Poppi Expands Into Energy and Relaxation Drinks at 2026 NACS Show
PepsiCo-owned Poppi unveiled two new functional drink concepts, Lift and Chill, at the 2026 NACS Show, marking the prebiotic soda brand's first move beyond its original soda lineup.
- Parent company
- PepsiCo, which acquired Poppi prior to the launch
- New products unveiled
- Poppi Lift (energy) and Poppi Chill (relaxation), per the company
- Reveal venue
- 2026 NACS Show, the annual convenience store industry event
- Original category
- Prebiotic soda, Poppi's founding product segment
- Launch details
- Pricing, timing and retail distribution not disclosed
Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand now operating under PepsiCo following its acquisition, is pushing into two new functional beverage categories. At the 2026 NACS Show, the annual gathering for the convenience store industry, the company unveiled Poppi Lift and Poppi Chill, concepts positioned in the energy and relaxation drink segments respectively.
The dual launch marks a meaningful strategic pivot for the brand. Since its rise to prominence, Poppi has been defined by its gut-health-positioned soda lineup. Lift and Chill represent the first public signals that PepsiCo intends to treat Poppi as a multi-occasion platform rather than a single-category play. The NACS Show, which draws convenience retailers and distributors, is a deliberate venue for the reveal: the c-store channel is one of the highest-velocity environments for both energy drinks and emerging functional formats.
No pricing, launch timing or retail distribution details were disclosed at the event.
Why it matters
PepsiCo's decision to extend Poppi into energy and relaxation reflects a broader pattern in the functional beverage market, where brand equity built in one wellness segment is increasingly being leveraged across occasion-based subcategories. Energy drinks remain one of the few high-growth pockets in packaged beverages, while the relaxation segment, though smaller, has attracted sustained investment. By anchoring both new lines under the Poppi name, PepsiCo is betting that the brand's consumer recognition can offset the category maturity and entrenched competition it will face, particularly in energy, where Monster and Red Bull command dominant shelf and cooler space in convenience.
The NACS channel is also strategically important here. Convenience stores account for a disproportionate share of single-serve functional drink volume, and early placement at that trade event suggests the company is targeting c-store buyers as a primary go-to-market route.
What to watch
The open question is whether Poppi's identity, built around prebiotic soda, translates meaningfully to the energy and relaxation categories, or whether PepsiCo will need to reposition the brand more substantially to compete against both legacy players and the wave of functional startups that have already staked claims in each segment. Retail placement decisions and any SKU-level detail released after the NACS debut will be the clearest early signals of how aggressively PepsiCo plans to push the expansion.
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