Over 100 Years of SodaStream

SodaStream came into being in 1903. Giles Gilby invented a carbonation system; it made fizzy water from standard water, and was originally marketed to the upper classes. Different flavours were introduced in the 1920s. Sarsaparilla and cherry ciderette were among the new choices. It enjoyed vast success in the 1970s and 80s, becoming a big hit in countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia.

The company underwent numerous changes in ownership, at one stage even being part of the Cadbury Schweppes empire. 1998 saw the company change hands for the final time when purchased by Soda Club, at that time Israel’s biggest supplier of SodaStream. After Soda Club’s unsuccessful bid to rename the brand from SodaStream to Soda-Club, the name of the brand remained SodaStream.

More recently Soda Club sought to freshen 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 being a healthy alternative to fizzy, sugar-rich drinks such as Coca Cola and Pepsi.

In basic terms, 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 works by forcing co2 into a water-filled bottle suitable for pressurising. The co2 turns the water into sparkling (carbonated) 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, so there is essentially no difference between it and normal water.

SodaStream have made much of their environmental and health credentials, going so far as to claim that every single litre bottle of SodaStream made saves three aluminum cans. The result is that over a 3 year span, a family of four could slash their soft-drink-related packaging usage by over 90%. This is a big claim, one that should stand them in good stead in this environmentally conscious age. Clearly, Sodastream has developed into a realistic alternative to the big players in the soft drink world.