Healthy bacteria has become somewhat of a trending topic in recent years. Fermented drinks such as kombucha are becoming all the rage, and kefir is one of the cheapest, tastiest products which supports a healthy gut. Many well-known brands in the dairy industry have branched out into producing kefir, making everything from yoghurts to coconut drinks, in every flavour under the sun.
But where do you begin incorporating these healthy grains into your diet? You start with this guide of course! We've compared the benefits, flavours, natural ingredients, price and reviews and chosen the ten best products online. Check out our guide then head on to our recommendations list to find out where to buy them! For this article, we have also partnered with Nutritionist Tara Corbett for reviewing and fact-checking so that we can deliver the best information to our users.
Tara is a nutritionist and energy coach who helps clients to lose weight, improve their eating habits, and get their energy back through better nutrition. She specialises in helping busy parents improve their diets without overwhelming them with information, and get them back on track so that the whole family can benefit.
For those after a quick look, here is our Top 5:
For a more in-depth look at the comprehensive top 10 selection, make sure to read on to learn more about the different types of kefir products available and understand how our ranking was determined.
This article's chosen EC site price listings are reflective of its publishing date.
Image | 1 ![]() The Live Kefir Company | 2 ![]() Biotiful Dairy | 3 ![]() The Live Kefir Company | 4 ![]() Yeo Valley | 5 ![]() The Collective Dairy | 6 ![]() Arla | 7 ![]() The Collective Dairy | 8 ![]() The Collective Dairy | 9 ![]() Biotiful Dairy | 10 ![]() Yeo Valley |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Live Coconut Milk Kefir | Organic Kefir Baked Milk | Live Cows Milk Kefir | Natural Kefir Yoghurt | Mango & Turmeric Kefir Drink | Organic Kefir | Coconut Kefir Drink | Vanilla Kefir Yoghurt | Organic Kefir Cultured Dairy Drink | Mango & Passion Fruit Kefir Yoghurt |
Features | Our Number One Choice of Kefir to Buy in the UK | Ideal for New Kefir Drinkers Thanks to Its Sweet, Mellow Taste | The Local Choice That's Low in Sugar and High in Healthy Cultures | The Perfect Base for Breakfast, Yoghurt Pots, Smoothies or Drinks | A Golden Anti-Inflammatory Drink Flavoured With Sweet Mangoes | If You're Looking for a Substitute for Milk, This Is It | The Creamy, Coconutty Alternative From the Collective Dairy | The Smoothness of Greek Yoghurt With the Benefits of Kefir | Three Key Features: Original, Natural and Organic | Replace the Sour Kefir Taste With Yeo Valley's Exotic Fruit Yoghurt |
Price | £29.50 | £2.60 | £34.50 | £1.50 | £2.25 | £2.60 | £2.25 | £1.50 | £2.70 | £1.50 |
Product | Dairy drink | Dairy drink | Dairy drink | Yoghurt | Dairy drink | Milk substitute | Dairy drink | Yoghurt | Dairy drink | Yoghurt |
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 6+ | 40 | 6+ | 14 | 13 | 6+ | 13 | 13 | 40+ | 14 |
CFU's | Billions | Billions | 50 billion | Billions | Billions | - | Billions | Billions | Billions | Billions |
Sugar per 100 ml | 0.1 g | 3.5 g | 3.4 g | 5.4 g | 6.1 g | 3.9 g | 6.7 g | 7.5 g | 2.8 g | 9.7 g |
Flavour | Coconut | Baked original (others available) | Natural | Natural (others available) | Mango and turmeric (others available) | Natural | Coconut and honey (others available) | Madagascan vanilla (others available) | Natural (others available) | Mango and passionfruit (others available) |
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Kefir is a fermented liquid made from live kefir grains, aka 'live cultures'. These live cultures deliver healthy bacteria to your gut which can help with all sorts of problems including general digestive support, reducing inflammation, improving cholesterol, and aiding overall bone health.
Kefir grains are added to milk, water or coconut milk and left to ferment. The end result is sour, tangy and tart which can take some getting used to! However, there are many ways you can incorporate this power food into your diet, such as blending it into smoothies, pouring it on your cereal or just drinking it straight-up if you like!
The most popular kefir product gracing our supermarket shelves is milk kefir drinks. With a texture similar to a creamy yoghurt drink, they can be enjoyed straight-up or mixed into smoothies or overnight oats. There's an endless variety of flavours from turmeric and mango to berries and hibiscus, so milk kefir drinks are an excellent way to go if you're still getting used to the tangy taste.
