Is soda pop over? Pepsi buys seltzer maker SodaStream

PepsiCo is betting big on Americans’ love affair with seltzer.

Six months after launching its own sparkling water brand, Bubly, the cola giant said Monday that it is buying SodaStream International, the Israeli company behind the do-it-yourself soda maker, for US$3.2 billion.

Seltzer sales have grown rapidly in recent years, as brands like La Croix, Topo Chico and Polar become household names. Much of the appeal, consumers say, is that the no-calorie, nosugar drinks offer a healthful alternative to traditional sodas and diet drinks. And there is no shortage of options, as companies race to add alcohol, caffeine, even bacon flavouring to fizzy waters.

“Americans have been drinking seltzer for over a century, but we’ve hit a tipping point,” said Barry Joseph, author of the book “Seltzertopia: The extraordinary story of an ordinary drink.” “Seltzer isn’t just a beverage anymore, it’s become a lifestyle choice.”

Much of that, he said, is thanks to the skyrocketing popularity of La Croix, which in the past decade has reinvented itself “from a drink for Midwestern soccer moms to a hip, cool drink for millennials.”

“Consumers still like bubbles, they want carbonation, but they want it in a healthier product,” Gary Hemphill, the managing director of research for Beverage Marketing Corp., said in 2015. “Those products really fit where the consumer wants to be.”