Sodastream
Encyclopedia
SodaStream is a maker of home carbonation
systems that was invented by Guy Gilbey in 1903. Later versions allowed the addition of concentrates to create carbonated flavoured beverages. It was popular in the 1970s and 1980s when there were a number of brand name syrups available, and, after the company merged with Soda-Club in 1998, it was relaunched with an emphasis on healthier drinks.
Soda-Club is currently headquartered in Israel
, and has 13 production plants.
In the UK (where it was first sold) the SodaStream machine is strongly associated with 1970s/1980s childhood nostalgia.
gas (stored under pressure in a cylinder) into water, making it fizzy. The product includes a machine, a carbon dioxide cylinder, and one or more reusable beverage bottles (suitable for pressurizing). The bottle, filled with water, is threaded onto the machine, and with a button push, compressed CO2 from the cylinder is injected, creating carbonated water
. Varieties of concentrated syrups are available, to create regular or diet soft drinks by adding a small amount of concentrate
to the bottle after carbonation. When a cylinder is empty, it is returned to a supplier and a replacement cylinder is rented.
By using the appropriate variety of concentrate, different flavours of soft drink can be created. During its heyday, several famous brands were available in SodaStream concentrate form including Tizer
, Fanta
, Sunkist
and Irn-Bru
.
Milkstream was a variation on the SodaStream for making milkshakes, created by the same company. The ingredients (milk, ice cream and Crusha
syrup) were mixed in a tall glass and inserted into the machine, so that the wand extended into the glass to froth up the shake.
, welding
, and fire extinguisher
s, and local vendors will refill them at low cost. Sodastream machines are not compatible with these canisters, nor are local CO2 vendors generally permitted to refill Sodastream canisters ("carbonators"), which include a proprietary valve designed to defeat refilling. Additionally, Sodastream does not sell their CO2 canisters to consumers, but only lends them, and expressly limits how they can be used in their User License Certificate. These mechanisms effectively elevate the cost of refilling a tank to 10 to 20 times the going market rate.
In Sweden in 1984, carbonic acid supplier Sydbrand, primarily a supplier of fire equipment, was sued successfully by Sodastream for trademark infringement for refilling Sodastream-labelled CO2 canisters. More recently, in 2006, Sodastream attempted to sue defendants in Germany for re-selling Sodastream's Alco2jet brand canisters on eBay after purchasing them, claiming that the canisters were only lent, not sold. This claim was rejected by the courts.
The forerunner of the machine, the "Apparatus for aerating liquids", was created in 1903 by Guy Hugh Gilbey of the London gin distillers, W & A Gilbey Ltd., and was sold to the upper classes (including the royal household). Flavoured concentrates such as cherry ciderette and sarsaparilla
, were introduced in the 1920s, along with commercial carbonation machines, and the first machine for home carbonation of drinks was produced in 1955.
The SodaStream was originally sold in the UK
, but later spread to other countries, including Australia
, New Zealand
, and Germany
.
SodaStream machines were popular during the 1970s and 1980s in the UK, and are associated with nostalgia for that period. Their slogan, "Get busy with the fizzy", started as an advertising jingle
in 1979 and proved so popular that they added it to their logo. They finally dropped it in 1996 after 17 years, however this was reinstated in 2010 along with a new marketing campaign in the UK.
Although the machines were commercially successful, there was a general perception that some of the soft drinks produced were a poor approximation of their commercial counterparts.
In 1985, after various changes of ownership, SodaStream became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes
, although it operated as an autonomous business within the group.
In 1998 SodaStream was bought by Soda-Club, an Israeli company founded in 1991 by Peter Wiseburgh, who from 1978 to 1991 had been Israel's exclusive distributor for SodaStream, creating the world's largest home carbonation systems supplier. In 2003 Soda-Club closed the SodaStream factory in Peterborough
, moving the company's gas cylinder refilling and refurbishment department to Germany
. Under the ownership of Soda-Club the brand has been relaunched in many markets with new machines, and new flavours, being available in the United States
, The Netherlands, Belgium
, Sweden
, Denmark
, Finland
, Germany
, Italy
, Norway
, Iceland
, Australia
, New Zealand
, Canada
and South Africa
.
