🥤🦠 Stat of the Day: Here’s a little bit of pre-history: sales of soft drinks labeled as “prebiotic” rose from $33 million in January 2022 to $777 million in January 2025, according to NielsenIQ data shared with Axios. This represents an overall increase of ~2,255%, or an annual growth rate of ~187%.

Correlation or causation? The sales boom has also corresponded with skyrocketing valuations for major industry players.

• Olipop, a prebiotic soda sales leader, was valued at $1.85 billion in its latest funding round this year, up from ~$200 million in 2022.
• Its main rival Poppi was acquired by Pepsi last month for a net purchase price of $1.65 billion, pending regulatory approval.

Potentially not all great: Most prebiotic sodas contain the fiber inulin, which experts say can be hard to digest and—according to early animal studies and a case study—potentially carcinogenic, per Axios.

🤔 Did You Know? In 2004, The WB aired an American Idol-style show called Superstar USA that aimed to find the worst singer among all entrants—but the contestants were tricked into believing the show only selected the best singers.

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