Sodastream Adds Kool-Aid to Its Mixed Message Menu

kool-aid sodastreamMake sugary sweet fizzy Kool-Aid drinks at home with Israel’s Sodastream? Company sends mixed environmental message with new deal. 

The home carbonating company Sodastream has entered into a deal with Kool-Aid to provide Kool-Aid flavors to Sodastream’s carbonated water. Sodastream from Israel  is currently in a small war with Coke, and this latest move with Kool-Aid will up the DIY drink possibilities at home, and maybe even take more of a market share from Coke and other soft drink manufacturers.

Sodastream bottles are BPA free, according to the company, and offers a new way to drink carbonated beverages without stacking up thousands of unwanted plastic bottles each year. Sodastream provides gas cannisters and a recharging mechanism that allows people to make their own fizzy drinks at home. Among the flavors that Sodastream sells are cola and orange; the new Kool-Aid deal will make the Sodastream solution more palatable to the masses.

But the business move is certainly not in-line with Sodastream’s environmental agenda. Kool-Aid colorings and sugar is not something that health-conscious parents want to feed to their kids.

I used to own a Sodastream and bought it on a whim, hoping to be able to make soda water every day, while reducing my trash footprint. After the first canister was used up, I found it hard to find replacements even from the store I bought it at. I quickly gave it away to a friend who wanted it. I know many people in Israel who got one as a gift at a wedding and after the first euphoria of using it, the machine sat under the counter collecting dust.

Sodastream is an old company that has revived its business to an international scale using the environmental message as a sales tool. I have to say something about this:

Many people in America are lauding the Sodastream as a way to revolutionize the drinking industry. I say it’s much like a popcorn popper from the past. We all used them in the 80s, but eventually grew tired of the fad when microwave popcorn came along. Then they too went into the trash. Solving the problem of trash and soda consumption? How about refillable glass bottles like in days past? I used to love it when we’d get a delivery from the Pop Shop, with all flavors under the rainbow. It was a real treat that I would look forward to on weekends, making soda consumption something special, not an every day “treat”.

Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloostermanhttp://www.greenprophet.com
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]

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