Imli Pop is our tamarind shrub soda, and honestly it started as a love letter to childhood. We made it with Studio Sorted, the Bangalore design studio run by Abhishek Durani and Netra Ajjampur, and together we turned the tangy-sweet memory of roadside imli candy into a clean, fizzy soda. It is built on real fruit and a vinegar shrub, has about 80 calories a bottle, and carries no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. In 2025 the bottle went on to win a Blue Elephant at the Kyoorius Creative Awards, one of the biggest design honours in the country.

Last updated: July 2026

So what exactly is Imli Pop?

Think of it as imli candy, all grown up. It is a shrub soda, which means the fizz sits on a base of fruit steeped in vinegar instead of factory syrup. Every 250 ml bottle is vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, keeps for up to a year at room temperature, and reads cleanly on the back label: tamarind, dry red chili, cumin, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar, organic cane sugar and carbonated water. That is the whole list. Nothing hiding behind a number.

Who is Studio Sorted, and why did we build it with them?

Studio Sorted is a design and branding studio started in Bangalore in 2017 by Abhishek Durani and Netra Ajjampur, both architecture graduates from CEPT University. They have since made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for their work in design and advertising, which tells you something about the company we wanted to keep. We wanted Imli Pop to feel like nostalgia you could actually hold, so we handed the world of the bottle to people who think in stories and illustration. The retro, slightly cheeky packaging you see today is theirs, full of small, deliberate details that nod to growing up in India.

What is this Blue Elephant it won?

The Blue Elephant is the top trophy at the Kyoorius Creative Awards, the one the jury saves for its very best work. Kyoorius is powered by The Clio Awards and judges everything purely on merit, so winning one for packaging illustration meant a great deal to a small drinks brand like ours. It was a quiet, proud moment. A soda about childhood, recognised by the people who set the bar for design in India.

Where does the shrub idea even come from?

Shrubs are old, far older than us. The word comes from the Arabic sharab, meaning "to drink," and vinegar-and-fruit cordials were a kitchen staple long before fridges existed. They faded once refrigeration arrived, then crept back into cafes over the last decade as people looked for something lower in sugar and more interesting than cola. Imli Pop sits right in that revival, just with a very Indian heart.

Is tamarind actually good for you?

Tamarind earns its place beyond the nostalgia. It is rich in polyphenols, flavonoids and vitamin C, the kind of antioxidants that help your body handle everyday wear and tear. Its natural acids and fibre are gentle on digestion, and its seed polysaccharides even behave a bit like a prebiotic. None of that turns a soda into a health tonic, but it does mean Imli Pop starts from a far kinder place than a glass of artificial cola.

How does it stack up against a regular cola?

	Imli Pop shrub soda	Typical cola (250 ml)
Base	Real tamarind and a vinegar shrub	Artificial syrup
Calories	About 80	Around 105 to 110
Preservatives	None	Usually present
Artificial colour or flavour	None	Typically yes
Vegan and gluten-free	Yes	Varies

Where can I buy Imli Pop?

You will find it in about ten minutes on Swiggy Instamart and Zepto across 40+ cities, and online at localfermentco.in with pan-India delivery, free over Rs 1,000. It comes in packs of four. If you fall for it, the rest of the Soduh range is right there waiting, with flavours like Cherry Cola and Raspberry Rush.

A few quick questions we get

What is Imli Pop made of? Tamarind, dry red chili, cumin, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar, organic cane sugar and carbonated water. Seven things, all of them real.

Who designed the Imli Pop bottle? Studio Sorted, the Bangalore studio founded by Abhishek Durani and Netra Ajjampur. The packaging won a Kyoorius Blue Elephant in 2025.

Does Imli Pop have preservatives or alcohol? No to both. It is a clean, non-alcoholic shrub soda.

What does it taste like? Tangy, sweet, a little spiced. Like grown-up imli candy with bubbles.