functional Beverage Claims Face FDA and FTC Standards
Jetty’s marketing emphasizes everyday hydration rather than athletic performance. Allison Ellsworth has discussed her personal experience with dehydration as part of the inspiration for the product.
That origin story helps explain Jetty’s appeal, although its use in advertising deserves careful attention. Under Federal Trade Commission standards, companies must have reliable evidence supporting objective health claims, including benefits that advertising may suggest without stating them directly.
For example, describing Jetty as an electrolyte beverage is different from claiming that it prevents chronic dehydration or provides superior hydration compared with water. More specific claims about health benefits may require scientific evidence demonstrating that the product delivers the advertised result.
Jetty’s inclusion of prebiotics creates another consideration, particularly given Poppi’s advertising history.
In 2025, Poppi agreed to an $8.9 million settlement resolving a consumer class action challenging representations about its soda’s gut health benefits. The plaintiffs alleged that the amount of prebiotic fiber in Poppi was insufficient to provide the advertised benefits. The settlement resolved the disputed claims without an admission of wrongdoing.
Jetty also includes prebiotic ingredients, although its primary marketing focuses on hydration. The earlier litigation illustrates the difference between establishing that a beverage contains a functional ingredient and demonstrating that consuming it produces a particular health benefit.
The FTC’s Health Products Compliance Guidance explains that health claims must be supported by appropriate evidence, including benefits consumers may reasonably infer from advertising.
A beverage can accurately list its functional ingredients and still face advertising liability if consumers are led to expect benefits the evidence does not support.
Jetty’s nutritional positioning also requires attention. FDA regulations establish specific conditions for claims such as “low sodium” and “reduced sodium.” Those expressions have legal definitions and cannot necessarily be used interchangeably.
Similar questions about how consumers interpret nutritional claims have emerged in lawsuits against Liquid Death and DAVID Protein over “zero sugar” labeling. The complaints challenge how the companies marketed products containing allulose, a sweetener that FDA rules allow manufacturers to exclude from the Total Sugars and Added Sugars figures on Nutrition Facts labels.
For a new functional beverage brand, these cases reinforce the importance of reviewing the exact wording used on packaging, retailer listings, and advertising before a product enters national distribution.
Launching Jetty: Trademark Protection, Packaging, and Retail Agreements
Jetty’s brand identity and social media strategy are major parts of its launch. The founders have relied on creator partnerships and online promotion to generate interest, applying a marketing approach that helped establish Poppi.
Before adopting a beverage name, manufacturers generally need to determine whether existing trademarks could prevent its use. A federal trademark search, together with a review of relevant marketplace uses, helps identify potential conflicts before a company invests in packaging, distribution, and advertising.
For Jetty, the brand name, logo, and distinctive packaging may become valuable intellectual property as retail distribution expands. Trademark protection can help prevent competing beverage companies from using confusingly similar branding. Certain distinctive packaging features may also qualify for trade dress protection when the applicable legal requirements are satisfied.
The founders’ previous sale of Poppi to PepsiCo adds a separate contractual consideration. Depending on the acquisition agreements, provisions governing confidential information, intellectual property ownership, and future business activities could affect the development of another beverage company. No publicly established information indicates that Jetty has violated any such restriction.
Jetty’s launch also involves manufacturing and retail contracts. Beverage companies frequently rely on co packers, outside facilities that manufacture and package drinks under another company’s brand. Those agreements should identify responsibility for ingredient specifications, quality testing, product recalls, and manufacturing defects.
Retail distribution introduces additional obligations. Large retailers may require product liability insurance, supplier warranties, testing records, and contractual protections if a product becomes the subject of a recall or consumer complaint.
Jetty’s influencer marketing creates another area of potential advertising liability. The FTC requires creators to disclose material relationships with brands when those connections could affect how consumers evaluate an endorsement. Free products, paid partnerships, and other incentives may trigger disclosure requirements, while claims about a beverage’s health benefits must also be supportable.
Strategic By Design: The Juris Law Group, P.C. Perspective on Food and Beverage Law
Jetty’s launch illustrates how legal decisions influence a beverage company’s product development and commercial growth. At Juris Law Group, P.C., our experience in food and beverage law includes addressing trademark protection, product labeling, manufacturing agreements, and advertising claims. These matters often intersect as a new functional beverage moves from product development to national retail distribution.
Jetty’s launch in two product formats is particularly relevant. Bottled beverages and powdered electrolyte mixes may require different manufacturing arrangements, labeling reviews, and quality control procedures. Their marketing must also reflect the characteristics of each formulation rather than assuming that evidence supporting one product automatically supports claims about another. These considerations are central to the legal work involved in manufacturing, distributing, and protecting consumer products.
Jetty expects to expand its retail presence throughout early 2027, bringing its products to more consumers and increasing demands on manufacturing, distribution, and advertising operations. As the company grows, consistency between its formulations, package labels, and promotional claims will become increasingly important.
The launch also reflects growing demand for beverages with specific nutritional characteristics. Jetty’s performance over the next year will offer another example of how a beverage company can turn consumer interest into national distribution while managing the legal obligations that accompany a functional product launch.
Common Legal Inquiries
What legal requirements apply when launching a functional beverage brand?
Launching a functional beverage brand generally involves FDA food labeling requirements, FTC advertising standards, trademark clearance, and manufacturing agreements. Requirements depend on the product’s ingredients, intended use, and marketing claims. Companies selling beverages nationwide must also consider applicable state laws and retailer requirements before commercial distribution.
Can a beverage brand advertise hydration and prebiotic health benefits?
Yes, provided the claims are truthful, accurate, and supported by appropriate evidence. Claims about improved hydration, digestive health, or other physiological benefits may require reliable scientific support. The FDA regulates food labeling, while the FTC oversees advertising claims, including benefits consumers may reasonably infer from promotional materials.
Why does a new beverage company need trademark protection and manufacturing agreements?
Trademark protection helps establish ownership of a beverage brand’s name and other protectable identifiers. Manufacturing agreements define responsibilities involving production, ingredient specifications, quality control, and product safety. Addressing these matters before retail distribution can reduce disputes over brand ownership, manufacturing defects, and financial responsibility for recalls.
