Malaysia‑based lifestyle tea brand Tealive has launched a prebiotic tea soda in collaboration with local coffee player Aik Cheong, marking its entry into the growing prebiotic soda space. Once seen as a North American trend, prebiotic soda — a better‑for‑you alternative to traditional carbonated soft drinks — is now taking off in Southeast Asia.
By reimagining soda with a healthier twist, Tealive’s latest drink aligns with rising consumer health expectations. Importantly, today’s consumers are less concerned with beverage categories and more focused on the functional outcomes such as digestive wellness or satiety, positioning prebiotic tea soda as part of a broader shift toward functional drinks.
What makes Tealive Sparkling Crafted Tea intriguing is its attempt to align with the trending prebiotic soda segment, but through tea rather than conventional carbonated soft drinks. While the positioning may sound like prebiotic soda, in reality it is more accurately described as a prebiotic tea‑based soda — crafted with real tea and fruit juice, fortified with inulin fibre to deliver digestive benefits.
Tealive Sparkling Crafted Tea (250ml) contains 4.8g of total sugar per 100ml and is sweetened with erythritol and sucralose, both of which are sugar substitutes. It also provides 0.5g of dietary fibre per 100ml, or 1.3g per 250ml serving. While the addition of inulin fibre gives the drink a functional edge, the amount is relatively modest — contributing only about 4–6% of Malaysia’s recommended daily fibre intake of 20–30g.
Tealive Sparkling Crafted Tea (250ml) is available in two refreshing flavours — Lychee Oolong Tea and Passionfruit Pineapple Oolong Tea.
For the Lychee Oolong Tea variant, the ingredients include: carbonated water, oolong tea concentrate (18%), erythritol, lychee juice concentrate (5.4%), prebiotic fibre (inulin), acidity regulator (INS330), and vitamin C. It also contains permitted sweetener (INS955).
For the Passionfruit Pineapple Oolong Tea variant, the ingredients include carbonated water, 18% oolong tea concentrate, erythritol, 4% passionfruit juice concentrate, 3% pineapple juice concentrate, inulin prebiotic fibre, acidity regulator (INS330), vitamin C, and permitted sweetener (INS955).
At 7‑Eleven, Tealive Sparkling Crafted Tea (250ml) is priced at RM4.90, whereas Tapping Tapir GutC Prebiotic Soda (250ml) is currently offered at a promotional price of RM2.90 (regular price RM4.30).
