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SODASTREAM, THE Israeli company whose name has for nearly four decades been synonymous with fizzy drinks, has a new owner.
US drinks giant PepsiCo paid £2.5 billion in cash – a sum that amounts to a 10 per cent premium on its closing Nasdaq price.
The move follows a change of focus for the company which became a household name in the eighties with slogans such as Get busy with the fizzy before switching emphasis to healthier drinks.
It increased its advertising and promotional spend by 18 per cent last year as it sought expansion in the US after making the health advantages, environmental friendliness, and convenience key parts of its marketing strategy.
The days of animated actors eagerly pushing buttons to activate Co2 cartridges to produce instant multi-coloured drinks are long gone. More recent campaigns have featured contemporary characters, such as those from the hit TV show Game of Thrones. The company was even recently confirmed as a “cool” drinks brand by a panel that included the singer Plan B.
CEO Daniel Birnbaum said the buyout marked a milestone in the company’s history.
“It is validation of our mission to bring healthy, convenient and environmentally friendly beverage solutions to consumers around the world,” he said. PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi described the two companies as “an inspired match”, adding: “Daniel and his leadership team have built an extraordinary company that is offering consumers the ability to make greattasting beverages while reducing the amount of waste generated.”
The company can trace its roots to London in 1903, when the Gilbey gin distillery “developed an apparatus for aerating liquids”.
That evolved into the SodaStream machine which took the eighties by storm when the company became a subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes. It moved to Israel in 1991 when it was bought out by its Israel distributor, British immigrant Peter Wiseburgh, and renamed it SodaClub.
In 2007, the Israeli private equity fund, Fortissimo, bought a controlling stake and changed the name back to SodaStream. The company went public on Nasdaq three years later.
But it was not without controversy. It became a target for BDS campaigners because its main factory was in Mishor Adumim in the West Bank. The plant was closed in 2015 and production shifted to the Negev. Its current headquarters are in Lod.
A year earlier, a store owned by the company in Brighton was forced to close after weekly boycott protests and, in a further blow, John Lewis confirmed it would no longer stock SodaStream products due to “declining sales”.
It also irked both Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola by running high profile ad campaigns in the US stressing the environmental damage caused by the plastic bottles of the big drink-makers.
And last year, CBS forced SodaStream to remake its first Super Bowl commercial after facing pressure from Coke and Pepsi. The initial ad directly attacked both companies, which caused a debate about competition fairness.
American actress Scarlett Johansson came under fire by the BDS movement regarding her role as the firm’s first-ever brand ambassador, which included her acting in an ad screened during the SuperBowl. She rejected the criticism and described the firm as “building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine”.
The company estimates that, globally, 12.5 million households use its products, which are sold in 45 countries. It also makes and markets the concentrated flavours they use and has factories in Ashkelon, Afula and ten other locations worldwide.
PepsiCo chief executive Ramon Laguarta told a press conference in Tel Aviv they are committed to keeping production in Israel for at least 15 years.