Soda-Club still markets its drinks under the SodaStream brand in some countries, its application for the trademark "soda-club" having been successfully opposed in 1998 by Cantrell & Cochrane (Belfast) Ltd, owner of the trademark "club soda".
Instead of the soft-drinks approach of the past several decades, SodaStream today addresses the growing health awareness with a wide range of diet concentrates (sweetened with Splenda
) and is used as much for plain sparkling water as for soft drinks.
In January 2011, Who Profits From Occupation published a report about Sodastream's facility in Mishor Adumim, an Israeli industrial zone in the West Bank
, which is not widely considered Israeli territory. There is controversy about the products being labeled as made in Israel. The report claims labor abuses, the use of land expropriation to benefit SodaStream and other companies, and the deceptive practice of labeling products made in occupied territories as made in Israel. Sodastream's CEO, Daniel Birnbaum, replied that the report is biased, and that SodaStream products sold in Sweden are made in China, not Israel. He added that closing the plant in the West Bank would "do nothing good for the 160 Palestinian families who depend on it for employment". This came on the back of a sizable movement in Sweden, SodaStream's largest selling market, calling on the company to stop doing business in the occupied territories.
In 2010 the European Court of Justice
ruled that its products manufactured in Israeli-occupied territories
were not subject to the preferential import duty treatment as goods manufactured within Israel.
, Israel, with an investment of €30 million in the new factory.
Carbonation
Carbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in water. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which cause the solution to "fizz." This effect is seen in carbonated...
systems that was invented by Guy Gilbey in 1903. Later versions allowed the addition of concentrates to create carbonated flavoured beverages. It was popular in the 1970s and 1980s when there were a number of brand name syrups available, and, after the company merged with Soda-Club in 1998, it was relaunched with an emphasis on healthier drinks.
Soda-Club is currently headquartered in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and has 13 production plants.
In the UK (where it was first sold) the SodaStream machine is strongly associated with 1970s/1980s childhood nostalgia.
Product
The SodaStream drinksmaker is a device which can force carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
gas (stored under pressure in a cylinder) into water, making it fizzy. The product includes a machine, a carbon dioxide cylinder, and one or more reusable beverage bottles (suitable for pressurizing). The bottle, filled with water, is threaded onto the machine, and with a button push, compressed CO2 from the cylinder is injected, creating carbonated water
Carbonated water
Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
. Varieties of concentrated syrups are available, to create regular or diet soft drinks by adding a small amount of concentrate
Concentrate
A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice...
to the bottle after carbonation. When a cylinder is empty, it is returned to a supplier and a replacement cylinder is rented.
By using the appropriate variety of concentrate, different flavours of soft drink can be created. During its heyday, several famous brands were available in SodaStream concentrate form including Tizer
Tizer
Tizer is a red-coloured soft drink sold in the United Kingdom. The name originally comes from the phrase 'Tizer the Appetizer'. It was launched in 1924 by Fred Pickup of Manchester when it was known as 'Pickup's Appetizer'. After the death of Pickup it was owned by the Armour Trust before being...
, Fanta
Fanta
Fanta is a global brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks from the Coca-Cola Company. There are over 90 flavors worldwide. The drink debuted in Germany in 1941 and originally sold only in Europe.-History:...
, Sunkist
Sunkist (soft drink)
Sunkist is a brand of primarily orange flavored soft drinks launched in 1979.Sunkist was first licensed by Sunkist Growers to the General Cinema Corporation, the leading independent bottler of Pepsi-Cola products at the time...
and Irn-Bru
Irn-Bru
Irn-Bru is a carbonated soft drink produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is made by A.G. Barr of Glasgow since moving out of their original Parkhead factory in the mid-1990s and at a second manufacturing site in Mansfield, England...
.
Milkstream was a variation on the SodaStream for making milkshakes, created by the same company. The ingredients (milk, ice cream and Crusha
Crusha
Crusha is a well known brand of milkshake mix sold in the United Kingdom. The brand first appeared in the 1950s and was bought by the sugar processor British Sugar coming under its Silver Spoon retail brand in December 2001....
syrup) were mixed in a tall glass and inserted into the machine, so that the wand extended into the glass to froth up the shake.
