Rise Wellness, a wholly owned subsidiary of USANA Health Sciences (NYSE: USNA), has launched Protein Pop Balance — a lightly carbonated, clear ready-to-drink beverage delivering 15 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and added prebiotics in a zero-sugar format. The product is live now on proteinpop.com and Amazon, with a Target rollout slated for mid-September 2026.
Formulation Breakdown
The functional stack in Protein Pop Balance is a deliberate departure from the brand's higher-protein SKUs. Each can contributes 10 grams of clear whey protein isolate and 5 grams of bovine collagen, for a combined 15-gram protein dose positioned below the 22-gram original Protein Pop and the 30-gram Protein Pop Max. The inclusion of prebiotics and 5 grams of dietary fiber is intended to extend the product's gut-health positioning into a segment increasingly crowded with prebiotic sodas. Sweetness is delivered via a premium stevia leaf extract blend of Rebaudioside A and Rebaudioside M — a combination formulators frequently deploy to round off the bitterness associated with Reb A alone — with no artificial sweeteners, no added sugar, no caffeine, and no gluten.
The clear, sparkling format is a meaningful technical consideration for co-manufacturers and beverage developers: clear whey protein isolate undergoes additional filtration to remove the light-scattering whey components that turn conventional protein drinks opaque, and maintaining clarity in a carbonated, acidic environment requires careful pH management and selection of protein grades with high solubility at low pH. That complexity distinguishes this SKU category from conventional ready-to-drink protein shakes and positions it closer to the functional carbonated soft drink segment now occupied by brands targeting gut health and sports recovery simultaneously.
Portfolio and Channel Context
Protein Pop Balance completes a three-tier architecture for Rise Wellness in the functional RTD space: the original Protein Pop (22g whey isolate, non-carbonated), Protein Pop Max, formerly Protein Pop Plus (30g protein plus bovine collagen, carbonated), and now Balance (15g blended protein, fiber, prebiotics, carbonated). The tiered structure gives retail buyers a planogram-friendly range from everyday refreshment to performance recovery — a commercialization approach that mirrors strategies used by larger beverage ingredient platforms to maximize shelf facings across mass and club channels.
The mid-September Target expansion is commercially significant. Placement in a major mass retailer typically requires compliance with retailer-specific specification sheets, COA documentation, shelf-life validation, and allergen declarations — in this case, the whey and collagen inputs carry dairy and potential bovine-sourcing disclosures that procurement teams and contract manufacturers will need to track across batches. The product launches in four SKUs: Lime Slush, Tropical Pineapple, Watermelon Lime, and Fruit Punch.
For ingredient suppliers, the formulation signals continued demand for clear protein systems and prebiotic fiber blends in carbonated applications. The Reb A/Reb M stevia blend choice also reflects a broader industry move toward next-generation high-purity steviol glycosides that reduce aftertaste at meaningful usage levels in low-pH, carbonated matrices — a formulation challenge that continues to drive R&D investment across the stevia supply chain.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
