Formulating a Gut-Healthy Carbonated Soft Drink: A Functional Approach for Food Technologists and Beverage Formulators
by Thom King, Icon Foods, Chief Innovations Officer/Food Scientist
Move over protein shakes and IPA-fueled kombucha experiments—there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s packing bubbles, fiber, and just enough monk fruit to make your taste buds question everything they thought they knew about soda. The gut-friendly soda space is where wellness meets carbonation. It’s fizzy. It’s functional. It’s the only drink that can make your microbiome cheer while you crack one open like it’s game day. Welcome to the sparkling revolution—where flavor doesn’t have to fight fiber for space in the can.
In today’s blistering functional beverage landscape, consumer demand for gut health, clean labels, and reduced sugar content has prompted the emergence of better-for-you carbonated soft drinks that offer both wellness and indulgence. Case in point, Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand, was acquired by PepsiCo for approximately $2 billion and Olipop’s valuation will likely eclipse Poppi’s. This category is no joke. While there are plenty of young guns looking to throw their hats in the ring, there is still plenty of room in this category.
Before we get in the weeds, let’s talk about the 800-pound gorilla in the room. That is the big, huge bummer that class action lawsuits can cause.
So, what is considered gut healthy? Gut health is a multifaceted concept that primarily revolves around maintaining a balanced microbiome, which consists of trillions of microorganisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract. Think of it like a giant friendly village all advocating for your health and well-being and you will never feel lonely again. A healthy gut plays a crucial role in digestion, immune function, and overall vitality.
One key aspect of gut health is the production of postbiotics, which are beneficial compounds produced by the fermentation of prebiotic fibers by gut bacteria. One of the most notable postbiotics is butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) that has several health benefits.
Messengers From the Gut: Gut Microbiota-Derived Metabolites on Host Regulation – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Gut-microbiota-derived-short-chain-fatty-acids-such-as-acetate-propionate-butyrate_fig1_360138197 [accessed 20 May 2025]
What Contributes to Gut Health?
- Prebiotic Fibers: These are non-digestible carbohydrates found in foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and fibers like soluble tapioca fiber, fructooligosaccharides and inulin. They serve as food for beneficial gut bacteria, promoting their growth and activity.
- Gut Microbiome Diversity: A diverse microbiome is associated with better gut health, just like diverse people can lead to a more robust community. This diversity can be enhanced by a varied diet rich in different types of fibers and fermented foods.
- Postbiotics: Butyrate is produced when gut bacteria ferment prebiotic fibers. It serves as an energy source for colon cells, helps maintain gut barrier (mucosa) integrity, and has anti-inflammatory properties.
- Hydration: Drinking enough water is essential for digestion and helps maintain the mucosal lining of the intestines.
Remember the saying, “what gets measured gets managed”? The same applies to quantifying the efficacy of prebiotics. Beverages rich in prebiotic fibers can promote the production of beneficial postbiotics like butyrate. These can be measured. The next time a lawyer tells you that your beverage does not contain enough fiber to promote gut health, remind them that butyrate production—not just fiber content—is the end result. If the fiber is functional and leads to measurable increases in butyrate, that’s a strong foundation for a gut health claim.
The other 800-pound gorilla in the room is added sugars and how many will the consumer accept in a better-for-you beverage application. The magic number is 5 grams. Let’s get started with a formulation strategy that delivers a sparkling functional beverage with less than 5 grams of added sugars per 12 fl oz serving, leveraging soluble fiber, natural high-potency sweeteners, and flavor modulation technologies to meet both nutritional and sensory expectations.
Functional Fiber Stack: Soluble Tapioca Fiber + Organic Agave Inulin
Soluble tapioca fiber (STF), a low-glycemic, non-digestible carbohydrate derived from cassava root, offers dual benefits as a prebiotic and mouthfeel enhancer. When stacked with organic agave inulin—a well-researched fructan prebiotic sourced from the blue agave plant—the formulation benefits from synergistic fermentable fibers that selectively stimulate Bifidobacteria and improve gut microbiota composition.
- Inclusion rate: 4–6g total dietary fiber per 12 fl oz
- Functional benefits: Prebiotic support, improved viscosity, sugar-like body and mouthfeel
- Labeling: “Soluble tapioca fiber, organic agave inulin”
Sweetening Strategy: Monk Fruit + Stevia + ThauSweet VRM
To maintain sweetness while keeping added sugars below 5g per serving, a hybrid of steviol glycosides and mogroside V monk fruit extract offers clean sweetness and glycemic neutrality. For advanced sensory performance, particularly in masking metallic, bitter, or licorice-like off-notes often found in high-potency sweeteners, ThauSweet VRM—a sweetness modulator composed of thaumatin and mogroside V—can be deployed to rebalance receptor signaling on the palate.
