Business Longevity: SodaStream’s History
Someone has well said that the two most important rules of business are: 1) Stay in business; and, 2) Don’t forget rule number one. You cannot meet the needs of your market if your business fails. A good way to learn lessons about staying in business is to study those who have done it.
In 1903, SodaStream was introduced. Giles Gilby invented a carbonation system; it made fizzy water from standard water, and was originally intended for the upper classes. In the 1920s, a variety of flavours were introduced. Cherry ciderette and sarsaparilla were two of these. In the 1970s and 80s it enjoyed vast success, becoming a big hit in countries such as Australia, the UK, and Germany.
The company underwent numerous changes in ownership, at one stage even being part of the Cadbury Schweppes empire. 1998 was the year the company changed hands for the final time when purchased by Soda Club, which at that time was Israel’s biggest supplier of SodaStream. SodaStream remained the name of the brand after Soda Club’s unsuccessful bid to change the brand from SodaStream to Soda-Club.
More recently Soda Club sought to renew the SodaStream brand. Focusing on the health and diet issues that are so prevalent in this day and age, SodaStream was relaunched with a new machine and many new flavours, concentrating on offering a healthy alternative to fizzy, sugar-rich drinks such as Coca Cola and Pepsi.
Basically, the SodaStream product is a home carbonation kit, which allows you to change water into sparkling water, as well as allowing you to add low-calorie flavours such as cola and orange. A large assortment of calorie-free flavours to flavour sparkling water to great taste is sold at allfreightfree.com.
The SodaStream machine process forces co2 into a bottle suitable for pressurising and which is filled with water. The co2 turns the water into carbonated (sparkling) water. This process (dissolving co2) is what we call carbonation. The carbonated water can then be drunk on its own as sparkling water, or mixed with flavours to create tasty, healthy treats. Once the co2 canisters have been used up they can be sent back to Soda-Club who recycle the canisters by refilling them with co2 then sending them back out.
Regarding actual health and diet benefits gained from drinking SodaStream, the company claims that all their flavours are completely sugar-free and contain a maximum of 2 calories per 100ml; this is, assuredly, good news for every parent concerned about a child’s diet.
The SodaStream machine adds only co2 to the water, meaning it does not have the added sugar that some bottled sparkling water contains; consequently, there is little, if any, difference from normal water.
SodaStream have made much of their environmental and health credentials, going so far as to say that every single litre bottle of SodaStream made saves three aluminum cans. This means that over 3 years, a family of four could slash their soft-drink-related packaging usage by over 90%. This is a significant claim, one that should stand them in good stead in this environmentally conscious age. It is clear that Sodastream has developed into a viable alternative to the big players in the soft drink world.
Every year thousands of new businesses are started, and thousands of others are closed. By studying businesses like SodaStream we can identify qualities and strategies that might help our own businesses survive.
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