By Alina Lee

In March 2025, Poppi made headlines with a $1.95 billion acquisition by PepsiCo that caught the attention of investors and media alike. The prebiotic soda brand, founded by Allison Ellsworth, began in 2018 as “Mother Beverage” — a homemade apple cider vinegar drink sold at farmers markets before landing a spot on Shark Tank.

For years, the soda industry has seen a steady decline, struggling to keep up with growing consumer demand for healthier options. Meanwhile, drinks like kombucha, wellness shots, and gut health supplements have a loyal niche following but are rarely fun or easy to love; most come with a vinegary taste, muted branding, and a vaguely clinical feel.

So how did Poppi manage to combine gut health and soda and turn them into a vibrant, viral brand with mass appeal, especially among Gen Z women? It leveraged the power of TikTok.

In 2021, Ellsworth posted a TikTok video sharing Poppi’s origin story. The video went viral, generating $100,000 in sales within 24 hours. From there, Poppi leaned all in on content. Recognizing the platform’s potential, the company hired a dedicated community manager, shifted a portion of its marketing budget to TikTok, and began experimenting with creator partnerships and trend-driven content. Soon, videos featuring organized fridge restocks, gut health Q&As, and wellness routines highlighting the brightly colored cans helped the brand build an organic following that blended seamlessly into Gen Z and millennial culture. Throughout 2023 and 2024, influencers like Alix Earle, Avery Woods, and Jackie Aina featured Poppi in their GRWM videos, placing the soda squarely alongside beauty staples like Glossier, Milk Makeup, and Laniege, positioning Poppi as just as essential to the daily routine. 

Poppi’s product delivered on its promise — a soda with prebiotic benefits, low sugar, and good flavor — but its brand appeal was just as important. Consumers weren’t just drinking it for the health benefits; they were opting into a lifestyle. The brand also blurred the line between consumer and creator. In 2024, Poppi gifted custom sweatsuits to social media creators as part of a Coachella partnership. Later that year, they launched a limited-edition Target apparel line featuring the drink’s iconic color palette. By capitalizing on the kind of exclusivity that influencer culture thrives on, the company turned its loyal following into a walking billboard for the brand, solidifying the theme of community that had characterized their entire advertising journey. Thanks to TikTok, when you drank Poppi, you didn’t just feel healthier; you felt like you were joining an exclusive club, now with its own merch. 

This “grassroots” influencer marketing approach extended to the brand’s college sorority partnerships, an ideal slice of Poppi’s target demographic. Sororities were already known to post coordinated, high-visibility content during the viral #RushTok recruitment season. By sponsoring events with banners, branded T-shirts, and product samples, Poppi inserted itself directly into that ecosystem and enabled sororities to do the content creation for them. 

As Poppi’s presence grew, so did its celebrity alignment. In June 2023, the brand became the official sponsor of the Miami Pickleball Club, co-owned by Naomi Osaka, Patrick Mahomes, Kygo, and others, tapping into one of Gen Z and Millennials’ fastest-growing sports. Less than one year later, in February 2024, Poppi dropped a Super Bowl commercial (its first-ever national commercial, and the most-watched ad of the game), capturing 29.1 million views. Then came their partnership with 7-Eleven, which they celebrated with an interactive 7-Eleven pop-up complete with slushies, merch, and Instagram-ready installations. Their earlier pop-ups — Hamptons houses, U.S. Open collabs, Bloomingdale’s with Marc Jacobs — had already been blurring the line between soda and lifestyle.

Now, in 2025, it’s clear that behind the aesthetics was a deliberate strategy. Poppi spent years building brand loyalty with a very specific audience in mind: Gen Z and Millennials, particularly Gen Z and Millennial women. From TikTok to Target shelves, every move was designed to meet that demographic where they already were and make them feel like the brand was built for them.

