Kombucha or soda? On the shelf they sit inches apart, but they are not really the same drink. Here is the honest comparison, sugar and all, with no spin in either direction.
The regular soda
Full-sugar soda tastes good. There is a reason it has been a hit for a hundred years. The catch is the sugar. A regular cola is around 10g per 100ml, so a 330ml can is roughly 35g, give or take nine teaspoons. Nothing sinister about that. It is just a lot of sugar for one drink, and more than most people clock while they are drinking it.
The diet, light and zero versions
So the industry built the zero-sugar versions, and on paper they look like the sensible pick. Zero sugar, zero calories, a cooler-toned label and a clear conscience. But the sugar has not vanished. It has been swapped for artificial sweeteners, usually aspartame, sucralose or acesulfame K. That is the trade you are actually making: you lose the sugar and you gain a sweetener made in a lab. Whether that is a good deal is genuinely up to you. It is also exactly the swap that more shoppers are now refusing, which we covered in what UK drinkers actually want in 2026.
Personally, I would take the full sugar version over the zero sugar versions any day. But that is just me.
Where kombucha comes in
Kombucha is a different animal. It starts as real tea, gets fermented by a live culture, and ends up tangy, fizzy and full of live cultures. Ours, Life Blood, is built to be the drink that does not force the choice between too much sugar and a mouthful of sweetener.
Every can is 3g of sugar per 100ml, for 39 calories. A little real sugar, and no artificial sweeteners standing in for it. The flavour comes from hops, not fruit juice or syrups, so it actually tastes of something. Natural ingredients, gluten-free, vegan. That is the whole spec, and there is nothing on the back of the can we would need to explain to you. If you want the full sugar breakdown, it is here: how much sugar is in kombucha?
And no, we are not a health brand
Here is the part we keep having to say. We never set out to make a ‘functional soda’. We just used real ingredients and kept the sugar low, and apparently that is now enough to get you filed under functional. That says a lot more about the rest of the shelf than it does about us. We are not a health and wellness brand. We just make a really good drink and tell you exactly what is in it.
The common-sense version
Full-sugar soda gives you flavour and a lot of sugar. Zero-sugar soda gives you sweeteners instead. Life Blood is done right to give you a little real sugar, no synthetic swaps, and real flavour from hops. Pick whichever you like. We know which one we would reach for. New to it? The variety pack is a good place to start.
Some people call that health and wellness. We call it common sense.
Keep reading
How much sugar is in kombucha?, what is kombucha?, the top 10 kombucha health claims, put to the test, and what UK drinkers actually want in 2026. Or just try our real kombucha for yourself.
