Poppi ‘prebiotic soda’ accused of misleading customers about health benefits in new lawsuit

The company behind Poppi, a trendy prebiotic soda, is facing allegations of misleading customers about its “gut health benefits,” a new class action lawsuit claims.

Poppi is a celebrity-loved beverage brand billed as a “healthy” alternative to soda, combining “fruit juice, apple cider vinegar, and inulin prebiotics”—a type of dietary fiber that acts as food for healthy bacteria in the gut. According to the Texas-based company’s website, Poppi contains 5g of sugar and has 25 calories or less.

However, the lawsuit filed May 29 in California District Court by plaintiff Kristin Cobbs maintains that Poppi contains only “two grams of prebiotic fiber, an amount too low for a single can to provide a significant gut health benefit to a consumer.”

“A consumer would need to drink more than four Poppi sodas per day to experience any potential health benefits from the prebiotic fiber,” the lawsuit says, according to documents obtained by People. If the customer drank more than four drinks a day, the lawsuit said, “Poppi’s high sugar content would negate most, if not all, of these purported gut health benefits.”

The lawsuit also alleged that the specific type of prebiotic used in Poppi, agave dietary fiber inulin, may cause “adverse health effects” and cited research on the consumption of agave inulin. One study claimed that a prebiotic “can lead to inflammation and even liver damage at doses as low as 10 to 30 grams daily for a period of three weeks.” Another study found that taking as little as 2.5 grams of prebiotic supplements, including agave inulin, could lead to gas buildup, causing abdominal discomfort.

“Despite Poppi’s marketing claims that it is a prebiotic product, it assures consumers on the can that it can be gut-happy (and) gut-healthy, as one dietitian bluntly explained: these products are essentially sweetened water,” the complaint reads , USA today.

Poppi was founded by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, who featured their drink on ABC A tank with sharks in 2018. Since appearing on Amazon — where it reportedly became the best-selling soft drink — and on Whole Foods Market shelves, Poppi sodas now cost $2.49 a can and nearly $30 for a 12-pack. It reported more than $100 million in sales in 2023.

The document stated that Cobbs was “unaware that excessive consumption” of Poppi could negatively impact her health. If Cobbs had known about Poppi’s actual prebiotic fiber content, she “would not have purchased these products or would have paid significantly less for them,” the document says.

Cobbs, who is suing Poppi’s manufacturer, VNGR Beverage LLC, individually and on behalf of others with similar complaints, is seeking “damages and all other forms of equitable financial relief.”

In a statement for IndependentA Poppi representative said, “We are proud of the Poppi brand and we take responsibility for our products. Our mission is to revolutionize soda for the next generation of soda drinkers and we have diligently innovated to deliver a taste experience that millions of people enjoy. We believe this lawsuit is without merit and will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations.”