A Fizzy Fallout for Poppi?

On the prebiotic soda's recent lawsuit.

The prebiotic soda Poppi is facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly misleading consumers with false advertising regarding its gut health claims.

Poppi has stood out as one of the first prebiotic sodas in the market, using agave inulin (a starchy fiber), apple cider vinegar, sparkling water, and organic cane sugar with stevia and other flavors to make a tasty and innovative beverage. Each colorful Poppi can has the slogan "Be Gut Happy. Be Gut Healthy."

To put it simply, prebiotics are the food for the bacteria in our gut; these microbes, their environment, and the by-products they produce are collectively called the gut microbiome. More and more research is being done on the gut microbiome as it has been linked to immune function, mental health, and the development of chronic conditions, to name a few areas… So these microbes play a huge role in our health.

When healthy bacteria break down prebiotics they get energy and increase their chance of survival in the gut, leading to by-products that support gastrointestinal and overall health.

Foods such as bananas, oats, garlic, and asparagus are prebiotic-rich. But sodas that have a sprinkle of fiber, welp, they aren’t really gut-supportive… Poppi drinks contain around 2 grams of prebiotic agave inulin fiber, which is likely insufficient to provide any real gut health benefit.

The lawsuit cited research showing that consuming 7.5 grams of agave inulin daily for three weeks was insufficient to confer any meaningful prebiotic benefit, not to mention it does not take into account the sugar content one would be consuming (from Poppi) which could offset any potential benefit as well.

But many functional beverages make claims that aren’t supported by data or cleared by the FDA (cough, cough, Athletic Greens, cough cough), it’s like people forget that marketing is a real thing!

We can’t bank on a single product to have a significant impact on our gut health. Marketing can be deceptive, and we should be discerning about food marketing messages. Are we really shocked a soda will probably not make a huge difference to our health?

In my opinion, I quite like Poppi and I think it’s great for people who want a soda alternative with less sugar, for example, one can of soda has about 30+ grams of added sugar whereas one can of Poppi has 2-5 grams, not bad!

What you can ACTUALLY do to improve your gut health, is master the basics:

1. Eat a variety of plant foods to support a more diverse microbiome (the ultimate goal!)

2. Stay hydrated

3. Limit added sugars

4. Incorporate prebiotics AND probiotics in your diet regularly (think kefir, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods)

5. Reduce overall stress

Do you enjoy Poppi? No harm, no foul, just don’t bank on it to help with your gas/bloating/constipation or whatever it is you’ve been struggling with; one single product can’t make you or break you.

And what will this mean for the future of the functional beverage industry? More lawsuits? Potential regulatory changes? Reformulation and transparency? I guess we’ll find out!

Keep chewin’!