Coca-Cola opens frontal assault on SodaStream

First home tap by the end of the year?

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is one of the largest American distributors for home drink appliances and gets 90 % of its turnover out of Keurig-branded appliances. Just like Nespresso, it uses ‘cups’ and serves mainly coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The group has also signed a collaboration with Campbell Soup.

Cold carbonated drinks were not in the array of products so far, but the deal with the Coca-Cola Company should change that soon. The soda giant from Atlanta paid 1,25 billion dollar (almost one billion euro) for a 10 % stake in Green Mountain and aims to get a ‘Keurig Cold’ out of the door by fall. Green Mountain itself is talking about ‘fiscal year 2015’ (which starts September 2014).

SodaStream competition

Analysts consider this remarkable initiative as an important switch in Coca-Cola’s strategy, maybe even a ‘game-changer’. The soda market has been slipping for years and Coca-Cola is hoping to boost consumption by moving into people’s homes.

The move also means a Coca-Cola Company’s frontal attack on SodaStream, the worldwide market leader with 7 million units sold in the DIY soda machines branch – a second blow in one week for SodaStream, after Fox refused to air a Scarlett Johansson Superbowl ad. The actress mocked the competition at the end of the ad, saying “Sorry, Coke & Pepsi”.

Juicy detail: last summer PepsiCo was rumoured to have an eye on SodaStream, but that rumour was quickly denied. Maybe the Coca-Cola / Green Mountain deal can still push them into each other’s arms…