Olipop is a fairly new company that specializes in prebiotic soda. But a couple says they stumbled upon something in one of the company’s soda cans they can’t quite identify, causing concerns.
The video documents a mystery white substance in a Olipop Strawberry Vanilla soda can. There is also a black filmy substance the couple describes as “skin.” Mason City, Iowa-based creator Laine Bullinger (@lainebullinger) and a partner, identified as Garrett, posted the video on Tuesday. It has since generated more than 2.1 million views.
The caption submitted with the video to TikTok, addressed to Olipop’s TikTok account, reads, “Please we are begging, someone tell us what it is Garrett just drank.”
Bullinger also issued a disclaimer that the sodas were refrigerated after they bought them from the store. She added, “We are used to prebiotic/kombucha type drinks and this is the first time something like this has happened.”
Olipop is becoming more popular
Olipop, according to its website, brands itself as a “a new kind of soda made with plant fiber and prebiotics.” A Bloomberg article from May notes that it “is set to hit about $500 million in sales this year, more than double the $200 million it generated in 2023, as its healthier take on sugary drinks wins over more customers.”
The creator begins by saying, “My boyfriend has been drinking these Olipop sodas, and he’s had a couple different flavors. This is the first one that he got to where he told me, ‘I really don’t like it.’ And he only drink about this much of it.”
She pours the remainder into the glass to reveal something white floating on the top of the remaining soda in the glass. “When I look in the can, there is definitely something in there,” she notes. “I never thought that we would be the people that got something gross in their can.”
They then cut the can open to see all what’s inside the can, and despite Bullinger’s outward expression of horror at several points, she manages to get a sample that an Olipop representative was interested in having sent to them for testing.
@lainebullinger @OLIPOP please we are begging, someone tell us what it is Garrett just drank #olipop ♬ original sound – Laine Bullinger
Viewers recommend working with an independent lab
A number of commenters, however, thought they should work with an independent lab.
“Don’t send it to the company to test, get someone private to do it or a university,” one advised.
Another remarked, “It kinda looks like a kombucha scoby that went moldy. That happens when there is contamination in the fermentation process.”
Someone else took the occasion to quip, “My Dr Pepper would never.”
Olipop gets in touch
In a follow-up video, the couple says that Olipop contacted them. Bullinger says, “That company did reach out to us. They asked us if we could send them a picture of the bottom of the cans; they look for the lot number. They really politely offered to send us more Olipop, which we declined. … I think at the moment we’re not super confident in the company.”
Her partner advises, “In the meantime, make sure you’re pouring everything into a glass.”
Update 8:37am CT, July 9: A representative for Olipop told the Daily Dot that it reached out to Bullinger on July 2 to further investigate.
“Our Quality Assurance team is looking into the details, including production codes and other identifiers, from the customer to understand and address any issue. Based on the initial review, we have found no issues from the batch with the lot code provided by the customer,” they said.
They added, “We take customer safety and any quality concerns very seriously and we will take any actions necessary.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message and online contact form.
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