SodaStream has provided customers around the world with the ability to make their own carbonated soda drinks within their homes.
At this point in time, they have multiple flavor options to select from, and the devices to create the soda have become increasingly more affordable.
As the company has gained rapid popularity, ever since its introduction of Daniel Birnbaum as the company’s CEO, Sodastream products have infiltrated the homes of customers at large.
Sure enough, one begins to wonder about the details of this once subtle company, and how exactly they came to be.
One simple question would be:
(check our my Sodastream Models ultimate guide here)
As of right now, the company that owns SodaStream is PepsiCo. The company has experienced a wide range of upper-level management and has shifted responsibilities around a good bit in the past, which gives it its rich history.
PepsiCo, as you may know, owns several other famous brands, such as Lay’s, Doritos, Mountain Dew, Ruffles, and much more.
Sure enough, with their purchase of SodaStream, they believe that the future of soda lies with people making it themselves in their homes.
SodaStream has quite an interesting backstory, consisting of multiple changes of shifts of development and operations.
You can also read more about the PepsiCo acquisition of SodaStream here.
Who knew sodastream company could be so interesting?
The History Of soda stream company
Who owns soda stream?
Surprisingly enough, SodaStream’s initial start-up story dates way back to 1903, when a man from London named Guy Hugh Gilbey created an ‘apparatus for aerating liquids’. He is the actual sodastream owner.
Hilbey had been a part-owner of the London-based gin distillery company, W&A Gilbey LTD when he began to shift his focus onto creating flavored concentrates.
At the time, the aerated liquid drinks created by Gilbey, along with the flavored concentrates, were a luxury known only to upper class royal households within Britain.
Gilbey had specifically kept the product as a high-class commodity.
Sodastream parent company
Who makes sodastream?
By the year 1955, the first aerating liquid machine for home use had become available, and from thereon, customers have been able to make soda within the comfort of their own homes.
Initially, SodaStream machine sales made their mark widely in the United Kingdom, as well as other parts of the world concurrently, such as in New Zealand, Germany, and Australia.
Soon enough, the old slogan “Get busy with the fizzy” had become widely known, after it appeared as a jingle in the late ’70s and in tv commercials in the ’80s.
SodaStream UK Commercial Summer of 1980
Major changes to the company and their public presence would begin to fall in place after SodaStream was purchased in 1998 by Soda-Club, an Israel based company.
The company began to focus on healthier drinks and different means of operation.
In 2007, SodaStream was bought by Fortissimo Capital, an Israeli private equity firm, who then asked Daniel Birnbaum to step up as their CEO becoming the soda stream owner.
With this purchase and the appointment of Daniel Birnbaum as the CEO, the company had been, for lack of a better term, defibrillated.
The new purchase and new management were able to breathe some life into the company.
With Birnbaum as the new CEO, the company had essentially rebranded itself as a fizzy water company that offered healthier soda alternatives than those sold by big soda brands. By the year 2010, SodaStream had begun listing shares on the NASDAQ.
Some years later, PepsiCo would purchase SodaStream for a very hefty amount of money …
PepsiCo’s Purchase Of SodaStream
Does pepsi own sodastream?
CNBC coverage: Pepsico to buy Sodastream for $3.2 billion
With the biggest soda company in the world now owning the fastest-growing home soda maker, things were being set on the right path for booming sales.
With this purchase, SodaStream now has access to PepsiCo’s resources and fan base.
The two companies wanted to continue to build upon the healthier alternatives that were the main focus of Soda-Club’s purchase of SodaStream back in 1998.
In the past, CEO Daniel Birnbaum has stated his dissatisfaction with the soft-drink and bottled water industry and has since made efforts to market SodaStream as an at-home seltzer maker, which has proved to work very efficiently in terms of sales and popularity.
Back in 2016, SodaStream’s stock price had fallen to a mere $13 per share.
Since then, it has gained over 84% of its value. Soon enough after PepsiCo’s purchase, they were nearly doubling Wall Street’s estimates on their quarterly profits.
The main success of PepsiCo’s purchase of SodaStream came with their willingness to shift focus onto seltzer beverages, after taking notice that consumer wants towards soft drinks began to fluctuate over time.
PepsiCo’s dive into other soft-drink and water-based beverages are further highlighted by their line of Bubly sparkling water, as well as their bottled water LIFEWTR.
Is SodaStream An Ethical Company?
The biggest point they have tried to make over the course of the past twenty years is how an at-home soda and seltzer maker can save families from wasting thousands upon thousands of plastic bottles each every few years.
SodaStream has partnered with several companies, services, and people over the years to bring awareness to environmental issues, with a large focus on waste and plastic bottle reduction.
SodaStream faced controversy back in 2015 when they were under pressure from Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) activists who had not wanted their operations to take place in the West Bank.
BDS activists launched their campaign to put pressure on Israel to end their occupation of the West Bank and other areas, and saw the operations of SodaStream in this area as an infringement upon the intentions of the campaign.
Activists saw the Israeli occupation as an infringement upon the rights of Palestinians living in these areas.
CEO Daniel Birnbaum would go on to defend his company, stating that they provide Palestanians with “respectable employment opportunities and an appropriate salary and benefits”.
He points out that the factories are apolitical, and do not take certain sides on most matters.
The controversy forced SodaStream to close down its factory in Ma’ale Adumim and move to a new one in Lehavim.
Ultimately, the controversy did not end up having much of an impact on the company or its sales, and things returned to normal soon after.
So, depending on which angle you look at them from, SodaStream can certainly be viewed as an ethical company, especially in terms of environmental sustainability.
What Company Owns PepsiCo?
Since then, PepsiCo has been able to expand to unprecedented areas, and take control of companies that, to this day, many people are still not aware that PepsiCo owns.
Considering the size and extent of the company, it would be hard to believe that there was another company that is in charge of and owns PepsiCo itself.
This assumption is true, seeing that no other company owns PepsiCo. PepsiCo is run by itself and extends its operations to various other companies in the world.
What Company Owns Bubly?
As a result of this, PepsiCo eventually announced the introduction of Bubly, great-tasting sparkling water that is now widely available.
Bubly has various popular flavors that give it a competitive advantage over other sparkling water companies.
The flavors used are a culmination of the great flavors PepsiCo has supplied for the past 50+ years.
Conclusion
These two changes, in conjunction, had taken SodaStream r sparkling water makers to levels that were previously thought to be unreachable.
Now, customers around the world are enjoying soda and fizzy drinks or seltzer beverages from beverage companies, with great flavors, made right in the comfort of their homes.
Have a look at my SodaStream Kit bag for ideas on how to max some amazing flavors at home
I’m the owner and blogger here at SodaPopCraft.Com. I’m a soft drinks enthusiast, bringing you all I know and research from the world of Beverages, Soda Pop, Soft Drinks, and many more.
I hope it inspires you to make Healthier, and Creative Drinks at Home.
Read more About Me here & Tweet Me Here.