SodaStream facts for kids
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Native name
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סודהסטרים
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|---|---|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry |
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| Founded | 1903 England, United Kingdom |
| Founder | Guy Hugh Gilbey |
| Headquarters |
Kfar Saba
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Israel
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Eyal Shohat (CEO) |
| Products | Home carbonation systems |
| Revenue | US$543.37 million (2017) |
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Operating income
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US$81.40 million (2017) |
| US$74.40 million (2017) | |
| Total assets | US$452.73 million (2015) |
| Total equity | US$334.19 million (2015) |
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Number of employees
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1,950 (2015) |
| Parent | PepsiCo, Inc. |
SodaStream International Ltd. is a company that makes machines for your home. These machines let you turn regular water into fizzy, sparkling water. They do this by adding carbon dioxide gas to the water. SodaStream also sells many different kinds of syrups. You can add these syrups to your sparkling water to make your own soft drinks.
The company started in England in 1903. Later, in 1998, it joined with another company called Soda-Club. After this, SodaStream focused on making healthier drinks. In 2010, the company became public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. This meant people could buy shares in the company.
SodaStream's main office is in Kfar Saba, Israel. They have 13 factories around the world. In 2018, PepsiCo bought SodaStream for a lot of money. PepsiCo wanted to offer more options beyond sugary drinks. Since then, SodaStream has started selling PepsiCo drink flavors for its machines.
For a while, SodaStream's main factory was in a place called Mishor Adumim. In 2015, SodaStream moved this factory to Lehavim in Israel.
Contents
How SodaStream Works
The SodaStream Sparkling Water Maker is a device that makes water fizzy. It uses carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, which is stored in a special cylinder. The product comes with the machine, a CO2 cylinder, and reusable bottles.
You fill a bottle with water and put it into the machine. Then, you press a button. This pushes compressed CO2 from the cylinder into the water. This makes the water sparkling and bubbly. You can also add different concentrated syrups. These syrups let you make regular or diet soft drinks after the water is carbonated.
You can create many flavors by adding fruit-flavored syrups. In the past, some famous brands like Tizer and Fanta were available as SodaStream concentrates. SodaStream has also worked with other companies. For example, they partnered with Kraft Foods in 2012. This allowed them to use flavors like Crystal Light and Kool-Aid with SodaStream machines. In 2013, they worked with Ocean Spray for their flavors.
In 2013, SodaStream and Samsung announced something new. Samsung refrigerators with built-in SodaStream dispensers became available. This meant you could get sparkling water right from your fridge!
Making sparkling water at home is usually cheaper than buying bottled soda. In 2015, it cost about 25 cents for a liter of sparkling water. Adding syrup cost about 50 cents more per liter.
SodaStream's History
The idea for a machine to make fizzy drinks started a long time ago. In 1903, Guy Hugh Gilbey created an "apparatus for aerating liquids." This early machine was sold to wealthy families, including the British royal family.
Flavored syrups like cherry ciderette were added in the 1920s. The first machine for making fizzy drinks at home came out in 1955. SodaStream machines became very popular in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s. Many people remember them fondly from that time.
Their famous slogan was "Get busy with the fizzy." This started as a song in 1979. It was so popular that they even added it to their logo! The slogan was used for 17 years before it was changed in 1996.
Company Changes and Growth
In 1985, SodaStream became part of a larger company called Cadbury Schweppes. But SodaStream still ran its own business.
In 1998, an Israeli company called Soda-Club bought SodaStream. Soda-Club was started in 1991 by Peter Wiseburgh. He had been selling SodaStream products in Israel since 1978. When Soda-Club bought SodaStream, it became the biggest supplier of home carbonation systems in the world.
In 2003, Soda-Club closed the SodaStream factory in Peterborough, England. They moved the gas cylinder refilling to Germany. Under Soda-Club's ownership, the SodaStream brand grew a lot. They launched new machines and flavors in many countries.
In 2012, SodaStream worked with designer Yves Béhar. They created the SodaStream Source machines. These machines were designed to be more sustainable and eco-friendly.
