2025-11-14

I Tried Ben Stiller’s New Soda Brand, and Here’s My Honest Review

Photo by: Image Courtesy of Stiller's Soda

Image Courtesy of Stiller's Soda

It seems we’ve reached peak healthy soda. The market is saturated with options for all your prebiotic, probiotic, low-calorie and sugar-free needs. But what about prioritizing delicious, old-school flavor? What if you want a no-nonsense, “no-biotic” beverage? These are the questions Ben Stiller posed with the launch of his drink brand, Stiller’s Soda, on September 23.

What is Stiller’s Soda?

Stiller’s Soda is a new soda brand co-founded by actor, director and producer Ben Stiller and food and beverage entrepreneur Alex Doman. The company is marketing the drink as a healthier take on soda, minus the gut-health claims many modern brands tout. Each can contains 30 calories and an added, full daily serving of vitamins B12, C and D, “making it a ‘better-for-you soda’ that actually tastes like soda,” the brand says in a press release. The brand uses a combination of cane sugar, fruit juice, agave, monk fruit and stevia as sweeteners, which vary by flavor.

“Stiller’s is filling a gap in the beverage category with a simple philosophy: classic soda for a new world,” the brand says. “Moving away from traditional sodas heavy in sugar and artificial ingredients, and steering clear of the crowded prebiotic and probiotic market.”

So far, Stiller’s Soda comes in three flavors: Lemon-Lime, Root Beer and Shirley Temple. The latter was Stiller’s inspiration for the brand.

“My love of soda goes way back, and for me it began with Shirley Temples,” Ben Stiller says in a press release. “I think of me and my sister going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant with my parents and getting Shirley Temples! So much fun, and always so cool — like the grown ups. The idea behind Stiller’s Soda was simple: bring back that same sense of nostalgia but make it work for today.”

And nostalgic soda is so hot right now. Diet Coke recently re-released its beloved Lime flavor, which was popular throughout the 2000s and 2010s, citing customers’ desire for more retro flavors. Meanwhile, dirty soda is growing more and more mainstream — a modern take on cream soda.

How does Stiller’s Soda taste?

Photo by: Image Courtesy of Stiller's Soda

Image Courtesy of Stiller's Soda

I tried all three flavors, and here’s my honest opinion.

Shirley Temple

When I poured this one into a glass, it had a light orangey pink color, almost like a rosé. It did have the strong grenadine flavor I expect from a Shirley Temple, but much less sweet, landing somewhere between a seltzer and a soda. It was very lightly carbonated and went nearly flat before I could finish my pour. I didn’t taste it, exactly, but the mouthfeel of one of the sweeteners lingers. It doesn’t have an aftertaste, but it clings to your palate after you drink it.

Root Beer

This one has a strong, distinct root beer flavor, again falling somewhere between a seltzer and a soda. The sweeteners in this one didn’t bother me, but I found it also went flat very quickly. I’m not a root beer person, but if you are, this might scratch the itch without being cloying.

Lemon Lime

This was easily my favorite (though it’s my favorite flavor of the three, generally speaking). I might reach for it over a lemon-lime seltzer or over another health-conscious soda brand. It was the most “refreshing-est” of the bunch. It gives you a tingly, fizzy sensation more than the other two, maybe because of the acidity. It can’t compete with the heights of a McDonald’s Sprite, but it evokes that sensation. That said, it does have a bit of an aftertaste from the sweeteners.

Overall, Stiller’s Soda is like soda with the volume turned down. There’s no apple-cider-vinegar funkiness like some gut-focused brands have, and it’s sweeter and more flavorful than sparkling water. However, you’ll taste that it’s not made purely with cane sugar, and if you like a lot of carbonation, you’ll find that those “billions of bubbles” the ad promises don’t take long to pop.

Where can you buy Stiller’s Soda?

If you live in the New York City area, you can find Stiller’s Soda at select retailers. (I was able to find all three flavors stocked at a grocery store in my neighborhood for $3 each.) Otherwise, you can order them on Amazon.