In the end, Poppi’s success didn’t come from simply creating a new category. Their ability to organically embed themselves within Gen Z internet behavior was a crisp execution of marketing fundamentals: know your audience, speak their language, and show up where it matters. Rather than chasing trends, Poppi positioned itself to become one, prioritizing community-building and continually reinforcing those bonds through relatable content and experiences. And in doing so, it showed what it takes to build the next generation of consumer brands. 

By Ava Karthikeyan

Introduction 

When Charli XCX’s “Brat” became the defining album of the summer, the popularity of other similar fast-paced electronic music rose alongside it. Albums such as Chappell Roan’s “Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” and singles by Katy Perry and Kesha signified a shift towards upbeat dance music.  

Characterized by electronic beats in rapid succession and lyrics about partying and letting go, the genre has been dubbed “recession pop.” The term itself isn’t new, finding its popularity during the 2008 recession when Pitbull and Kesha dominated radio waves. Songs such as Rhianna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” and Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” glamorized clubbing and liberation through dance. Now, Charli XCX’s “Brat” reflects this culture with music rife with recreational drugs, letting go, and partying. However, something is interesting about this recent resurgence: Brat’s popularity didn’t coincide with a recession.  

History 

Although the term “recession pop” was coined during the 2008 recession, the notion behind this concept can be seen in earlier recessions throughout the 20^th century, namely through the creation and popularization of disco and house music. During times of economic crisis, upbeat and danceable music becomes a popular form of catharsis. 

 The economic recession from 1973-1975 saw unemployment rise to 9%, and its effects continued to be felt until the 1980s. This time coincides with the rise of disco, a genre that mixes funk and jazz with upbeat syncopation and carefree lyrics. Americans found escape in Disco, and its underground scene became a place to find community.  

Similarly, the 1980s saw two recessions from 1980-1982 – made worse by policies meant to aid inflation and the energy crisis from the Iranian revolution –  and unemployment soared to 10.8%. House music, one of the earliest forms of electronic dance music, emerged, again featuring uninhibited lyrics and rapid tempos.  

The 2008 and 2020 recessions also featured faster music than times of economic expansion, with the BBC stating that “The average tempo of 2020’s top 20 best-selling songs is a pulse-quickening 122 beats per minute. That’s the highest it’s been since 2009.” 

Implications

Cultural factors have always reflected economic trends in fashion or media consumption. During difficult times, music becomes a form of escape.  

However, this recent resurgence of recession pop indicates that this correlation isn’t an entirely accurate picture of the state of the economy. Despite widespread worries, wages have increased for many people, and Americans are on average wealthier. 

This emergence of recession pop is instead a reflection of the undercurrents of economic uncertainty within the general population. While we technically may not be in an economic recession, Americans are still feeling the lasting impacts of COVID-19 inflation and layoffs. It’s not just negative economic indicators that affect the general mood of Americans; Media headlines have become more pessimistic as the financial press doom-washes the workplace. Although the job market has drastically improved, with over 254,000 jobs added in September and inflation decreasing in recent months, Americans still perceive the economy as doing poorly. According to a Harvard poll, 63% of voters in September believed the economy was on the wrong track, with 62% describing it as weak. 

There is a disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic data. The emergence of trends such as recession pop, instead of reflecting the realities of the economy, can also express current cultural opinion. But it also is a reminder that even in times of uncertainty, people seek joy, freedom, and connection through artistic expression. 

Sources
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/21/recession-pop-explained-how-music-collides-with-
Economic-trends.html

https://www.econlib.org/archives/2014/03/unemployment_wa.html

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-irans-1979-revolution-meant-for-us-and-global-oil-markets/

https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/recession-of-1981-82#:~:text=Both%20the%201980%20and%201981,known%20as%20the%20Phillips%20Curve.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53167325

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/09/business/economy-voters-election-data/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/economy/us-jobs-report-september-final/index.html

https://www.conference-board.org/topics/consumer-confidence

By Alina Lee

This summer, Georgia Tech students watched with curiosity as their familiar classroom buildings were retrofitted into elaborate movie sets. Students speculated that production for  “Captain America: Brave New World”, which is set to release in February 2025 and was reportedly being shot in Atlanta, had come to campus. While the film’s identity is unconfirmed, the patriotic super soldier’s story would be just one of many that Marvel has shot in the Peach State. Other films include “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame”, two of the highest-grossing films of all time, as well as “Black Panther”, “Ant-Man”, “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2”.

