Premium mixer and adult soft drinks brand, London Essence, announced the launch of its new Crisp Apple Crafted Soda into retail and hospitality venues. The new pack size was launched at the end of April in major retailers including Waitrose, Morrisons and Amazon, soon to be followed by Sainsbury’s, as a four-can multipack, RRP £3.50. The new Crafted Soda will also roll out across hospitality venues including as a single serve 250 ml can.
With 1 in 2 UK consumers moderating their alcohol intake1, and 43 % of consumers stating more interest in premium soft drinks than no and low alternatives2, the expansion of the brand’s Crafted Sodas range allows it to continue to embrace modern drinking and adapt to changing attitudes to socialising, both at home and in hospitality venues.
London Essence celebrates unique and creative blends across its drinks collection, and Crisp Apple is no exception. With notes of freshly picked green apples and fragrant elderflower distillate, this new Crafted Soda provides a refreshingly crisp taste with a juicy yet light and aromatic experience which appeals to a sophisticated palate.
Melanie Ginsberg, UK Head of Marketing at London Essence, comments: “We are thrilled to introduce Crisp Apple to complement our existing line-up of Crafted Sodas with a different flavour profile, offering a refreshing and juicy adult soft drink. Embracing modern drinking and the evolution of changing consumer behaviours is a real focus for us. We developed Crisp Apple to provide consumers with a more premium adult soft drink which appeals to those moderating their alcohol consumption without compromising on taste and the desire for an elevated drinking experience.”
1KAM Low/No Report 2023
2Mintel Attitudes towards No/Low alc 2022
Arla Foods Ingredients will highlight the functional benefits of pure BLG (beta-lactoglobulin) in a new protein soda concept at Vitafoods Europe.
Consumers are increasingly seeking functional beverages that support active, balanced lifestyles. In the past year alone, this has seen almost 20 % reduce their consumption of traditional carbonated drinks, with over 60 % citing health as the primary reason.1
Arla Foods Ingredients’ protein soda concept is a tailored response to the “better-for-you” soft drink trend, providing 10 g of protein per serving with zero sugar. It features Lacprodan® BLG-100 to deliver the nutritional power that consumers demand, while offering manufacturers the flexibility of hot and cold processing.
Compared to standard whey protein, Lacprodan® BLG-100 contains more of the essential and branched chain amino acids necessary to support muscle maintenance and growth. Its protein content also supports satiety, appealing to the increasing number of consumers interested in weight management.
Sarah Meyer, Head of Sales Development, Performance Nutrition, at Arla Foods Ingredients, said, “Our exciting new protein soda concept meets the needs of consumers keen to switch out sugary beverages for thirst-quenching, healthier options. Lacprodan® BLG-100’s outstanding purity ensures the refreshing, water-like viscosity, clarity and clean taste these consumers love. This enables brand owners to set a new quality standard for protein-enriched soft drinks, including those positioned around physical activity.”
Culture Pop Soda, the better-for-you soda brand made with real, simple ingredients, has officially dropped its ninth flavour: Grape.
Made with real fruit juice and live probiotics, it’s packed with bold, vibrant flavour and free from refined sugar, stevia, and artificial ingredients. It’s a deliciously refreshing take on a beloved OG. Brisk, bright sips of true grape goodness perfectly balanced with the slightest hint of elderflower crispness.
The new flavour is launching alongside a nostalgic “Grape Grew Up” marketing launch campaign, inspired by the ’90s and reimagined for today. Because growing up doesn’t mean letting go of what you loved – it means finding a version that’s grown with you.
“We wanted to take a flavour that so many people grew up with and make it feel refreshing, delicious and new – without losing any of the flavor or fun,” said Tom First, Founder and CEO of Culture Pop Soda.
Culture Pop recently launched across the US in Target and on Target.com, where the new Grape flavour will be available alongside seven other flavours.
About Culture Pop Soda
Founded in 2020, Culture Pop Soda is a crafted, probiotic soda made with real, organic fruit juice, organic spices and herbs, and live probiotics – with no refined sugars, no high-intensity sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit, and no artificial ingredients. Each of Culture Pop’s nine flavours are inspired by familiar, fruit flavours that are delicious, refreshing, and perfectly sweetened.
Every 12 oz can is packed with billions of live probiotics to support digestive health, which aids gut health. Culture Pop Soda is vegan, certified non-GMO, gluten-free, plant-based, shelf-stable, and kosher.
