Poppi is a prebiotic soda made with apple cider vinegar, agave inulin fiber, and fruit juice, marketed as a healthier alternative to traditional soft drinks. Each 12-ounce can contains about 5 grams of sugar or less and 2 grams of prebiotic fiber, a sharp contrast to the roughly 39 grams of sugar in a regular Coca-Cola. The brand has exploded in popularity since its founding in the mid-2010s, but its gut health claims have also drawn scrutiny and legal challenges.
How Poppi Started
Poppi began as “Mother Beverage,” a small operation run by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Allison has said she created the drink after discovering that apple cider vinegar helped her lose weight, feel less bloated, and have clearer skin. The couple sold their bottles at farmers markets before landing shelf space in regional Whole Foods and more than 200 Albertsons locations.
In 2018, the Ellsworths appeared on Season 10 of Shark Tank, seeking $400,000 for a 10% stake. Guest shark Rohan Oza offered the same dollar amount but for a 25% stake, and they took the deal. The brand later rebranded to Poppi, redesigned its cans, and scaled nationally. By early 2025, PepsiCo announced plans to acquire the company.
What’s Actually in a Can
Poppi keeps its ingredient list short. The base is sparkling water combined with fruit juice for flavor. The three sweetening ingredients are organic cane sugar, organic agave inulin (a plant-based prebiotic fiber), and stevia leaf extract. Apple cider vinegar rounds out the formula. The result is a lightly sweet, fizzy drink with significantly fewer calories and less sugar than conventional soda.
The brand currently sells 17 flavors, ranging from familiar soda profiles like Classic Cola, Root Beer, and Cream Soda to fruit-forward options like Strawberry Lemon, Watermelon, Cherry Limeade, and Raspberry Rose. Nostalgia-inspired flavors like Doc Pop, Shirley Temple, and Orange Cream have helped Poppi compete directly with mainstream soft drinks rather than sitting in the “health food” aisle.
The Prebiotic and Gut Health Angle
The central selling point of Poppi is its prebiotic content. Prebiotics are dietary fibers your body can’t digest on its own. Instead, they act as food for the trillions of beneficial bacteria living in your gut. Keeping those bacteria well-fed matters because they do far more than aid digestion: they play a major role in immune function and overall health.
Poppi’s specific prebiotic is agave inulin, a fiber extracted from the agave plant. Research on inulin is genuinely promising. Studies have found that inulin-rich foods can boost populations of beneficial gut microbes while reducing harmful bacteria, help people feel full longer, and reduce cravings for unhealthy foods. Other research has shown inulin supplements may reduce insulin resistance in people with Type 2 diabetes.
The catch is dosage. Each can of Poppi contains about 2 grams of agave inulin. Scientific evidence suggests you need at least 5 grams of prebiotics per day to start seeing gut health benefits. One University of Illinois trial found that 7.5 grams of agave inulin daily could help soften stool and increase weekly bowel movements. That means you’d need to drink two or three cans of Poppi per day just to reach the low end of the effective range, which starts to undermine the “low sugar” advantage.
The apple cider vinegar component faces a similar question. While apple cider vinegar is a natural source of probiotics (the live bacteria themselves, as opposed to the fiber that feeds them), it’s unclear whether the amount in a single can is enough to do anything meaningful.
The Lawsuit Over Health Claims
In 2024, a class action lawsuit filed in California alleged that Poppi doesn’t contain enough inulin to deliver the gut health benefits its marketing implies. The suit, filed by a former customer named Kristin Cobbs, claimed the company violated California law through false and misleading advertising. The suit sought more than $5 million in compensation for Cobbs and other Poppi customers.
Poppi cans had at times carried slogans like “Be Gut Happy. Be Gut Healthy” and “For a Healthy Gut.” After the lawsuit, cans sold on Amazon and in some stores no longer featured those gut health slogans, a change that appeared recent. Poppi said in a statement that it stands behind its products and called the lawsuit baseless.
How It Compares to Regular Soda
If you’re choosing between Poppi and a traditional soft drink, the nutritional gap is real. Poppi contains 5 grams of sugar or less per can compared to the 39 grams in a standard cola. It’s significantly lower in calories and provides 2 grams of fiber, which regular soda doesn’t offer at all. That alone makes it a better option for anyone trying to cut back on sugar while still wanting something fizzy and flavored.
The more honest framing is that Poppi is a lower-sugar soda that happens to contain a small amount of prebiotic fiber. It’s not a gut health supplement in soda form. Thinking of it as a treat that’s less damaging than a Pepsi is more accurate than treating it as a functional health drink. The fiber is a nice bonus, but getting meaningful prebiotic intake still requires whole foods like garlic, onions, bananas, oats, and asparagus, or a dedicated supplement.
Digestive Side Effects
Inulin can cause digestive discomfort in some people, particularly gas and bloating. Research on chicory inulin (a close relative of agave inulin) found that flatulence was the most frequently reported symptom, followed by bloating. However, doses up to 10 grams per day of native inulin were well-tolerated in healthy young adults, and a 2-gram dose like Poppi’s falls well below that threshold. Most people won’t notice any digestive effects from a single can. If you’re sensitive to fiber or have irritable bowel syndrome, starting with one can and seeing how you feel is a reasonable approach.