Is Marvel Studios filming at Georgia Tech??
byu/Fireninja1008 inmarvelstudios

What is the secret to Georgia’s MCU connection? The generous tax credit the state gives to production companies. 

The state offers a 20% income tax credit for production companies that spend at least $500,000 on qualified productions in the state. Projects showcasing a “Made in Georgia” logo can earn an additional 10%. Unlike other states, such as California and New York, which also tout generous film tax incentive programs, Georgia does not cap the amount of credit granted, making it particularly attractive to filmmakers.

Thus, it isn’t just the folks at Marvel Studios taking advantage. Since its establishment in 2005, the incentive has brought countless blockbuster films to the state and is responsible for the creation of numerous movie studios, infrastructure projects, tourism business, and thousands of jobs for Georgians, all of which have led to Georgia being dubbed the “Hollywood of the South” or “Y’allywood”. 

In recent years, however, the true extent of these benefits has been a subject of debate, notably between the film industry and state tax auditors. 

A study by Olsberg SPI, commissioned by the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition, claims the tax credit generates $6.30 for every dollar spent, contributing $8.55 billion to Georgia’s economy in 2022 and supporting nearly 60,000 jobs. In contrast, a 2023 Georgia State University audit argues the program results in $1 billion in lost state tax revenue annually, predicting only a 19 cent return per dollar in the 2024 fiscal year.

With the growing costs to the state in mind, legislators have attempted to tighten the ability for companies to claim these credits. This year, a bill that would have capped the incentive was ultimately killed in the state Senate. In 2022, a similar bill also failed to pass. 

“As the industry has flourished, so have the associated costs to our state revenues,” said Rep. Clint Crowe, a Republican from Jackson and a supporter of the bill. “It is imperative that we implement measures to safeguard our fiscal stability while preserving the attractiveness of our incentive program.”

Opponents of the 2024 bill had concerns that capping the credit would cause companies to take their business elsewhere.  

“If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it,” said Rep. Long Tran-D, Dunwoody. “[Georgia’s] not just competing with other states, we’re competing globally, and this industry is rapidly changing.”

In the end, both bills failed to pass, leaving the tax credit program unchanged for now. However, the 2024 bill proposed measures that could have bridged the gap between the film industry and state officials by ensuring more of the credit’s benefits stay within Georgia. Provisions that were outlined in the bill, like requiring crews to include at least 50% Georgia residents, sourcing half of all vendors from Georgia-based companies, or locating production in counties where few movies have been filmed, could have tied the incentive more directly to local economic growth, maximizing its impact for Georgia workers and businesses. In 2020, the state introduced auditing requirements for the credit to improve compliance, but further steps to ensure these benefits remain in the state could add even greater value.

Beyond its measurable economic returns, the film industry has had far-reaching effects on Georgia’s cultural identity. Productions not only bring jobs and investments to the state, but also elevate Georgia’s profile as a hub for talent and innovation. They attract creative professionals, boost tourism, and enhance the state’s reputation on a global scale. This growth has firmly established Georgia as a destination for economic opportunity and creativity.

For now, Georgia’s tax credit program continues to fuel the state’s transformation into a global leader in film production. While debates over its fiscal impact persist, the program has undeniably shaped Georgia’s economy, culture, and reputation. With its doors open to the Marvel universe and beyond, Georgia remains in the spotlight as a creative and economic powerhouse in the industry.