Holy adds sugar-free sweetness to my water
18.9.2026
Translation: Katherine Martin
I like sweet drinks, but I’m starting to have misgivings about their sugar content. So, although I’m not crazy about zero-sugar alternatives, I find myself drinking them increasingly often. One non-sugary substitute I do really like? The drink powders from Holy, a new addition to the Galaxus range.
Oh, you Monster. Chilling in my fridge for weeks on end, trying to tempt me with your sweetness. I really would love to taste you, but there’s one thing holding me back: the 49 grammes of sugar packed into your can. That’s pretty much the maximum daily amount recommended by the World Health Organisation. Less would obviously be better, though it sort of feels like the opposite is true. In fact, Switzerland’s Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office estimates that we consume about 90 grammes of sugar every day (page in German). So I don’t know when – or if – we’ll ever manage to make it work…you Monster!
Gimme some sugar (or not)
I still like sweet drinks and enjoy trying new ones. If I didn’t, that can of Monster wouldn’t be in my fridge. But the older I get, the more attention I pay to what goes into my body and in what quantity. The prospect of becoming even more overweight and developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes or whatever else excessive sugar consumption may lead to, just doesn’t appeal to me.
Which is why I’ve been drinking Coca-Cola Zero, my wife’s go-to beverage, quite a bit lately. That said, I’m not particularly fond of the aftertaste created by the artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, I feel the same way about a lot of other Zero drinks. The one I think taste best is sugar-free Pepsi, my colleague Reto Hunziker’s current favourite.
Like my fellow editor Stefanie Lechthaler, I’m still on a quest to find my number-one sugar-free sweet drink. And yes, I know a big ol’ glass of cold water is still the healthier option. Don’t worry, I drink plenty of that. But every now and again, I fancy drinking something with a bit of flavour.
Cue these six drink powders from Holy, which were recently added to the Galaxus range. The German startup promises «great flavour with a clear conscience». Alrighty then. I guess I’d better put that claim to the test. How else am I supposed to hold onto my position as the self-proclaimed High Priest of Sugary Drinks? Let’s get stuck in.
Holy Energy
It all started with energy drink powders. According to the manufacturer, they contain 100 per cent natural fruit flavours and colours, vitamins, green tea extract and microencapsulated caffeine, which provides a slow-release, long-lasting effect. The drinks are sweetened with acesulfame K and sucralose.
Unlike many other energy drinks, they don’t contain taurine or sugar, and they’re uncarbonated (unless you mix them with sparkling water). Sugar does appear on the nutrition label, but that’s down to the flavourings and other ingredients. Holy recommends using half a litre of water to mix one seven-gramme powder serving. In that, there’s half a gramme of sugar. It makes me shudder to think of that can of Monster and its almost 50 grammes…
Right, time to get tasting!
Cherry Cheetah
I love cherries. Being from Fricktal, where the best cherries come from (that’s not up for debate!), I was probably born with a taste for them. Unfortunately, there’s no chance of me using a superlative to describe Holy’s cherry energy drink. The unpleasantness begins when I tear open the pouch, the odour of the powder assaulting my nostrils. It has a pungent, almost poisonous stench that strongly resembles booze. Or, as my wife put it, puked-up booze.
Once I mix the powder with water, the smell becomes slightly less unpleasant, but that boozy whiff lingers until the very last sip. Taste-wise, Cherry Cheetah is okay. I can tell that it’s cherry flavoured, albeit not Fricktal cherry flavoured. It’s just a shame it smells so awful. With that in mind, I can only award the drink two out of five possible lollipops.
🍭🍭
Raspberry Raptor
This time, there are no nasty surprises in store for my nose. Quite the opposite, in fact. Holy’s Raspberry Raptor drink actually conjures up childhood memories of Tiki candies for me. It smells and tastes like raspberries. I like!
🍭🍭🍭🍭
Holy Hydration
Although the Holy Hydration line contains natural fruit flavours too, it differs from the energy drink range. According to Holy, its caffeine-free hydration powders contain real coconut water, goji berry juice, electrolytes and minerals. If you’d prefer your drinks to be fizzy, you’ll need to mix Holy Hydration with carbonated water. Despite the powder containing no added sugar, a half-litre serving of one of these drinks contains 0.7 grammes of it. The drinks are sweetened by steviol glycosides from stevia and sucralose.
Holy’s Hydration line is targeted at athletes. Not exactly a label I’d use to describe myself, even if I do move my body every now and again. Still, I’ve set out to try my way through the Holy range – so that’s what I’ll do. It’s all about the taste, after all. Besides, I do need to make sure my body stays properly hydrated, regardless of whether I’m exercising or not.
