NEW YORK— SodaStream’s focus on highlighting the benefits of making sparkling water at home as part of a healthy lifestyle has helped push global sales higher through the first half of the company’s current fiscal year.
However, the challenge that continues to face the company is expanding sales in its Americas division, one of four geographic segments SodaStream uses to track sales.
For example, in the second quarter ended June 30, the company reported total sales in the Americas of $28.1 million, an increase of 8.3% when compared to the second quarter of 2016. The total, however, accounted for less than 25% of SodaStream’s total quarterly sales.
Western Europe continues to be the company’s top selling region as sales in the quarter grew 9.7% to $81.6 million.
But Doug Pritchard, president of SodaStream’s North America division, feels the company’s continued success in Europe could provide insight as it looks for ways to expand its sales in the U.S.
“The key to our Europe market was highlighting SodaStream as a convenient way to get sparkling water, which is the beverage of choice,” he told HOMEWORLD BUSINESS®. “There, we have to position SodaStream as the smart alternative to schlepping bottles of sparkling water home from the supermarket.”
With an eye toward the success the company has enjoyed in Europe, Soda- Stream in the U.S. over the past several years has shifted from positioning itself as a home soda maker to a product that is now marketed as a home solution for making healthy beverages.
“Now, we focus on healthy sparkling water in the U.S. and being a way for consumers to embrace tap water,” Pritchard said. “They are hearing our message and are driving strong growth in this market.”
The focus on water can also be seen in the company’s sales figures. During the second quarter, SodaStream sold 8.3 million CO2 refills, an increase of 9.8%, with sales of its flavors dropping 10.6%.
While the company is focused on pushing a message of making healthy beverages at home, recent marketing efforts from SodaStream have also focused on the convenience the appliance offers. A recently announced advertising campaign featuring television stars Mayim Bialik of The Big Bang Theory and Kristian Nairn of Game of Thrones focused on what the company said are the environmental benefits of the home beverage maker, most notably a reduction in using plastic water bottles.
“We pride ourselves on pushing the advertising boundaries in a creative and disruptive way compared to the beverage giants,” Pritchard said. “We are generating mass awareness about our environmental message and brand by being bold and edgy with our global content strategy.”
While the marketing effort is focused on putting the SodaStream brand in front of more consumers, company officials said they also continue to look for opportunities to allow the end user to interact with the brand.
“When people see and use the machine to turn ordinary tap water into sparkling water, they love it,” he said. “The challenge is to get consumers to see the product in action and understand just how simple it is to use.”
When looking at the remainder of the year, Pritchard offered little in the way of details on promotional plans as the fourth quarter approaches or what might be in the works in terms of new products. He did note the availability of Aqua Fizz, which was first announced earlier this year, that provides the company a brand that is purely focused on the premium sparkling water segment, along with the Fruit Drops line of natural fruit essences that can be added to sparkling water.
As for promotional efforts, he added, “The goal heading into the fourth quarter is consumer awareness, so that when consumers think of the perfect gift, they think of SodaStream.”