Published March 31st, 2026
BY GRACE GRAHL and RUBY IRAMANESH
Graphic by RUBY IRANMANESH
Prebiotic sodas have shaken up the beverage industry, offering a healthier alternative to some of America’s favorite sodas and allowing consumers to enjoy the same flavors without all the extra calories and sugar. As of right now, two companies dominate the prebiotic soda market: Poppi and Olipop. But, with such similar flavors, which “pop” wins the race?
Orange Soda
How can one mess up orange soda? Well, surprisingly, Olipop finds a way. Despite being labeled as “Orange Squeeze,” this Olipop tastes like tap water with the tiniest hint of artificial orange flavor. There is nothing special about this drink, and it’s baffling that even though it contains limited-to-no flavor, it’s still 45 calories. On the contrary, Poppi’s orange soda tastes super refreshing and not too artificial. It doesn’t entirely taste like a freshly squeezed orange, and it definitely isn’t perfect, but it’s far better than Olipop’s version of orange soda. Overall, Poppi prevails…and Olipop isn’t very a-peel-ing.
Lemon-Lime
The Olipop lemon-lime tastes like syrupy Sprite, with more lime in the beginning and the lemon shining in the aftertaste. The tame flavor is uncharacteristic of the signature Olipop taste. For a turn of events, Poppi has a much punchier flavor. Bursting with lemony scent and zestiness, the carbonation drowns underneath a flavor closely resembling a classic 7UP. But between the two, the subtle lemon-lime combo of Olipop proves more refreshing overall. It’s a close one, but Olipop wins this round.
Shirley Temple
The Poppi Shirley Temple tastes exactly like the perfect summer cooldown. The carbonation and cherry marry to create the perfect fun drink as a healthy alternative. However, Olipop completely misses the mark, tasting like soda water with aggressive cherry cough syrup tossed in. It tastes terrible. Poppi destroys Olipop in this round.
Root Beer
Within the first sip of Poppi root beer, it is clear that this drink is almost identical to classic root beer. Containing only five grams of sugar and 30 calories, this sweet drink is perfectly refreshing and tasty on a hot day. On the other hand, the Olipop drink is quite disappointing. Not only does it taste nothing like root beer, but it doesn’t even taste like soda. It is essentially sour water with a flavor so bad that taking more than two sips is disgusting. Poppi root beer takes the win.
Concluding with a final score of 3-1, it is clear that the prebiotic soda victor is Poppi. Better luck next time, Olipop!
