Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola is making its first foray into the prebiotic soda market with the launch of Simply Pop. The beverage will be in retail stores in select regions and online nationwide through Amazon Fresh later this month.
- The beverage, which will be available in Strawberry, Pineapple Mango, Fruit Punch, Lime and Citrus Punch flavors, contains six grams of fiber for gut health, plus Vitamin C and zinc for immunity support.
- Better-for-you sodas have surged in popularity as consumers cut back on sugar consumption while turning to functional beverages that provide them with more than hydration.
Dive Insight:
The healthy soda market has been dominated during the last few years by upstarts Olipop and Poppi. But beverage titan Coca-Cola is aiming to use its deep pockets and global reach to muscle into the fast-growing category.
“You would have to be under a rock … to not have seen the growth that is happening in the prebiotic soda space,” Terika Fasakin, senior director of brand marketing for Simply, told C-Store Dive’s sister publication, Marketing Dive.
Rather than launch a new brand, Coca-Cola is debuting its prebiotic soda under its 24-year-old juice brand Simply. The move enables the Atlanta-based beverage company to tap into Simply’s fruit-forward profile and brand recognition among consumers, attributes that can help the nascent soda stand out from its more established competitors.
Despite the growth of functional sodas, Coca-Cola found the category only has about 20% market penetration, providing a ripe opportunity to attract consumers curious about prebiotic products.
A look into Olipop and Poppi provides a glimpse into the promise Coca-Cola sees in prebiotic soda. Olipop turned profitable in 2024, with sales doubling to $400 million year-over-year, according to the company. Poppi has done even better, with sales topping $500 million last year, Bloomberg reported.
Coca-Cola's launch comes a week after Olipop, valued at just $200 million in 2022, announced it was worth $1.85 billion after raising $50 million in its latest funding round. The recent investment, Olipop said, will be used to expand marketing, add flavors and increase availability in spaces traditionally dominated by legacy sodas, including products made by Coca-Cola.
Still, just because Coca-Cola is entering the prebiotic space doesn’t mean it's a guaranteed success. While many of its product launches — such as its Simply Spiked alcoholic offerings as part of its partnership with Molson Coors — have resonated with shoppers, attempts to enter trendy categories such as flavored water and energy drinks have yielded mixed results in recent years.
In 2021, Coca-Cola discontinued sales of Coca-Cola Energy in North America after just over a year on the market as it streamlined its portfolio to focus on its better-performing brands. And two years ago, Coca-Cola announced it was sharply cutting the distribution of its short-lived Aha sparkling water as sales declined.
Chris Kelly contributed to this story.