Gas provider monopoly
Pressurized carbon dioxide canisters are available to consumers for a variety of applications, including paintballPaintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
, welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
, and fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
s, and local vendors will refill them at low cost. Sodastream machines are not compatible with these canisters, nor are local CO2 vendors generally permitted to refill Sodastream canisters ("carbonators"), which include a proprietary valve designed to defeat refilling. Additionally, Sodastream does not sell their CO2 canisters to consumers, but only lends them, and expressly limits how they can be used in their User License Certificate. These mechanisms effectively elevate the cost of refilling a tank to 10 to 20 times the going market rate.
In Sweden in 1984, carbonic acid supplier Sydbrand, primarily a supplier of fire equipment, was sued successfully by Sodastream for trademark infringement for refilling Sodastream-labelled CO2 canisters. More recently, in 2006, Sodastream attempted to sue defendants in Germany for re-selling Sodastream's Alco2jet brand canisters on eBay after purchasing them, claiming that the canisters were only lent, not sold. This claim was rejected by the courts.
History
Sarsaparilla
is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Central America. Common names include Sarsaparilla , Honduran Sarsaparilla, and Jamaican Sarsaparilla...
, were introduced in the 1920s, along with commercial carbonation machines, and the first machine for home carbonation of drinks was produced in 1955.
The SodaStream was originally sold in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but later spread to other countries, including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
SodaStream machines were popular during the 1970s and 1980s in the UK, and are associated with nostalgia for that period. Their slogan, "Get busy with the fizzy", started as an advertising jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
in 1979 and proved so popular that they added it to their logo. They finally dropped it in 1996 after 17 years, however this was reinstated in 2010 along with a new marketing campaign in the UK.
Although the machines were commercially successful, there was a general perception that some of the soft drinks produced were a poor approximation of their commercial counterparts.
Company
Originally the company operated as a subsidiary of W & A Gilbey, Ltd.In 1985, after various changes of ownership, SodaStream became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury is a confectionery company owned by Kraft Foods and is the industry's second-largest globally after Mars, Incorporated. Headquartered in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom, the company operates in more than 50 countries worldwide....
, although it operated as an autonomous business within the group.
In 1998 SodaStream was bought by Soda-Club, an Israeli company founded in 1991 by Peter Wiseburgh, who from 1978 to 1991 had been Israel's exclusive distributor for SodaStream, creating the world's largest home carbonation systems supplier. In 2003 Soda-Club closed the SodaStream factory in Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, moving the company's gas cylinder refilling and refurbishment department to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Under the ownership of Soda-Club the brand has been relaunched in many markets with new machines, and new flavours, being available in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, The Netherlands, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Soda-Club still markets its drinks under the SodaStream brand in some countries, its application for the trademark "soda-club" having been successfully opposed in 1998 by Cantrell & Cochrane (Belfast) Ltd, owner of the trademark "club soda".
Instead of the soft-drinks approach of the past several decades, SodaStream today addresses the growing health awareness with a wide range of diet concentrates (sweetened with Splenda
Splenda
Splenda is the commercial name and registered trade mark of a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle. Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, in 1976...
) and is used as much for plain sparkling water as for soft drinks.
In January 2011, Who Profits From Occupation published a report about Sodastream's facility in Mishor Adumim, an Israeli industrial zone in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, which is not widely considered Israeli territory. There is controversy about the products being labeled as made in Israel. The report claims labor abuses, the use of land expropriation to benefit SodaStream and other companies, and the deceptive practice of labeling products made in occupied territories as made in Israel. Sodastream's CEO, Daniel Birnbaum, replied that the report is biased, and that SodaStream products sold in Sweden are made in China, not Israel. He added that closing the plant in the West Bank would "do nothing good for the 160 Palestinian families who depend on it for employment". This came on the back of a sizable movement in Sweden, SodaStream's largest selling market, calling on the company to stop doing business in the occupied territories.
In 2010 the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
ruled that its products manufactured in Israeli-occupied territories
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
were not subject to the preferential import duty treatment as goods manufactured within Israel.
Production facilities
SodaStream has 13 production facilities worldwide, including a new one in the Israeli industrial zone of Alon Tavor, that began operation on June, 2011. Another manufacturing facility is being constructed near the Lahavim junction just north of BeershebaBeersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
, Israel, with an investment of €30 million in the new factory.
External links
- http://sodastream.com/
- SodaStream UK advert from 1980 on YouTube
- "Get busy with the fizzy" lyrics