PepsiCo, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire poppi, a fast-growing prebiotic soda brand in the U.S., for USD 1.95 billion, including USD 300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits for a net purchase price of USD 1.65 billion. The transaction also includes an additional potential earnout consideration subject to the achievement of certain performance milestones within a specified period after closing of the transaction.
poppi is a fast-growing functional soda brand that combines prebiotics, fruit juice, and apple cider vinegar to create a deliciously refreshing low calorie soda with no more than five grams of sugar per serving. poppi’s consumer-first approach, cultural cache, and nutritional profile have nurtured a loyal fan base and driven rapid growth. poppi was created by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, discovered on Shark Tank by Rohan Oza and funded by CAVU Consumer Partners from their initial seed round to today.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Additional terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
About poppi
poppi is a prebiotic soda brand modernizing soda for the next generation. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Stephen & Allison Ellsworth, Austin, TX-based poppi combines prebiotics and fruit juice to create a deliciously refreshing, mouthwatering low calorie soda with no more than 5 grams of sugar per serving. What originally started as a home-brewed concoction quickly became a farmers’ market favourite turned Shark Tank investment and is now available at major retailers in the U.S. poppi’s brand-first approach, cultural cache, and rapid growth have nurtured an incredibly loyal community, including celebrity fans. poppi is available in 14 delicious flavours – Strawberry Lemon, Raspberry Rose, Orange, Ginger Lime, Watermelon, Cherry Limeade, Grape, Wild Berry, Classic Cola, Root Beer, Doc Pop, Lemon Lime, Orange Cream and Cherry Cola.
Bright, modern, and colourful design captures the brand’s mission to make soda both a fun and smart choice with ingredients that benefit the brain-gut connection and offer functional benefits with every sip
HERE Originals reintroduces its groundbreaking prebiotic soda, VINA in the US. Reformulated with an essential, proprietary blend of prebiotics, trace minerals, plant fibers and organic ingredients, VINA is expertly crafted to directly benefit the brain-gut connection. On a mission to recalibrate the soda category and functional cold box with a smarter choice, VINA unveils a line-up of flavours that taste great, are delightfully effervescent and expertly formulated to be both fun and smart to drink.
The revamped brand identity and packaging design follows a period of strategic repositioning of VINA’s functional benefits centered on the brain-gut connection. As functional soda becomes a fast-growing subcategory of the greater functional beverage space, the demand for healthier soda alternatives has rapidly increased. VINA’s unique formula that prioritizes brain and gut performance will invigorate consumer demand and add incremental value to this exciting new category with multifunctional benefits to both mind and body.
“Historically, soda hasn’t been considered a healthy choice, packed with sugars and toxins, despite the fun nature of the flavourful beverage. We saw a need to preserve what we all love about soda while completely reconstructing it to be both a naturally delicious and smart choice,” said Founder and CEO, Alex Matthews. “We challenged ourselves to cram what we call ‘The Smarts’ (plant fiber, trace minerals, prebiotics) into our formula for unprecedented functionality and of course, quality taste.”
Connected by millions of nerves and chemicals called neurotransmitters, the brain and gut are a package deal. Operating in a symbiotic relationship, when one is in distress, the other suffers. And, when one is balanced and thriving, the other reaps the rewards. VINA’s formula and ingredient selection are designed to address not one or the other in isolation, but both for optimal wellness.
According to VINA’s Chief Smarts Officer and mind-body expert, Dr. Cynthia Kerson, “The neurotransmitters bidirectionally linked between the brain and gut impact the very core of emotional wellbeing. Stress and anxiety in the mind caused by anything from external factors to deficiencies from essential nutrients can make its way down to the gut and lead to issues ranging from mild discomfort to GI tract issues. Alternatively, serotonin (the stuff that keeps our spirits high) is largely produced in the gut by millions of microbes in a healthy digestive ecosystem. VINA is ‘smart’ because it’s both multifaceted and hyperfunctional as it addresses mind-body wellness at its very core.”
VINA aims to delight both the pop purist and the functional beverage drinker with both taste and nutritional benefits. Crisp, fruity and crafted with an undertone of citrus to keep things balanced and bright, VINA comes in five flavours: Ginger Fizz, Cherry Pop, Grapefruit, Lime Lemon and Pomegranate. All blends are 5 g of sugar or less, 25 calories or less, certified USDA Organic, gluten-free, vegan and made with all natural ingredients.
VINA is the second beverage line out of HERE Originals, following De La Calle, a spin on the Mexican fermented pineapple beverage Tepache that won Best New Products and Best Packaging Design from BevNet’s Best of 2021 Awards.
VINA Prebiotic Soda is available in the US via drinkvina.com. Purchase one case of 12 cans (12 fluid ounces) for $33.99 MSRP or a monthly subscription for $28.89 per case, a 15 % discount.
