Gut-friendly fizz: How Coke and Pepsi are reinventing the soda wars

For decades, the cola wars played out in Super Bowl commercials and fast food soda fountains, in taste tests and vending machine allegiances. Coke was classic, Pepsi was cool — and both were unapologetically, thrillingly bad for you. But in 2025, the battle lines have shifted. The two soda giants aren’t fighting over who makes the better sugar bomb. They’re squaring off over a new frontier: prebiotic soda, the fizzy, gut-friendly darlings of the wellness-industrial complex.

Coke’s entry into the prebiotic soda wars, which was announced in February, comes with a familiar face: Simply, the juice brand that has occupied grocery store shelves and breakfast tables for decades. Simply Pop leans hard on that trust factor, positioning itself as the safe, everyday choice for the health-conscious consumer who still wants a little indulgence. The branding is bright and approachable, its fruit-forward flavors — Strawberry, Pineapple-Mango, Lime and Citrus Punch — designed to feel more like an extension of the juice aisle than a foray into gut health.

The message is clear: You already know us. You already love us. Why not let us fix your microbiome?

"Gen Z grew up with this brand," said Terika Fasakin, North America Brand Senior Director of Simply and Kids, in a press statement. "They don't remember a world where Simply doesn’t exist, and it’s the juice they’ve seen in the fridge throughout their lives, so it has a particular tug on their heartstrings."

Pepsi, on the other hand, isn’t bothering with familiarity. It doesn’t need to, because, as announced last week, it already has poppi. The indie darling of the prebiotic world, poppi built its following on vibrant branding, influencer hype and a health-conscious narrative that felt effortlessly appealing. A splashy Shark Tank debut in 2018, a billion-dollar valuation by 2024 — the brand’s trajectory reads like a startup fairytale, and Pepsi’s acquisition is less about introducing a new player and more about supercharging an existing one.

“More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness,” said Pepsi CEO Ramon Laguarta. “Poppi is a great complement to our portfolio transformation efforts to meet these needs."

If Simply Pop is trying to make prebiotic soda normal, poppi is making sure it stays cool.

But beyond the branding, there’s a larger shift at play. Twenty years ago, “functional beverages” meant protein shakes and sports drinks, stuff designed for bodybuilders and marathoners. Today, they’re for everyone. Kombucha is in gas stations. Adaptogens are in coffee. Water, plain and un-bubbly, suddenly feels like it’s underperforming. Soda was always an easy villain in the wellness wars — but now, with the right blend of fiber, fruit and friendly bacteria, it’s trying to buy its way into virtue.

This broader trend toward functional beverages sets the stage for prebiotic sodas, which now fit neatly into the wellness narrative, offering a fizzy alternative that promises both taste and digestive health benefits. This shift makes sense in the context of a growing awareness around sugar’s health impacts.

Between 2003 and 2016, soda consumption dropped significantly in the U.S. According to a 2020 report from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the percentage of children who were “heavy consumers” — defined as those who drank more than 500 calories of sugary beverages daily, or about 3 1/2 cans of soda — fell from 11% to just 3%. For adults, the percentage dropped from 13% to 9%.

“This is promising,” said Kelsey Vercammen, a doctoral student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at the time, “because we know that excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to poor health.”

Vercammen also pointed to the impact of public health campaigns and policies: “Greater awareness about the harms of sugary drinks, along with actions like beverage taxes and healthy beverage ordinances, is shifting public preferences,” she said. “More and more, people are seeking out healthier alternatives.”

Coke and Pepsi’s respective forays into prebiotic soda also come at a time when there is growing political discussion about what it means to “Make America Healthy Again,” a slogan and accompanying movement now associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the recently confirmed health and human services secretary.

Kennedy has been a frequent critic of soda, calling it “poison” and suggesting it be removed from the items that are allowed to be purchased using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, emphasizing that he believes taxpayers should not fund unhealthy choices for children or low-income families.

According to nutrition experts, prebiotic sodas, with their blend of gut-friendly fibers and plant-based compounds, can offer some real benefits, especially for digestion and gut health. Ingredients like chicory root and inulin feed the good bacteria in your microbiome, helping to promote balance and support digestion. Many of these sodas also contain added fiber, which supports regularity, heart health and blood sugar control.

Compared to traditional sodas, they often have lower sugar content or use alternative sweeteners, making them a healthier option for those trying to reduce their sugar intake.

That said, the health benefits of prebiotic sodas depend on the quality of the ingredients. Not all of them are created equal — some may still contain added sugars or artificial sweeteners that counteract their potential benefits. And while prebiotic sodas may offer an upgrade from their sugary counterparts, they should still be consumed in moderation. Whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes remain the best source of prebiotics, and these beverages should be part of a broader, balanced approach to health.

As the soda aisle continues its slow, bubbly march toward wellness, the true test will be whether these gut-friendly drinks can deliver on their promises — not just for our microbiomes, but for our taste buds, too.