The Coca-Cola Company has developed many different flavorful and whimsical beverages over the years. Its original Coca-Cola was touted as a medicine for conditions like headaches and nervous system disruptions, but that’s about as far as the company has ventured into the health and wellness market — until now.
The brand recently unveiled Simply Pop: a lineup of prebiotic soda boasting no-added sugar and a base of fruit juice derived from concentrate. While the concept of a “prebiotic soda,” which supposedly feeds your gut with a hearty mix of fiber, may seem a bit odd, Coca-Cola is far from the first brand to venture into this category. Olipop, another popular prebiotic soda brand, offers the same benefits, and so does the “Shark Tank” success story Poppi soda. So, inevitably, Coca-Cola did some tinkering and came up with its own variation of prebiotic soda, which currently includes five flavors: strawberry, pineapple mango, fruit punch, lime, and citrus punch. I sampled its newly introduced line of Simply Pop beverages to decide if they were worth stocking up on and to see if Coca-Cola is better off sticking to its tried-and-true flavors rather than venturing into the world of health drinks.
Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.
What is Simply Pop?
Simply Pop positions itself as a beverage that offers all the benefits of a health drink, but with the sipping experience of a soda. Each 12-ounce can of its soda contains 6 grams of prebiotic fiber, as well as a dose of vitamin C and zinc, which the brand claims helps to “support immune function.” The cans are made without any added sugar and contain about 25 to 30% fruit juice from concentrate — a statistic that Coca-Cola notes on its website as being “a first for [this] fast-growing segment.” In comparison, its competitor, Poppi, uses between 3% and 6% juice in its fruity sodas.
This high juice percentage comes as no surprise, seeing that Coca-Cola’s Simply line of products is focused on all things juice. Its orange juice, lemonade, and fruit drinks are widely available at grocery stores and fast food outlets like Dunkin’, but this foray into canned sodas is a first for the brand. Simply Pop, which comes in five flavors, is currently only sold in 12-ounce, shelf-stable cans. They’re best served chilled, which is how I sipped on them for this review.
Where can you buy Simply Pop?
Simply Pop is expected to hit stores at the end of February and early March 2025, including select Albertsons on February 24 and some Publix stores on March 7. If you don’t live close to one of these sellers, you can also check it out on Amazon Fresh. Simply Pop expects to roll out its drinks nationwide within the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled on the soda section of your local grocery store to see if you can nab a few cans.
Currently, the soda is only sold by the can — not in packs — at an MSRP of $2.49 each. This is around the same price as the 12-ounce cans of Poppi, though it is slightly pricier than Olipop.
Taste test: fruit punch
When I think of “fruit punch,” my mind immediately goes to Hawaiian Punch, complete with its bright red hue and overly saccharine flavor. The smell of Hawaiian Punch alone could give anyone a sugar rush. This Simply Pop fruit punch beverage, on the other hand, was not that.
When I poured it from the can, I noticed that its color was guava juice or strawberry lemonade-like — not the fire engine red punch of my youth. On the nose, it has a slightly sugary essence that draws you in, though it pales in comparison to normal fruit juice. You might mistake it for fruit juice based on looks alone, as the carbonation isn’t really evident in this beverage.
The mouthfeel of this soda is thick and almost kombucha-like, which I think is because it’s packed with prebiotic fiber. It’s an acquired taste and mouthfeel that you have to learn to appreciate. In other words, if you’ve lived your life up until this point drinking normal soda, don’t start trying this kind of beverage now.
The carbonation in this beverage is quite weak and only offers a subtle lift. The flavors in this one are also difficult to pinpoint. There’s some pineapple and some light cherry — maybe — but it’s not clear enough to distinguish it as a “fruit punch,” never mind a “soda.” I usually say that some of the food and beverages I sample “have potential but need direction,” but this is one beverage that I think lacks both potential and direction.
Taste test: pineapple mango
I tried the fruit punch first in this review, and I’m kind of thinking it was a mistake. I expected to find the same weak flavors in Simply Pop’s pineapple mango beverage as I did with the fruit punch. However, I am happy to report that this was not the case. The flavor of the pineapple and mango soda is much lighter and less convoluted than the fruit punch, making it more enjoyable.
Despite this label sharing both “pineapple” and “mango,” I really think it was the mango that stole the mic and started singing this duet as a solo. It’s light and bright, and the aftertaste definitely reads fresh mango — like the stuff you would buy from an open-air farmer’s market on a hot summer day. The pineapple quickly leaves the palate and dissipates into nothing. Usually, pineapple is the flavor that overruns everything else, so I was honestly surprised to see that it was entirely missing from this beverage.
