Updated July 2026 · Prices verified at publication, check current price before buying

SkyPop Protein Soda Review: The Can Changed, the Reviews Did Not

Note, August 2026: this review used to be about a different can

We published this page about Don't Quit! Protein Soda, Jake Steinfeld's "Body by Jake" brand, at 15 grams of whey per 12 ounce can. In early 2026 the brand rebranded to SkyPop and reformulated at the same time: 10 grams of whey, 45 calories, zero sugar. Trade coverage of the relaunch described it as easing down protein, calories and shelf price deliberately, to move the can out of the nutrition aisle and into the modern soda set. The Don't Quit! name is not gone from the world, the company still sells Clean Sports Protein Shakes under it, but the soda you can buy today is SkyPop and it is not the can this review originally judged.

We have rewritten the numbers and left the old verdicts clearly labelled as historical, because they are still the only published testing that exists on anything in this brand family.

The Strategy: Taste First, Grams Second

The soda line makes the opposite bet from Bucked Up. Instead of maxing protein it now caps at 10 grams, and spends its effort making the can taste like the sodas people actually miss: root beer, orange, grape. No caffeine, zero sugar, 45 calories. The rebrand added three flavors that lean further from the old lineup, Ice Pop, Strawberry Cotton Candy and Peaches & Cream, which is a different bet from the original four classics.

Published testing said the bet paid off, on the old can. Every verdict in this paragraph is about Don't Quit! at 15 grams, not SkyPop at 10. Tasting Table put Don't Quit! Root Beer at number one of eleven protein sodas, writing that it could swap with any sugar-free root beer unnoticed, with no fake-sweetener aftertaste. The Orange took fourth and was described as a dead ringer for classic orange soda. The Grape landed mid-pack there and got 6.5 out of 10 from Sporked, which compared it to fizzy Welch's with the tannic dryness working in its favor. Fruit Punch was the runt of the litter, tenth of eleven at Tasting Table, more energy-drink-vague than soda.

How much of that survives a reformulation is an open question and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Cutting protein usually makes a clear soda easier to get right, not harder, because whey is the ingredient that fights the carbonation and leaves the aftertaste. That is a reason for optimism, not evidence. We could find no published blind test of SkyPop. If you buy on the strength of the old reviews, know that is what you are doing.

The Honest Trade-Off

10 grams is a snack, not a meal, and it is a third less than the can this page used to recommend. If your target is 30 to 40 grams post workout, this is a quarter of a serving and you will pay soda prices four times. The right frame: SkyPop is a soda replacement that happens to carry protein, not a protein delivery vehicle. Judged that way, roughly 4.4 grams per dollar while actually enjoying the drink is still better math than Barebells (~3.3) or Waay (~3), both of which are also 10 grams and cost more per can. Judged as protein, Bucked Up does it at 7.5.

Who Should Buy It