For us, this isn’t just about creating a better soda—it is our mission to raise the bar to the gold standard for what families should expect from their beverages. It is our commitment to bring the joyful wellness of soda to every table, every occasion, at any age. This is PLANT POP®.
Scott has continued to strengthen his already capable core team—Hannah Lain and Alayna Alberts—by bringing on a group of handpicked industry veterans to support national expansion.
Craig Powers joined Lotus in December 2024 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Distribution. A seasoned operator, Craig brings experience from his time at Red Bull and was instrumental in scaling Congo Brands, home to Alani and Prime.
Joe Huntowski is the newest addition to the team, serving as Director of the East. Joe spent over a decade helping build VPX (Bang/Redline) into a billion-dollar brand before leading Congo Brands’ distribution efforts across the Midwest.
Rounding out the team, Jimmy Gutierrez has stepped in as a senior advisor to the leadership group. Jimmy played a key role in the national launch of Alani and Prime and brings more than 15 years of experience managing key accounts, fitness channels, and vending strategy across multiple high-growth beverage brands.
PLANT POP® Founder and CEO, Scott Strader, has been building wellness brands for the last 25 years. Scott understands the science and soul behind crafting a healthy beverage with functional ingredients.
Scott’s path to creation began long before PLANT POP®. As an accomplished actor and musician, he spent years using art to move people emotionally. That same instinct—to create something lasting and meaningful—now lives at the heart of his work in wellness. His most recent venture, Lotus Plant Power®, was inspired by ancient plant wisdom and the spiritual symbolism of the lotus flower. The brand quickly grew into a beloved name in the functional beverage space, known for its innovation, efficacy, quality, and plant powered purpose, to transcend today’s energy drinks with a healthier option.
While LOTUS and PLANT POP® are independent companies, they share the same heartbeat: elevating everyday choices with plant-powered intention. Scott took everything he’d learned—about formulation, sourcing, and soul—and applied it to a new kind of challenge: soda with purpose.
“Wellness isn’t just about what we consume—it’s about how we live,” Scott says. “We must not only be good stewards not only to ourselves, but of one another. I’ve made it my responsibility to offer better-for-you beverages held to the highest standards—for anyone seeking something more”, Strader remarks.
PLANT POP® is the result. A clean, delicious, multi-functional soda—designed not just to be consumed, but to be shared.