Besides having a better flavor than the fruit punch, this prebiotic beverage also had a lighter and better mouthfeel that wasn’t as heavy and kombucha-like. Would I drink it as an alternative to a Diet Coke? Of course not. But, if I needed a spritzer to replace a mimosa, this would be one of the only Simply Pops I would pick.
Taste test: citrus punch
The citrus punch flavor was a much better selection than the fruit punch, but I feel as if it faced some of the same challenges. When you pack all of those flavors — which tasted like an assemblage of tangerine, orange, lemon, and maybe pomelo — into a can, you’re bound to lose the qualities that make each one of them unique. The flavors here tasted very muddled and confusing, though it still had a harmonious note that tied all the flavors together in a citrusy bow.
Like with the fruit punch flavor, I lost any bit of the light effervescence that this soda was so desperately craving. Though, if you added more bubbles, I think you would certainly run the risk of diluting and losing that already lost cause of a flavor even more. So, in some respects, I’m thankful that Simply didn’t turn up the CO2. But as a result, the mouthfeel was heavy and did not sport the refreshing mouthfeel I’ve become accustomed to with citrus-flavored things.
I think it’s possible to drink this flavor as an alternative to orange juice or mimosa, but I don’t think there’s a reason why you need to. Just pop open a seltzer, add a splash of orange juice, and, as Tim Gunn would say, “Make it work!”
Taste test: lime
The lime had all the makings of a good soda. It has a single flavor rather than a “punch” mixture, so it should be easily identifiable. It’s also a juice that’s no stranger to soda, as you can find a Jarritos in lime flavor pretty easily. However, I should have known what was coming for me with this beverage, as it had the same color as the liquid I used to dump out at the bottom of a restaurant trash container at the end of my shift.
This drink, honestly, looks and tastes just like would I imagine that trash juice would. The smell on the nose is like a mild, citrusy candy, but the flavor is like an alcoholic cider (or perhaps a canned margarita) that’s been allowed to sit out and ferment in the summer sun. It is sour, which is not unpleasant on its own, but the mouthfeel and taste of the beverage just swirl into one rancid concoction. The sourness also lingers on your palate for just a little too long to be pleasant.
After a couple of sips, I found that the profile of the beverage started leaning more toward a watered-down lemonade than anything. I eventually settled on the taste descriptor of “cheap Crystal Light,” — which is the last thing that you want to have as a soda, let alone one made with real juice. Amp up the effervescence, give me more juiciness, and try again later, Simply Pop.
Taste test: strawberry
I reached for the strawberry soda with both trepidation and excitement. Strawberry is one of the most artificial flavors ever made, and it is so difficult for a brand to tactfully transition the mild flavor of fresh strawberry into anything processed. And judging by the other Simply Pop flavors that I sampled for this review, I couldn’t help but assume that this strawberry soda was not going to fare well.
This soda smelled like strawberry candy, strawberry ice cream, and strawberry soda put into a container, shaken up, and had its aroma maxed out at the highest possible setting. “Noxious” would be a kind word to describe it. Yet, its color was soft and almost transparent, which stood in stark contrast to its smell. I don’t think the brand meant for its cans to be poured out because the color of the liquid is off-putting, to say the least.
The taste of the strawberry soda, like the lime beverage, was like a diluted version of Crystal Light. It had some strawberry flavor to it, no doubt, but it wasn’t particularly strong on the fruit front. The mouthfeel was slightly citrusy, almost like some pineapple juice was dribbled into it, though its flavor profile otherwise read as strawberry-raspberry. I also found that the mouthfeel here was cut short; while strawberry-flavored things usually linger on the palate, this one turned into something reminiscent of alcohol or rancid fruit. If you like strawberries, you may be able to find it palatable, but I am not in that camp.
The verdict: Is Simply Pop worth buying?
I can’t say that I had high hopes for Simply Pop as a whole, and its lineup of five flavors definitely didn’t deliver an enjoyable sipping experience. The most enjoyable one out of the lot was the pineapple-mango flavor, though even that lacked character, body, and the pineapple component promised on the label. My least favorite flavors (read as: every other one) lacked the effervescence, mouthfeel, and punchiness of a juice-based soda. Another common thread I noticed among all of the sodas was a lack of effervescence and pop that would clearly establish them as a “soda.” They could be passable as diluted and lackluster juice drinks, but “soda” carries the connotation of something being sweeter, fizzier, and ultimately more satisfying than what Simply Pop could provide.
The only way I could foresee someone enjoying these flavors in any capacity was if they put them into a drink, added more seltzer for bubbles, and then poured in juice, syrup, or something else to drive home the flavors that were either underdeveloped or missing. And that kind of defeats the purpose of having a ready-made beverage in a can. As a whole, this Simply Pop line came off more as a prototype — likely just to compete with Olipop and Poppi — than a whole-hearted attempt at making a satisfying beverage.
