The Pricey Root Beer You Should Avoid Buying

Whether you're a die-hard soda fanatic or a casual indulger, a craving for the sweet, spicy taste of root beer can hit out of nowhere, and you have to get your hands on a can ASAP. Maybe you already have your favorite brand lined up, but if you're looking to shop around and experiment, we're here to help narrow down your choices. Though its misleading name may imply otherwise, root beer doesn't actually contain any beer or alcohol content at all. Most cans do, however, contain a hefty dose of sugar and sometimes other unhealthy ingredients, like high-fructose corn syrup. That's why Poppi, a "health soda" brand that markets itself as a prebiotic with 25 calories or less per drink, might seem like an attractive alternative. Unfortunately, we couldn't recommend their root beer any less.

When Chowhound writer Jennifer Geer ranked popular root beer brands from best to worst, Poppi's offering came dead last. Geer looked at factors like taste, crispness, cost, and ingredients for her ranking, and though root beer preferences can be very subjective, it was immediately clear that Poppi's taste was off-putting enough to render it nearly undrinkable. On top of that, its high price tag puts Poppi's root beer firmly in our "not worth it" column.

According to Jennifer Geer, the problem with Poppi is that "prebiotics and root beer just don't go together." She did recognize that this was the only low-sugar, somewhat healthy drink on her list, so it might not be fair to hold it to the same standard as full-sugar root beers. But she clarified that even when pitted up against other diet drinks, Poppi Prebiotic Root Beer would rank low. The flavor was "nothing like root beer," she said, and so strange that she couldn't have more than one sip.

A single 12-ounce can cost $2.45 at Geer's local grocery store, and a 12-pack will run you $29.88 on Amazon, making this one of the more expensive root beers we sampled. But given Poppi's health-centric approach to soda, could it be worth giving another flavor a shot, despite the cost? After all, it's still less expensive than some other artisanal health drinks, and a healthier way to enjoy soda is always a welcome change. While we did rank Poppi's Strawberry Lemon flavor slightly higher on our list of popular diet sodas, writer Robyn Blocker still found its apple cider vinegar flavor overpowering.

The brand's fruit flavors are probably better suited to its prebiotic formulation than root beer, but they still seem to be an acquired taste. Originally called Mother Earth, Poppi relaunched under its new name in 2020 following an appearance on "Shark Tank," and it's one of the preeminent prebiotic sodas on the market. However, the company has recently faced legal issues over claims that its purported gut health benefits are exaggerated.