Strawberry Kiwi
Whether it’s in jams or desserts, these two fruits go well together. And the same goes for Holy’s powder. The drink is tasty, creating a nice balance between sweet and sour. There’s no doubt that strawberry is the dominant flavour, but my taste buds still detect a hint of kiwi. Despite being strawberry-heavy in flavour, the powder is green. Corrective justice? Either way, I can’t get enough of it.
🍭🍭🍭🍭
Coconut
Ah, here it is – my most feared opponent. I like coconut when, say, it’s used to replace ground hazelnuts in a tart. However, the line between liking it and finding it repulsive is very thin. If it smells too strong, I immediately turn my nose up at it.
Which is exactly what happens with the Coconut Holy powder. Although the smell alone is overpowering enough, I take a sip of the drink – and quickly throw in the towel. It’s too tart for my liking, but more importantly, it’s way too coconutty. The flavour is so strong that it smothers anything else I try to mix it with.
Yuck! Not for me. But hey, does anyone else fancy trying some? If so, I’ve got a few packets of Coconut Hydration going spare…
🍭
White Peach
After that coconutty nightmare, I’m in dire need of something good. White Peach certainly sounds promising. Fruit-wise, I like yellow peaches slightly better than white ones because they’re zingier and more flavourful. As a result, the drink isn’t quite as peachy or as tart as it could be. That said, it’s still tasty and enjoyable to drink. Lovely stuff!
Hear that, Holy? If so, please get cracking on a yellow peach variety!
🍭🍭🍭🍭
Lemon
Here it is, my top pick. By saying that, I’m admitting I’m just as boring as people who love vanilla ice cream. But, come on. Lemon is the quintessential beverage flavour, be it in iced tea or other sports drinks like Isostar. Holy has got everything right with its lemon variety. The drink tastes sweet and wonderfully lemony, with a pleasant tartness and a slightly bitter finish. Exactly how it should be done. More please!
🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭
The Holy Grail of sugar-free sweet drinks?
I like Holy. Or at least, I like two thirds of the Holy flavours in the Galaxus range at the moment. As with many things, this is all a matter of taste. That said, I really appreciate that the sweeteners in the drinks don’t leave an unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth. The topic of sweeteners, however, is a real can of worms these days. Are they healthy? Or might they actually be harmful? One thing’s for certain: there’s not much we can be certain about (linked article in German). In many areas, there just isn’t enough research on the issue.
However, according to food researchers such as Stefan Kabisch from the Charité hospital in Berlin, sweeteners are highly likely to be better for you than sugar. The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) figures set by the European Food Safety Authority might be even more reassuring on this point. These upper daily limits specify the quantities of sweetener considered safe. To hit these levels by drinking Holy, you’d have to consume huge amounts. An unrealistic amount, according to Kabisch.
People have also criticised Holy energy drinks for the amount of caffeine they contain. Austria’s consumer association, «Verein für Konsumenteninformation» (VKI), pointed this out in 2024 (page in German). In 2026, the organisation repeated its warnings after Holy powder caused caffeine poisoning in a 10-year-old child (page in German). According to the VKI, one serving of powder contains the same amount of caffeine (160 milligrammes) as two cans of Red Bull. The boy and his friends had consumed between four and seven servings of the drink. Holy specifies the powder’s caffeine content on the packet, adding that children and pregnant women should avoid it. The VKI, however, says these warning labels are printed in too small a font.
I think we can all agree that caffeinated products aren’t suitable for kids. I’m not sure whether a larger warning label would help with that. Instead, maybe it’d be useful if the drink powder’s packaging were more understated. The popping colours on the packets would’ve drawn me in when I was a kid too.
I’m not a kid anymore – I’m a grown-up consumer. Garish colours and aggressive social media advertising tend to put me off rather than entice me. But I gave Holy a chance anyway, and I don’t regret it. If anyone’s feeling the consequences here, it’s my wallet. Yep, Holy is pricey. In Switzerland, a pack of three pouches will set you back about seven quid. If you follow Holy’s serving suggestion, you’ll get about 1.5 litres of drink for that. Since the powders are a little too sweet for my liking, I added more water once I was finished with my official taste test. Using my measurements, you’d get between 2.5 and three litres of drink per pack. But that’s still a pretty hefty price.
Even so, I still plan on treating myself to a pack of Holy once in a while, simply because I like the taste. Especially the lemon variety. Plus, it’s probably healthier than sugary soft drinks like Coca-Cola and whatnot. And it won’t change the fact that water is still the liquid I drink the most. After all, I’m every bit as boring as vanilla ice cream.
Header image: Patrick Vogt
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
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