Show summary Hide summary
- How a CPG founder discovers new brands and products
- Beauty and personal care picks that keep coming back
- Pantry and grocery essentials she won’t skip
- Shopping habits that save time and reduce regret
- Products she’s excited about in wellness and longevity
- What changed after the Poppi sale and where she’s headed next
- Shopping wins and the occasional regret
Allison Ellsworth, the founder who steered Poppi into a deal with PepsiCo, now shops with a founder’s curiosity. Between launches, travel and testing products, she’s become a keen tastemaker for what’s new in food, beauty and wellness.
How a CPG founder discovers new brands and products
Ellsworth treats product discovery like market research. She samples items constantly and welcomes packages from emerging companies.
Jets lock up young star with massive 4-year contract
James Burrows dead at 85: Will & Grace director and Cheers co-creator
- She tracks trends across food, beverage, beauty and wellness.
- Early access and under-the-radar brands come via referrals and social channels.
- She often turns repeat discoveries into subscriptions.
Her perspective: testing equals insight. That habit informs what she might build next.
Beauty and personal care picks that keep coming back
Ellsworth favors accessible, efficacy-driven products. Her list spans startups and established CPG names.
- Ritual — daily wellness staples.
- August — period care with thoughtful design.
- Tirtir cushion foundation — a K-beauty makeup staple she reorders.
- Clean Skin Club face towels — simple, repeat buy.
- Tatcha rice wash cleanser — a luxury cleanser she uses often.
Repeat purchases matter: small daily items form the backbone of her routine.
Pantry and grocery essentials she won’t skip
Her grocery cart blends indulgence and dietary needs. She pays for quality where it counts.
- Kerrygold butter — a pantry splurge she recommends.
- O’Doughs bagels — gluten-free, vegan, a travel companion.
- Walkers shortbread — a tried-and-true snack.
- Kettle salt-and-vinegar chips — a family favorite.
- Solely mango fruit snacks — a clever swap for traditional gummies.
She looks for items that travel well and satisfy picky kids without compromising ingredients.
Shopping habits that save time and reduce regret
Time pressure from parenting and entrepreneurship shaped Ellsworth’s approach to buying.
Rules she follows
- She avoids letting items sit in carts; if she thinks about it, she buys it.
- She unsubscribes from brand texts to curb impulse buys.
- She keeps a rotating mental list for replenishment: grooming, basics, event outfits.
That said, she admits to mistakes. She once bought heels for an event and now dubs them her “TV shoes.” The pair looks great but never comfy enough to wear off-camera.
Products she’s excited about in wellness and longevity
Ellsworth is exploring wellness products that lower the barrier to better health. She wants approachable solutions for longevity.
One standout: a mattress topper by Orion’s Sleep. She describes it as an “Oura ring for your bed.” It tracks sleep, modulates temperature and offers features like a “hangover mode.”
She prefers passive tech that doesn’t require wearing a device to bed. Simplicity drives adoption.
What changed after the Poppi sale and where she’s headed next
After selling Poppi to PepsiCo, Ellsworth splurged on a month in Europe. It was her first real, unplugged vacation in nearly seven years.
She’s now incubating her next CPG idea. The landscape looks different: TikTok has become a mandatory channel for brands, and category saturation is real.
- She applauds TikTok as free, powerful marketing for brands.
- She warns that too many entrants chase the same “better-for-you soda” copycat model.
- Her hope: founders will pursue the next disruption and rethink what better-for-you means.
Shopping wins and the occasional regret
Most purchases land well, but social-media-driven buys sometimes disappoint. She returned a pricey laser light therapy mask after finding it underwhelming.
Ellsworth’s buying habits show a mix of curiosity and discipline: she experiments, subscribes to what works, and quickly abandons what doesn’t.
