If you’ve been keeping up with the newest TikTok recipes and drink trends, you’ve definitely seen a vibrant Poppi can or two on your feed. Poppi, a soda brand that promises to “bring soda back,” has been trending due to its versatility and health-conscious ingredients. The brand has added two new flavors in the past few months and a new can size to its line-up that has caught the attention of many.
Poppi is notably used as an alternative to everything from artificially-flavored soda to sugary drink mixers. With a growing popularity, mostly thanks to social media advertising and word of mouth, the brand surpassed $100 million in sales last year and has caught the eye of The Coca-Cola Company.
Branded as a “better for you” soda, Poppi’s drinks incorporate fruit juice, apple cider vinegar and inulin prebiotics — which are a type of fiber that feeds the gut’s microorganisms — to create a gut-healthy drink that tastes good and is low in sugar and calories. Poppi has a variety of flavors from their original fruity ones, like raspberry rose, to imitations of classics, like their Dr. Pepper replica, doc pop.
Rebecca’s thoughts on wild berry
Poppi first introduced the new wild berry flavor in late January via their first ever pop-up shop in Los Angeles. After much teasing on social media and anticipation, they slowly rolled out the flavor in February in its new 16-ounce can size. So far, it is only available in convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and QuickChek, and online. With the bright blue color and the dark blue berry design, the can marks not only a departure from their usual warm-toned color scheme but also a new chapter for the company.
Wild berry is honestly their best flavor yet. While I haven’t tried every single flavor offering — only some of the fruity ones and root beer — wild berry, with its pinkish-purple hue, is the most vibrant and pleasant that I’ve tasted so far. The aroma of berries was immediately apparent after cracking open the can, but neither the smell nor taste felt artificial.
While the flavor isn’t particularly complex, mainly just fruity and sweet, it’s unlike any popular soda flavor on the market. It’s more reminiscent of juice, but the fizziness from the carbonation elevates it to make the flavor truly enjoyable.
Jess’ thoughts on lemon lime
Accompanying wild berry onto convenience store shelves this month was Poppi’s new lemon lime flavor, coming as a surprise to consumers before it was officially announced on Instagram. The can is a bold green featuring a sunny yellow lemon, which seems to imitate the biggest lemon-lime soda on the market: Sprite.
I love citrus flavored drinks, but Sprite and similar sodas leave me wanting more. Poppi’s variation tastes bright, putting a sweet twist on the classically sour flavors. The citrus is noticeably subtler than some of their other drinks, but it suits the flavor profile well while staying refreshing when ice cold.
As someone who’s tasted the brand’s imitation flavors, lemon lime takes Poppi to a whole new level. Flavors like doc pop don’t taste enough like the original to be branded as dupes. Lemon lime is better than the name-brand original and more flavorful as a drink on its own, released just in time for summer.
By putting a healthy spin on an artificially sweet household staple, Poppi is revolutionizing soda, evident by the brand’s growth since their 2020 launch. Lemon lime and wild berry are two great flavors worth stocking your fridge, or cooler, with this summer.
rgatherc@ramapo.edu & jhammer@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Jessica Hammer
