Coca-Cola Launches a prebiotic soft drink brand called Simply Pop and takes on Olipop and Poppi.
From the end of February, consumers on the west coast and in the southeast will be able to try Coke's iteration of the trendy drink.
Soda consumption has fallen broadly in the US in the last two decades, hurt due to health problems and an increase in alternatives on the market, from cold brew to energy drinks to water. But Frebiotics have started with Frebiotics in the last five years, thanks to newcomers in the Olipop and Poppi industry.
Olipop recently raised $ 50 million with a rating of $ 1.85 billion, the company announced on Wednesday. And Poppi appeared his second consecutive Super Bowl appearance in this year's game and shot up to $ 8 million to reach the record audience of the game.
The soft drinks of digestion have grown from a category of $ 197 million in the US in 2020 to one of $ 440 million in 2024, according to Euromonitor International Data. Yet it is a fraction of the total soft drink market, which is worth billions of dollars.
Simply Pop's first product setup leans fruity, in a nod to Coke's Simply Juice brand. Flavors include pineapplemango, lime, strawberry, fruit punch and citrus trunk.
“We went outside and really listened to consumers. They love this space, they are really looking for things that taste good, and that's something we know how to deliver to Coke,” said Becca Kerr, CEO of Coke's North's North American Nutrition Unit, which is simple and fairlife brands.
Simply pop drinks have no added sugar and contain 25% to 30% real fruit juice, the company said. They also contain vitamin C and zinc, which can stimulate the immune system.
They also have six grams of prebiotic fibers – the fiber content of Triple Poppi, but less than the nine grams of Olipop.
Prebiotics have started thanks to claims that they can stimulate “intestinal health” by helping useful bacteria grow in the gut. Their health benefits are not convincingly proven.
“We see that there is a appetite for these types of products with younger consumers, such as Millennial and Gen Z,” said Kerr. “We see interest in these types of products from multicultural consumers.”
But health claims can evoke pushback. Poppi is in settlement interviews about a lawsuit that will be filed at the end of May that challenges the marketing of the company, with the argument that Poppi's products are not as healthy for the intestine as advertised.
According to Kerr, Coke has had the prebiotic soft drink category on his radar for several years. Olipop CEO and co-founder Ben Goodwin told CNBC in 2023 that both Coke and Pepsico had already approached the company about a potential sale. Pepsi is said to be planning its own prebiotic soft drinks in 2025.
Although it is a newcomer to the segment, Coke has a number of clear advantages: more than 100 years of dominating the SODA category, marketing and distribution muscle and $ 47 billion in income in 2024 – compared to the more than $ 400 million in sale that Olipop yielded in 2024.
Yet Coke has failed earlier when he tries to chase a drinking trend. It pulled his cola seasoned taste from the boards in 2024 only a few months after he had declared a permanent addition. And in 2023 it cut the distribution of the brand Aha Sparkling Water after the product has not left with consumers.
