The Fan-Favorite Olipop Flavor We Think You Should Avoid Buying

If you haven't wandered the refreshment aisle in a while, you may be surprised to find a slew of brightly colored prebiotic sodas from several brands, boasting reduced sugars and increased wellness benefits. From Poppi to PLEZi (touted by Michelle Obama at a California Costco in 2024) to Simply Pop, Coca-Cola's addition to the prebiotic game, to the OG prebiotic soda Olipop, each offers a plethora of innovative fruit, citrus, and cola flavors. So we decided to rank the most popular Olipop flavors from worst to best. While every flavor has its fans, if you're new to the category or the brand, we suggest you avoid Strawberry Vanilla. With so many tastier choices out there, it doesn't make sense to reach for the one that our reviewer considered an "unpleasant experience."

Our reviewer sipped through 15 Olipop flavors (remember when the sum total options were regular or diet?), sorting out the good, the okay, and the nope. While most flavors at least slaked our reviewer's thirst, Strawberry Vanilla just did not impress. We attempted to apply a consistent method for judging each carbonated flavor, sampling them at the same temperature each from a glass, instead of the can. Our reviewer spent time savoring sips and cleansing their palate between flavors. Neither price nor the efficacy of any advertised health benefits were factored into the judging.

Through the course of our taste-testing, some flavors emerged as clear favorites, including the number one choice, Vintage Cola, along with a variety of traditional citrus choices. But Strawberry Vanilla smells and tastes overwhelmingly of strawberries in an unbalanced relationship with the vanilla, according to our reviewer. 

They also found it over-tart when more sweetness would have been appreciated. Of course, if strawberry is your jam (pun intended), this might be your Olipop of choice. After all, there are fans of every soda flavor out there, even the contentious Fruit Quake Mountain Dew (we assume). And on the plus side, this Olipop soda is only 35 calories per 12-ounce can and contains 9 grams of fiber.

Why is it important to rank these flavors? Prebiotic sodas have seen a massive increase in popularity in recent years. In addition to reduced sugars, the new sodas feature potentially gut-friendly ingredients like chicory root, nopal cactus, and real fruit juices (strawberry juice concentrate and natural strawberry flavor in this case). Amidst skyrocketing sales of the entire category, the clear leader is Olipop, with over $400 million in sales in 2024. With all the brands and flavor options available (and almost certainly more on the way), why not drink something you'll enjoy? We, as always, are here to help.