Pitched for the first time on “Shark Tank,” the soda brand Poppi was created with the goal of being something the market had never seen before. With only five grams of sugar, but just as sweet as sodas with five times that amount, their innovative mission of being healthier for the body was successful. Fast-forward to 2025, Poppi has gone viral, made its way into major retail stores like Costco and Target, and seems to be in the hands and fridges of many soda, health, and social media lovers.
Sophomore Savannah Brunkow, a daily drinker of Poppi sodas, first discovered the brand on Instagram. “Whenever I watch a nighttime routine or get-ready-with-me video, I always see an influencer cracking open a can of Poppi, and I just think, ‘That’s so aesthetic,’” Brunkow shared.
Dietician Shawna Shaw first discovered them through a family member and has since noticed them in commercials, on television, and on grocery shelves. She believes that these sodas are a “healthy alternative to high sugar sodas and artificially sweetened sodas.”
Poppi sodas claim to have prebiotic fibers, making them good for gut health. Shaw went into detail on what gut health is, saying, “Prebiotics provide fuel for probiotics, which are beneficial gut bacteria, and help to create a healthy microbiome, or gut environment. Since seventy to eighty percent of our immune system is in our gut, a healthy gut is required for overall health.”
However, the brand is currently facing a lawsuit from a customer in San Francisco, accusing them of misinformation regarding those benefits. The lawsuit says that the amount of these prebiotic fibers is so small that they will not actually do anything. Sophomore Zoe Thoma, who discovered the soda through one of her friends, has always been slightly skeptical of the health claims. She shared, “I think it’s just a marketing scheme and that [Poppi] just wants popularity.” However, she still does enjoy drinking them on a regular basis.
The lawsuit also claims that whatever small benefits the sodas may have will quickly be cancelled out by the sugars and other sweeteners. Besides sugar, the two other major sweeteners contained in Poppi sodas are stevia and agave inulin. However, Shaw does not agree that the sweeteners will negate the prebiotic ingredients. In fact, she thinks the opposite. “The sweeteners in these sodas are naturally derived from plant based sources and don’t contain known carcinogens and DNA modulating compounds that are found in artificial sweeteners. The sweeteners used have the added benefit of being natural food sources of prebiotics, probiotics, and fiber, all of which are beneficial for a healthy gastrointestinal tract and ultimately a healthy immune system,” Shaw explained.
Even though Brunkow does not know much about the specifics, she does feel healthier while drinking them. “Knowing I’m having less sugar does make me feel better. I hate water, so I’m always dehydrated, and drinking [Poppi] makes me feel more hydrated,” she mentioned.
The consensus seems to be that Poppi sodas are much healthier than traditional sodas. However, they do not contain enough vitamins, nutrients, or probiotics to replace fruits and vegetables. For someone who is looking for more fiber, craving a soda, or wants a nice looking drink to make a TikTok with, buying a Poppi soda can be a few dollars well spent.