Going Public on NASDAQ
SodaStream International Ltd. became a public company in November 2010. This meant its shares were traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange. This was a big step for the company.
At the time, it was one of the biggest stock offerings for an Israeli company on NASDAQ. To celebrate, SodaStream's CEO, Daniel Birnbaum, rang the closing bell at the exchange. By August 2011, SodaStream's value had grown a lot.
In 2012, the company's stock grew quickly. However, in 2013, their earnings were lower than expected. In 2014, the company's stock dropped. This was partly because sales in the United States were going down. More people were choosing healthier, water-based drinks instead of traditional sodas.
Where SodaStream is Sold
SodaStream machines are very popular in some countries. For example, in 2010, about 20% of homes in Sweden owned a SodaStream machine. By 2011, the company had sold a million soda makers in Sweden. Europe makes up 45% of all SodaStream sales.
By 2012, SodaStream products were sold in over 2,900 Walmart stores in the United States. Sales in the U.S. grew from $4.4 million in 2007 to $40 million in 2011. Even with high sales, the company's profits sometimes fell short of goals. SodaStream also sold its products in some Bed Bath & Beyond stores.
Marketing and Environment
SodaStream often talks about how using their machines helps the environment. They highlight that you use tap water and reusable gas cylinders. This helps reduce waste from plastic bottles.
SodaStream has been involved in many environmental projects. These include reducing waste, cleaning beaches, and planting trees.
- In 2011, SodaStream worked with the Israel Union for Environmental Defense. They promoted reducing waste and improving tap water quality.
- Also in 2011, SodaStream launched a campaign with Erin O'Connor. This campaign aimed to raise awareness about plastic bottle waste.
- In 2012, SodaStream donated money to a school in the UK. This helped fund a project to clean beaches.
- SodaStream partnered with Trees for the Future in 2012. For every machine sold from a certain product line, SodaStream promised to plant many trees in Brazil.
- In 2012, SodaStream Italy worked with the city of Venice. They organized a cleanup event to fight bottle waste.
- Actress Rosario Dawson launched "Unbottle the World Day" in 2012. This campaign asked the United Nations to make one day a "Bottle Free Day."
Advertising Campaigns
In 2010, SodaStream started a global campaign. It showed how much waste comes from pre-made bottled drinks. They displayed large cages filled with thousands of empty bottles and cans.
When one of these cages was shown in South Africa, Coca-Cola asked SodaStream to remove its products. Coca-Cola even threatened to sue. SodaStream responded by saying they would display the cage outside Coca-Cola's main office.
A TV commercial for SodaStream was banned in the United Kingdom in 2012. The ad showed soda bottles exploding when someone made a drink with a SodaStream machine. The organization that approves TV ads thought it was unfair to bottled drinks. The same ad was shown in the United States and other countries.
Another SodaStream ad was planned for the Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. This ad showed deliverymen from Coca-Cola and Pepsi reacting to exploding bottles. But CBS rejected it because it directly mentioned Coke and Pepsi. SodaStream's CEO said that even though the ad was banned, it helped the company get a lot of attention.
More recently, SodaStream's 2020 advertising campaign featured famous people. These included Snoop Dogg in the United States and Priyanka in Canada.
Influencer Marketing
Since 2016, SodaStream has also worked with "influencers" on social media. These are people who have many followers online. They help promote SodaStream products to their fans.
Where SodaStream Makes Products
SodaStream has 13 factories around the world. Since 2016, their main factory is in Idan HaNegev Industrial Park in Israel. This factory employs about 1,400 workers. Many of these workers are from the Negev Bedouin community. The factory started operating in 2015.
Another factory in Ashkelon, Israel, started in 2011. It makes SodaStream syrups and flavors. There was also a factory near Afula, Israel, but it closed in 2015 when the Idan HaNegev factory opened.
In Europe, SodaStream has about 250 employees. Their main European center is in Rijen, Netherlands. They also have a factory in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany. SodaStream's main office in the U.S. is in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
See also
In Spanish: SodaStream para niños
- List of Israeli companies
- Economy of Israel
