The largest soda brand in the United States is entering the emerging beverage category.
On February 18, the Coca-Cola company announced that it is riding on the eBio soda trend powered by brands such as Poppi and Olipop, with a new product called Simply Pop.
The simple pop-up jar will be in a 12-ounce jar that includes 25% to 30% juice of the concentrate without added sugar, in the following flavors: strawberry, pineapple mango, fruit punch, lime and citrus punch.
Coca-Cola says the “fruit” series of soda is made with vitamin C and zinc to support immune function and 6 grams of prebiotic fiber to promote intestinal health. For comparison, POPPI soda contains about 2 grams of prebiotic fiber, and up to 9 grams of Olipop’s beverage.
The simple POP will be purchased at retailers in specific regions in late February and will be available online through Amazon Fresh nationwide, with plans to expand to more markets nationwide in the coming months.
Poppi did not immediately respond to Today.com’s request for comment, but the Olipop CEO shared the following statement:
It's a huge honor, the world's largest soda brand determines the category we invented and the Olipop team has come to life, which is a great place for them to seek to grow. The modern soda category officially became mainstream and has a bright future, which is undoubtedly a validator. I look forward to a better understanding of the expectations of its functional ingredients, as I think it is important that these products should be true to consumers’ standards and interests for functional beverages.
Olipop recently raised $50 million at a valuation of $1.85 billion, CNBC reported. Poppi released its second Super Bowl ad this year, although it did get a lot of backlash in part of the campaign to activate vending machines with “lost contact”.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been following the prizes for gut health for some time. Goodwin told CNBC in 2023 that both brands have contacted his company for potential sales. And, according to Bevnet, Pepsi doesn’t lag behind with its own prebiotic popular products.
While Coca-Cola is now going all out, experts are on whether prebiotic soda is healthy.
Caitlin Dow, a senior nutrition scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told NBC News that Poppi and other probiotic soda brands are better for us than regular soda, but Natalie Rizzo, but Natalie Rizzo is Natalie Rizzo, registered dietitian and nutrition editor. Today, please keep it.
