Bobby prebiotic soda review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Bobby prebiotic soda - a low calorie, prebiotic soda. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this healthier soft drink.
For this review we have taste-tested the lemon lime version.
Bobby prebiotic soda is available in some food stores in Australia, but not in major supermarkets currently.
Ingredients of Bobby prebiotic soda
Bobby prebiotic soda is a low-sugar soft drink which means that it largely relies on (natural) sweeteners for sweetness.
Are sweeteners bad for you?
Regular readers will know that I don’t love sweeteners - whether they are natural or artificial. This is because artificial sweeteners have been shown to negatively affect gut microbe composition - and so it could be that natural sweeteners also have a negative affect on your gut. There are other potential side effects of these natural sweeteners (especially around signalling to your body that sugar is coming when it isn’t), but more research is needed.
In any case, I’d prefer to avoid sweeteners altogether to be on the safe side. This is a personal choice though and essentially a trade off between sugar (which is not good) and natural sweeteners (which may or may not be shown to be unhealthy in future).
Read more about the current research done on stevia and erythritol - the two most common natural sweeteners.
The specific ingredients are: carbonated water, natural sweeteners (erythritol, stevia), sugar, prebiotic fibre (0.5%), lemon juice (0.5%), lime juice (0.5%), food acid (citric acid) and natural flavour.
It’s good to see that it uses some real ingredients in the form of lemon and lime juice (along with natural flavour). This is in contrast to Remedy Sodaly and Nexba Better Soda which both don’t use any real ingredients for flavour, just natural flavourings.
The prebiotic fibre which Bobby includes (branded as Sunfiber) is a fibre made from guar beans.
Benefits of Bobby prebiotic soda
This drink comes with some health benefits. It is not as beneficial as other gut health products like kombucha or kefir, but at the end of the day it’s a lot better for you than regular soft drink!
For context, we’ll compare some metrics against Remedy Sodaly and Nexba Better Soda - two other prebiotic sodas widely available in Australia.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are essentially fibres which promote the growth of beneficial microbes in the gut. This drink includes 2g of dietary fibre in each can which is at least double that of Remedy (less than 1g), but half that of Nexba (4g).
Read more about the benefits of prebiotics.
Low in calories
This prebiotic soft drink has 11 calories per 100ml. For context, a typical, non-diet soft drink would have around 4x that amount.
But this is significantly more than both Remedy (3 calories) and Nexba (4 calories).
Appearance
It has an almost clear appearance - which is a testament to the lack of colourings.
Texture
The juices and the prebiotic fibre give the drink a decent mouthfeel - but not as thick as Nexba.
Carbonation
Personally I think the carbonation is a bit too high. I found myself burping after each sip which is never pleasant.
Flavour
In terms of aroma, the only thing I can think of when smelling it is Sprite - sort of lemony but in an unnatural way.
And this comes through on the taste too. I was expecting a more natural lemon lime taste, however it comes across as more of the artificial lemon taste of Sprite. This is strange considering it does have real lemon and lime juice in it. Perhaps the natural flavouring they have added sways it more towards the unnatural Sprite-lemon taste.
But it is not too sweet and there is a moderate acidity to balance things out.
Overall, the taste if fine but I was expecting something better and more natural tasting. However, if you regularly drink Sprite and are looking for something healthier than this drink would be perfect for you!
Cost of Bobby prebiotic soda
We bought a 330ml can in a health food store for $4.50. I think this is a little overpriced considering high-quality kombuchas cost the same.
Summary
4.25 stars out of 5.
A prebiotic soda with a decent amount of fibre and which uses some real ingredients. It isn’t as low calorie as other brands though.
Pros
much better for you than soft drink
fairly low in calories
contains prebiotic fibre
uses some real ingredients
Cons
taste is fine, but comes across as a bit unnatural
contains natural sweeteners (if that bothers you)
Your reviewer
This article was reviewed by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut enthusiast and passionate kombucha maker!
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