The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo are each preparing to enter the explosive prebiotic soda category next year, BevNET has learned.
Coca-Cola is set to release a juice-sweetened Prebiotic Soda in 12 oz. slim cans under its Simply banner in five initial flavors: Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Pineapple Mango, Lime and Citrus Punch, each ranging from 50 to 60 calories per can. The product, due to enter select regions in spring 2025, uses the tagline “Flavor That Pops,” and also contains natural flavors.
Primarily known as a refrigerated juice brand, Simply has evolved within Coca-Cola’s portfolio into an innovation platform, most notably through the introduction in 2022 of fermented sugar cane-based alcoholic drinks dubbed Simply Spiked, distributed via a partnership with Molson Coors. The brand has also been licensed to multinational fruit sales and marketing company Frutura for use on fresh grapes and citrus fruit.
As for Pepsi, it is resurrecting Soulboost, originally launched in 2021 in limited markets as a functional sparkling water focused on mood and wellness, as Soulboost Soda, featuring prebiotics from soluble corn fiber and sweetened with both juice and stevia. The number of SKUs is unconfirmed, but one flavor seen by BevNET, Berry Berry, contains 20 calories and two grams of added sugar per 12 oz. can.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Pepsi retains the trademark for Soulboost for use with “fruit-flavored beverages,” “soft drinks” and “water beverages.” Coca-Cola’s rights for Simply cover “fruit juices” and “fruit drinks.”
Both soda giants have been planning for a future beyond carbonated soft drinks for decades; as kombucha, once viewed as a potential challenger for CSDs, slowed in the later 2010s, a new cohort of shelf-stable, gut-friendly sodas emerged to seize the momentum. Fronted by category leaders Poppi and OLIPOP — boasting well over a half-billion in combined annual sales — that group has grown to include brands like Culture Pop, Evolution Fresh, Daytrip, Slice, De La Calle, GoodBelly, LEVO, Jones Soda, Wildwonder, Mighty, Mayawell, LIVE Soda, NO CAP!, REBBL, Health-Ade and Brew Dr. Kombucha.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola had each been tagged over recent years as prospective buyers for either Poppi or OLIPOP, yet these launches suggest that a potential deal is off the table for at least the immediate future. Entering the category may also allow both beverage conglomerates to block further encroachment by their rising rivals on their traditional strongholds in arenas and sports venues.
Yet both soda companies’ trademark soda brands have continued to perform strongly, driven mainly by growth from their respective zero-sugar varieties, Pepsi Zero Sugar and Coca-Cola Zero.
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola did not respond to requests for comment.