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DUBAI / GULF TIME
HalaPop, the Middle East’s first prebiotic soda, has officially launched in the UAE, creating an entirely new category in the regional soft drinks market. Founded in Dubai by young entrepreneurs Karim Jalloul and Walid Antabli, the homegrown brand was built on a single conviction: that a soda can taste every bit as good as the one people grew up with, while genuinely supporting their gut. HalaPop arrives in five flavors: Pomegranate Hibiscus, Strawberry Vanilla, Tangerine, Ginger Lemon, and Cherry Cola, each crafted to deliver indulgence and benefit in equal measure. This is a feel-good soda, made locally for the region.
The launch comes at a defining moment for the category. Across the region, wellness has shifted from a passing trend to an everyday way of life, and consumers increasingly expect the products they reach for to work as hard for their health as they do for their taste. A cold, crisp can on the go has become one of the simplest pleasures of the day, and HalaPop has been designed precisely for that occasion. Every can is made with 15% real fruit juice and 6g of prebiotic fiber to support gut health, with no added sugar, only 29 calories, and none of the preservatives, artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners found in conventional soft drinks. The result is a soda that satisfies the craving, looks after the gut, and removes the guilt entirely.
“We were tired of putting down a soda and feeling like we’d done something wrong,” says Karim Jalloul, Co-Founder of HalaPop. “So we asked a pretty simple question: why can’t a soda just be good for you? HalaPop is our answer, and the fact that we built it here in the UAE means everything to us.”
The market responded swiftly. HalaPop sold through its entire opening stock and exceeded its launch forecast within a demanding launch window, and it now ranks as the number one bestseller in the soda category on Amazon UAE. Noon has described it as one of its strongest CPG launches to date. The brand has since signed Emirates Snack Foods (ESF) as its official UAE distributor and raised over $1 million, with a strategic anchor investor on board.
“We didn’t set out to launch a product. We set out to start a category and to prove it could be built from this region instead of imported into it,” says Walid Antabli, Co-Founder of HalaPop. “Selling out and topping the charts within weeks told us people were ready. They just needed something genuinely worth reaching for.”
Priced at under 10 AED a can, HalaPop is both accessible and increasingly easy to find. It is available now on Amazon UAE, Noon and Noon Minutes, Careem, Talabat, Calo, Joga, and Fit Republik, as well as at select premium retail and wellness venues across the country. From next week, the brand will roll out across Spinneys, Carrefour, and all q-commerce platforms, with a full UAE rollout and expansion into Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC underway over the next six months.
Beyond the can, HalaPop has been building partnerships with some of the region’s most recognized names. Leading the line-up is a playful can takeover with Benefit Cosmetics, which brings the beauty brand’s signature personality to a limited-run HalaPop can, alongside a collaboration with Pret a Manger that places soda within easy reach of the daily lunch crowd. Further partnerships across the beauty and F&B sectors are scheduled to follow, each introducing HalaPop, and its better-for-you, gut-friendly proposition to new audiences.
For HalaPop, the launch marks only the beginning. As the brand scales across the UAE and beyond, its ambition remains clear; to demonstrate that the region can build world-class consumer brands of its own, one sip at a time.
HalaPop is available now at drinkhalapop.com and across leading delivery and retail platforms in the UAE. Follow @drinkhalapopon Instagram and across social for new flavors, drops, and collaborations.