Bill Bruce is group editorial director, FoodBev Media. This is a personal blog and views expressed are his own.
What is the future of the soft drinks industry? Well, wouldn’t we all like to know? Is is stevia? Is it liquid flavour enhancers? Is it dispensing caps? No… it’s ‘mix your own’. And each time I sit down to write this blog, the story takes a new and exciting turn.
Some might say that ‘mix your own’ was born with Kraft’s Mio liquid water enhancers back in 2011, or with Coca-Cola’s Freestyle vending unit – but it was The Coca-Cola Company taking first a 10%, then a 16% stake, in Keurig Green Mountain that set the scene for the year’s most exciting story…
Coke’s partnership with Keurig is all about the launch, later this year, of the Keurig Cold system, which will provide consumers with the ability to create a variety of cold beverages – carbonated drinks, enhanced waters, juices, sports drinks and teas – from the comfort of their kitchen – a direct challenge to SodaStream.
And without waiting for the machine to be released, by September last year, Coke was announcing that its Honest Tea brand would be the first to be available in the K-Cup format.
Just a month later, in October last year, PepsiCo announced that it was to pair with SodaStream to test Pepsi-branded drinks in its home soda making systems.
The 10-week test began in selected Florida markets during the first week of November – with five different brands such as Sierra Mist Homemade and Pepsi Homemade in flavour-caps. As I write, the test is nearly over.
If these tests prove successful, it may give Pepsi the lead in the home-made soda system race.
In some ways, the PepsiCo-Sodastream deal makes more sense than the already in motion Coke-Keurig deal – and many observers commented that it may be a forerunner to a minority equity investment – similar to the Coke-Keurig deal. After all, back in February, when the The Coca-Cola Company acquired its first stake in Keurig Green Mountain, shares in SodaStream International rose on speculation that PepsiCo Inc might be interested in buying the Israeli company.
And then, at the start of December, the pressure on SodaStream intensified when Keurig Green Mountain bought the outstanding equity of MDS Global Holding plc (Bevyz) that it did not already own.
Founded in 2004, Bevyz has spent the last decade developing a unique, patented single-portion multi-drink system that dispenses an extensive range of premium tasting hot and cold beverages.
By any definition, Bevyz was a small player, but its system is unique and it had already begun working with some interesting partners, including Cuisinart and, interestingly, PepsiCo.
Months before PepsiCo began the limited test with SodaStream, it had announced its support for Bevyz – with the Bevy machine due to hit US stores in May – at least three months ahead of the Keurig Cold launch.
But what will happen to this idea? Can PepsiCo really continue to back a platform that is now partly owned by its rival The Coca-Cola Company?
But wait, a New Year, a new chapter in this fascinating story… Check out PepsiCo’s single country trial of a new concept: the Drinkfinity personal hydration system, in Brazil.
With the slogan ‘Live with passion. Drink with purpose,’ Drinkfinity is not a packaged beverage, but a reusable bottle with ‘pods’ that can be inserted to add flavour and other ingredients… ‘Mix your own’ on the move…
As AdAge said, ‘To Drinkfinity and beyond’.
The ‘mix your own’ story has only just begun.
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