The fermenting process of kefir removes most of the lactose in milk anyway, but if you're cutting down on the dairy, then milk alternatives can be even more suitable. The most common alternative to dairy kefir drinks is coconut water, but you can also find other flavoured drinks, both still and sparkling.
If you prefer something a little more substantial than a drink, take a look at the yoghurt selection. The original yoghurts taste somewhat similar to natural yoghurt, but there are a mountain of other exotic flavours available to choose from. Just like regular yoghurt, you can top kefir yoghurt off with fruit and nuts for a nutritious breakfast, or blend it into smoothies to make them extra creamy!
When choosing any kefir product, the key is to understand what you're reading. Labels will often promote the variety and amount of the bacteria in their product, and whilst this is great, it isn't the only number or notion you need to pay attention to.
Firstly, note how it is made as this directly affects the strains. Kefir can be created in one of two ways – with a powdered kefir starter or using live kefir grains. Powdered kefir generally contains around 7-9 strains of bacteria, whereas live grains can contain up to 50. This means they're much richer in probiotics, which is what we want!
Not all strains of bacteria will be beneficial to every person, so it's also important to check the CFUs (colony-forming units). Ideally, you want this claim to be in the billions rather than the millions, which will maximise the number of good bacteria that can reach your gut.
Why not try some other probiotic drinks to improve your gut health?
Kefir is a healthy drink, meant to do your body good, so let's keep it that way! As with any bottled drink or yoghurt, especially the flavoured kind, it's worth scanning the label to find out how much sugar it contains before you buy.
Bottled drinks are notorious for hiding sugar content, so be on the safe side and check the number of grams per 100 ml or 100 grams. To be considered 'low' in sugar content, this figure needs to be below 5 grams. The kefir drink should be avoided or consumed only occasionally if it has over 10g of sugar.
As we've mentioned, the tart and tangy taste of kefir can be a little off-putting for some, but don't worry if you can't stomach it in its natural form – at least not yet, anyway! Since more people have jumped on the fermenting bandwagon, brands have been churning out kefir products in all kinds of flavours from mango and peach to cacao and mint.
Try kefir with one of the nation's favourite breakfast cereals!
This ranking has been compiled by the writing team at mybest UK via careful evaluation of the points made in the buying guide and thorough research of each product and comparing multiple verified customer reviews across the EC sites used.
4 x 500 ml
£29.50
Product | Dairy drink |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 6+ |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 ml | 0.1 g |
Flavour | Coconut |
500 ml
£2.60
Product | Dairy drink |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 40 |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 ml | 3.5 g |
Flavour | Baked original (others available) |
8 x 500 ml
£34.50
Product | Dairy drink |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 6+ |
CFU's | 50 billion |
Sugar per 100 ml | 3.4 g |
Flavour | Natural |
350 g
£1.50
Product | Yoghurt |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 14 |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 g | 5.4 g |
Flavour | Natural (others available) |
500 ml
£2.25
Product | Dairy drink |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 13 |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 ml | 6.1 g |
Flavour | Mango and turmeric (others available) |
1 litre
£2.60
Product | Milk substitute |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 6+ |
CFU's | - |
Sugar per 100 ml | 3.9 g |
Flavour | Natural |
500 ml
£2.25
Product | Dairy drink |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 13 |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 ml | 6.7 g |
Flavour | Coconut and honey (others available) |
450 g
£1.50
Product | Yoghurt |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 13 |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 g | 7.5 g |
Flavour | Madagascan vanilla (others available) |
250 ml
£2.70
Product | Dairy drink |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 40+ |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 ml | 2.8 g |
Flavour | Natural (others available) |
350 g
£1.50
Product | Yoghurt |
---|---|
Live Grains/Powder | Live grains |
Bacteria Strains | 14 |
CFU's | Billions |
Sugar per 100 g | 9.7 g |
Flavour | Mango and passionfruit (others available) |
Kefir contains an incredible variety of vitamins, minerals and probiotics that together have been proven to improve digestive health, as well as have antibacterial properties to help your body fight infections. More recently there have even been studies into its potential to protect our bodies from cancer.
There’s no set amount of kefir that you should drink a day, and everyone's tolerance for it will differ - some will love the taste, while others will need to get used to the tanginess. Therefore, it’s probably best to start off on a cup a day and work up from there.
When stored correctly, kefir should keep its quality for around 2-3 weeks, however, you should also rely on your senses to determine if you’re happy to keep consuming it. Look out for if it smells off or tastes too sour; otherwise look out for separation or mould on the surface of the kefir.
Written and researched by Roxy Pratley
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