23 Jun 2020 PepsiCo unveils office-based SodaStream Professional
PepsiCo-owned SodaStream is expanding into the out-of-home sector, and has unveiled SodaStream Professional – a smart dispenser offering customisable beverages and hydration tracking.
The SodaStream Professional beverage platform will be available in the US autumn, and the solution is suitable for workplaces, college campuses, airports and similar locations.
According to PepsiCo, the beverage platform will allow users to choose from a range of unsweetened flavours, carbonation levels and temperatures to create customised beverages.
The platform’s connected ecosystem features both the dispenser and a mobile app. The latter will record their favourite drink combinations, set hydration goals and track how many plastic bottles they’ve ‘saved’ to date.
The official release of the solution follows successful trials at locations such as Ford, Philadelphia International Airport and the University of Rochester, which allowed the company to determine the hydration habits and preferences of users.
SodaStream Professional was developed ‘with the modern consumer in mind’, says PepsiCo “The intuitive user experience and physical look and feel integrates into users’ daily routine, making it easy and exciting to hydrate.
“With a sophisticated and inviting design inspired by contemporary furniture, the platform re-imagines hydration equipment to blend into and enhance the physical environment around it.”
Scott Finlow, chief marketing officer, PepsiCo Foodservice, says: “SodaStream Professional offers a unique way for consumers to personalise great-tasting hydration and reduce single-use packaging at the same time.
“We’re thrilled to bring these hallmarks of the SodaStream brand to channels outside the home for the first time.”
PepsiCo first unveiled its intentions to release a new hydration platform last year, revealing that it was developing both a countertop and freestanding water dispenser, as the company strived to develop its beverage portfolio ‘beyond the bottle’.
PepsiCo acquired SodaStream in 2018 for approximately $3.2-billion, as part of its strategy to shift away from high-sugar soft drinks and the use of single-use plastic.
SodaStream previously operated a business unit called SodaStream Professional prior to its acquisition by PepsiCo. The unit was acquired by Italy’s Bevco Group in 2017, and was subsequently renamed CEM Industries.
SodaStream is one of the key components of PepsiCo’s ‘Beyond the Bottle’ initiative: which focuses on reducing, reusing, recycling and reinventing plastic packaging. By growing the SodaStream business, PepsiCo estimates that 67 billion single-use plastic bottles can be avoided through 2025.
Across the wider beverage business, PepsiCo has set goals to reduce virgin plastic use by 25% by 2025. It has also transitioned its bubly sparkling water brand across to aluminum cans and will move its LIFEWTR bottle packaging to 100% rPET in the US by the end of 2020.
Source: PepsiCo, SodaStream, foodbev.com