Examining Poppi: Gut Health or Misleading Marketing?

Authored By: Tanisha Pallerla

Art By: Fiona Reilly

You may have seen Poppi’s vibrant and aesthetically pleasing sodas taking over grocery store shelves, attracting consumers with their gut healthy claims. However, evidence suggests their sodas are not actually gut healthy. Poppi rapidly rose in popularity over the past year, providing consumers with an alternative to regular sodas that lack much nutritional value. However, they have recently faced a lawsuit from a consumer who claimed Poppi’s products do not meet the standards to be marketed as gut healthy. 

Each can of Poppi soda contains two grams of inulin, a fiber containing prebiotic properties that are beneficial for the gut. Prebiotics are fibers that help probiotics, which are organisms of a healthy gut, thrive. This ultimately benefits the gut, but research on gut health has shown that more than two grams of prebiotics are needed to provide sufficient benefit to the gut (1). Therefore, the amount of prebiotics contained in a can of Poppi are not enough to actually improve gut health. Additionally, experts say that one can of soda will not change your overall gut health (2). These claims are the basis of the lawsuit faced by Poppi.

A former Poppi customer filed a class action lawsuit against Poppi. They claimed that Poppi was violating California’s laws by using false marketing, which was misleading for consumers (3). The lawsuit against Poppi sought over five million dollars in compensation. Poppi denied the customer’s allegations, claiming that the customer’s argument did not have a base to it (4). Interestingly, Poppi removed their gut healthy claims from their products and advertising following the filed lawsuit. However, they did not speak about the reasons behind their change in marketing. 

The difficulty in this case is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have regulations in place about the quantity of prebiotics required to claim a product is gut healthy and beneficial for gut health. However, research shows that more than two grams are needed to provide any sort of benefit. Consumers would have to drink several cans of Poppi in order to meet the amount of prebiotics shown to benefit gut health, but by consuming several cans of Poppi, they would also consume more sugar (3). Each individual can of Poppi contains about four to five grams of sugar depending on the flavor, which is significantly less sugar than regular sodas (5). However, to get the gut healthy benefits of Poppi, consumers would have to consume several cans, increasing their sugar intake. 

Ultimately, Poppi is still healthier than many traditional soda options due to its low sugar content and prebiotics, but it doesn’t provide direct benefits to the gut, leading to the lawsuit over their claims of being gut healthy. Many consumers will likely continue to drink Poppi, as it is still a healthy alternative to other sodas, but this lawsuit has also brought attention to soda brands and other beverages that claim to have gut health benefits. Moving forward, brands such as Poppi should carefully consider the health benefits of their products to avoid misleading consumers. Consumers should also be more aware of false advertising and misbranding around healthy choices when choosing the products they consume. 

1. Lamour, J. (2024, June 13). Poppi prebiotic soda brand faces class-action lawsuit over gut health claims. TodayShow. https://www.today.com/food/news/poppi-lawsuit-prebiotic-soda-rcna155422. 

2. Stokes, V. (2024, June 9). Is Poppi Prebiotic Soda really good for your gut health?. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/poppi-prebiotic-soda-gut-health#Are-Poppis-claims-about-gut-healthbenefits-exaggerated?. 

3. Bendix, A. (2024, June 11). New lawsuit challenges Poppi Soda “gut healthy” claims: What you need to know. NBCUniversal News Group. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-lawsuit-challenges-poppi-soda-gut-healthy-claims-what-to-know-rcna156021. 

4. Foster, R. (2024, June 4). Lawsuit claims Poppi soda not as gut-healthy as Company says. US News. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-06-04/lawsuit-claims-poppi-soda-not-as-gut-healthy-as-company-says. 

5. Drinks. poppi. (n.d.). https://drinkpoppi.com/collections/drinks. 

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