- Target sweetness equivalence: 7–8 Brix
- Primary sweeteners: Monk fruit extract (V40 or V50 spec), RM95 stevia (or RA99M blend)
- Modulator: ThauSweet VRM at 25–30 ppm to mask lingering or bitter peaks
- Result: Clean, rounded sweetness without off-note persistence
Flavor System: Less Than 5% Real Juice + Organic Natural Flavors
To maintain cost efficiency and comply with reduced sugar mandates, real fruit juice is capped at <5% of total volume. This inclusion can provide natural acidity and some aroma lift. To augment these profiles, organic-compliant natural flavors are used to build a fuller, more expressive flavor system.
- Recommended fruits: Raspberry, black cherry, blood orange, Meyer lemon
- Organic flavors: Steam-distilled botanical concentrates, essential oils, oleoresins
- Inclusion strategy: Real juice for base, flavors for aroma and taste persistence
Low-Glycemic Sweetener Supplement: Agave Nectar <4%
Agave nectar, used sparingly (<4% of total formulation), serves as a natural humectant and flavor carrier. Its high fructose content and solubility can help with upfront sweetness and bridge gaps in stevia or monk fruit delivery curves.
- Function: Slight browning, upfront sweetness pop, balance acidity
- Note: Limit use to maintain <5g added sugar compliance
Allulose: The Unicorn of Sweeteners
While allulose is quietly becoming a powerhouse ingredient in the better-for-you prebiotic soda space—not just because it tastes like sugar, but because it behaves like the unicorn of sweeteners: low-glycemic, low-calorie, and remarkably functional. Just like a real unicorn, they aren’t allowed in Whole Foods Markets, yet. If Whole Foods is your target, skip to the next section. Technically allulose is classified as a rare sugar, and is about 70% the sweetness of sucrose with only a fraction of the calories (0.2–0.4 kcal/g). Unlike most sugar alternatives, it browns, dissolves, and behaves like sugar in beverage systems, providing clean sweetness with none of the bitter aftershock that often haunts high-intensity sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit. In gut-friendly sodas, allulose also acts as a bulking agent that bridges the gap between sweetness and mouthfeel, especially when paired with soluble fibers like tapioca fiber and agave inulin. It also triggers the release of GLP-1 if you can believe that[1].
But its magic doesn’t stop at taste and texture. Allulose is also showing promise in supporting metabolic health, with emerging studies indicating it may help regulate blood glucose, reduce insulin response, and possibly improve fat oxidation. While it isn’t a prebiotic in the strictest sense, allulose has been observed to reach the large intestine undigested—where it can interact with gut microbiota in ways that potentially benefit digestive health. For formulators, this makes allulose a stealth asset: a sweetener that not only fits within low-sugar claims but also supports the functional mission of prebiotic sodas. When stacked with clean-label fibers, natural flavors, and strategic high-potency sweeteners, allulose offers the sensory and physiological performance needed to deliver soda with substance.
Natural Coloration: Herbal Compounds and Botanical Extracts
For visual appeal, the beverage should use naturally derived colorants from botanicals such as hibiscus, turmeric (curcumin), butterfly pea flower, red cabbage anthocyanins, or beet extract. These offer clean-label compatibility and can align with the flavor profile (e.g., red for berry, gold for citrus).
- Coloring agents: Organic beet juice powder, turmeric extract, hibiscus concentrate
- Stability: pH-adjusted systems or encapsulation may be necessary
The formulation of a gut-friendly, low-sugar, carbonated soft drink is achievable through strategic use of soluble fiber stacks, natural high-intensity sweeteners, flavor modulators, natural flavors/colors and partnering with a formulator deft in such things, like the food science whiz kids at Icon Foods. If you want to go it alone, this blueprint allows food technologists to deliver wellness-focused products without compromising on taste, texture, or visual appeal. The synergy of functional ingredients not only satisfies modern consumers’ demands but also supports digestive health through scientifically grounded prebiotic mechanisms and clean-label design.
Since 1999 Icon Foods has been your reliable supply chain partner for sweeteners, fibers, sweetening systems, inclusions and sweetness modulators.
Reach out to your Icon Foods representative for beverage formulating tool kit which includes samples, documentation and formulations guidance for: FibRefine, soluble tapioca fiber, PreBiotica organic agave inulin, MonkSweet, monk fruit extract, SteviaSweet, stevia extract, and KetoseSweet+ allulose blend in crystalline and syrup, lest we forget, ThauSweet VRM sweetness modulator.
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