Coca-Cola Introduces Simply Pop, Its First Prebiotic Soda

Prebiotic sodas are all the rage, and the Coca-Cola company is finally getting in on the action.

On Tuesday, Coca-Cola announced that it's expanding its beverage lineup with its all-new Simply Pop line, the company's first-ever prebiotic soda made with “real fruit juice, no added sugar, and no compromises,” under its Simply Beverages brand umbrella.

The company told Food & Wine that each Simply Pop soda comes with six grams of prebiotic fiber, 20-30% fruit juice, along with vitamin C and zinc “so you can treat yourself while treating yourself better.”

The flavors include Strawberry, Pineapple Mango, Fruit Punch, Lime, and Citrus Punch. They will be available in 12-ounce slim cans starting in late February at retail locations in select regions and online nationwide via Amazon Fresh. Each can retails for $2.49. 

Becca Kerr, the CEO of nutrition at the Coca-Cola Company, said in a statement that the decision to launch the new soda made sense based on customer demand. “We found that consumers, especially the wellness-focused Gen Z-ers and Millennials, were really interested in juice and prebiotic sodas,” Kerr said. “Since many brands in this category are new, they were looking to align with names they know and trust for both quality and taste. This was particularly true for those curious about prebiotic sodas but who hadn't yet taken the leap. We knew that in order to bring new drinkers into the category, we had to strike that perfect balance of innovation and trust.”

But what, exactly, are prebiotics anyway? According to Harvard Health, prebiotics are ingredients found in certain foods “that your intestines can't fully digest,” like starches, oligosaccharides, inulin, and pectin, which are often found in high-fiber foods. They typically work together with probiotics, which are living microorganisms that “maintain or improve the balance of good to bad bacteria in your digestive system.” Those are often found in foods like yogurt and kimchi. The jury is still out on how much prebiotics can really do for you, but Harvard Health did note that some studies show it can “improve intestinal absorption of dietary calcium better blood sugar control,” along with helping your immune system function and even reduce your risk of colorectal cancer. 

However, you don't necessarily need to drink your prebiotics. You can also find prebiotics in foods like garlic, asparagus, and wheat bread. In fact, according to a 2023 study by San José State University, people should consume about five grams of prebiotics daily, which they can achieve by eating half of a small (four-ounce) onion. 

The only thing Coca-Cola may want to be mindful of is ensuring it's actually delivering all the health benefits it promises. In 2024, the prebiotic soda company Poppi faced a class action lawsuit claiming the soda lacks any meaningful gut health benefits.

“[Poppi's] success is largely owed to its ability to preserve the flavor and sweetness of traditional sodas while claiming to be ‘gut healthy' due to its inclusion of ‘prebiotics' — a specific type of dietary fiber commonly found in food like bananas and whole grains,” the complaint read. “However, Defendant’s Poppi soda only contains two grams of prebiotic fiber, an amount too low to cause meaningful gut health benefits for the consumer from just one can. Accordingly, a consumer would need to drink more than four Poppi sodas in a day to realize any potential health benefits from its prebiotic fiber. However, even if a consumer were to do this, Poppi’s high sugar content would offset most, if not all, of these purported gut health benefits.”

Still, the beverage industry has turned the tiny prebiotic into a booming business, with the prebiotic soda company Olipop hitting a $1.85 billion valuation in 2025. According to data by Future Market Insights, the prebiotic soda market was valued at about $262.2 million in 2024 and is set to hit $545.5 million by 2034, making it a pretty sound investment for brands like Coke.