Sodastream has enjoyed an uncontested spot as top dog in the DIY carbonation game for a couple years now, but a new deal between Coca Cola and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters – the company behind Keurig single-serving coffee machines – might mean they’ll have some competition in the near future.
Green Mountain announced today in a press release that Coca Cola has picked up a 10 percent stake in the company, along with an agreement that gives Green Mountain access to the “Coca Cola Company’s global brand portfolio” for Keurig Cold – a DIY carbonated beverage dispenser that doesn’t exist yet, but will likely be a direct competitor to the Sodastream system when it’s released.
“With The Coca-Cola Company as a global strategic partner in our multi-brand at-home Keurig Cold beverage system,” said Green Mountain CEO Brian Kelley in a statement, “we believe there is significant opportunity to premiumize (sic) and accelerate growth in the cold beverage category by empowering consumers with an innovative, convenient way to freshly prepare their favorite cold beverages at the push of a button.”
Coke’s CEO Muhtar Kent added, “Pairing The Coca-Cola Company’s brand leadership and global footprint with GMCR’s innovative technology, together we will be able to capitalize on the many exciting growth opportunities in the single-serve, pod-based segment of the cold beverage industry.”
This means war. At this point, Sodastream offers a wide array of different flavors, and has even established a few partnerships with companies like Ocean Spray and Crystal Light, but hasn’t been successful at attracting major soda brands like Coke or Pepsi to jump on board. Now that Keurig has locked down this deal, it not only has access to Coke’s closely-guarded Cola recipe (and, possibly, Bill Cosby’s secret sweater collection), but also to all of the other popular drinks Coke produces, like Sprite, Barq’s, Dr. Pepper, and Fanta.
Of course, SodaStream could always pursue a relationship with Pepsi to stay competitive in the future, but given the company’s recent Super Bowl ad, that might be a hard partnership to make.
