We probably have at least ten different flavors and varieties in our house at all times. I’m a firm believer in “a little treat” culture, which is where whenever you run an errand — whether it’s to Target, the grocery store or CVS — you get yourself something for the car ride home. For me, that little treat is usually a bottle of whichever soda caught my eye at the register.
(Full disclosure: For the first at least 25 years of my life, I called soda “pop.” I’m from Rochester, New York, and that’s what it is there. Wegmans even named their now-defunct soda line “WPOP,” so I had their endorsement on calling it pop. But after living in the DC area for enough time, I was shamed into converting to “soda.”)
I’ve been slow to jump on the recent rise of prebiotic sodas. I know it’s dumb, but the SpongeBob/Olipop collaboration really opened my eyes to how delicious a prebiotic soda could be. But between that pineapple flavor and ones like the Crisp Apple flavor that I, yes, picked up after seeing it while in line at the grocery store, I tend to stick with non-cola flavors of prebiotic soda.
Something about the cola flavors never hit right. I know what a cola tastes like. And I know that the prebiotic cola flavors can’t match that.
But now Pepsi is attempting to do just that.
The soda giant announced Pepsi Prebiotic Cola back in July, calling it “the boldest evolution in cola in more than two decades.”
“At Pepsi, we are experts in great tasting cola — and have been for decades. The launch of Pepsi Prebiotic Cola marks a significant moment in our brand’s history and the cola category,” Gustavo Reyna, VP of Marketing, Pepsi, said in a statement. “This breakthrough innovation upholds the iconic taste of Pepsi that people love, now with no artificial sweeteners, lower sugar and functional ingredients. It’s an inimitable taste — designed to meet the demands of cola lovers, cola newcomers, and everyone in between.”
With Pepsi Prebiotic Soda, available in both Original Cola and Cherry Vanilla flavors, going on sale on Black Friday, Snackology has your early look at the biggest crossover of traditional and prebiotic sodas.
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You’ll be able to buy single cans or 8-packs of Pepsi Prebiotic Cola for a limited time on Amazon, Walmart, TikTok, Kroger, DashMart and Gopuff starting Black Friday before the brand goes nationwide early next year.
My thoughts
Brands are adding fiber to everything these days. Your cereal has added fiber. Your Pop-Tarts have added fiber. Your fiber has added fiber. So it’s no surprise that one of the main marketing points for Pepsi Prebiotic Soda is that it has 3 grams of prebiotic fiber.
What I’m more interested in, as someone who drinks exclusively diet sodas, is that Pepsi Prebiotic Soda has only 5 grams of sugar and just 30 calories per can. It’s not a zero sugar soda, but it’s pretty close.
Original Cola
I kicked off my taste test of Pepsi Prebiotic Cola with the Original Cola flavor. The crack of the can released the instantly recognizable Pepsi aroma. Sharp. Sweet. Poured into a glass, Pepsi Prebiotic Cola looked just like a normal soda. Unlike some of the fruity prebiotic sodas, there weren’t any leftover sediment-y bits lingering in the can. This soda would absolutely pass for normal Pepsi in a side-by-side visual test.
A sip of the Original Cola flavor revealed a soda that, with the exception of a slight aftertaste that barely reminded me that I was drinking a prebiotic soda, tasted exactly like I remember a Pepsi tasting. Like the traditional version, it had that crispness that has long been its calling card versus other colas.
I gotta give Pepsi credit on this one. While pretty much every prebiotic soda brand, Pepsi’s own Poppi included, have been trying to make prebiotic sodas that are flavored like a cola, Pepsi Prebiotic Cola gets it right by being a cola that also happens to be a prebiotic soda.
Snack score
🍪🍪🍪🍪 (4 out of 5 cookies)
Cherry Vanilla
The Cherry Vanilla flavor is also tasty. Pepsi zigged a bit on this one, going with the combo of cherry/vanilla instead of mimicking the Wild Cherry flavor from the Pepsi mainline.
The flavors are pretty balanced, with my wife comparing the taste to a Dr Pepper. I would definitely stock the Cherry Vanilla flavor alongside Original Cola if I’m stashing Pepsi Prebiotic Soda in my fridge.
Snack score
🍪🍪🍪🍪 (4 out of 5 cookies)
Pepsi Prebiotic Cola was provided to Snackology for this independent review.
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Snackology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman. Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.
The Omnicosm founder. Popculturology, Deep SNL Thoughts and Snackology writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
