Apparently, according to the Ocean Spray release, more than 30% of Ocean Spray cranberry juice drinkers mix their juice with sparkling water when they’re at home, so “the partnership builds on an already familiar consumer behavior.”
The tag team with natural energy drink specialist eBoost, on the other hand, gives sluggish consumers another option to supplement Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ:SODA)’s existing “Energy Drink” varieties — which, curiously enough, includes a cranberry flavor.
According to Jillian Michaels, eBoost’s chief energy officer (not kidding), “eBoost is redefining the energy drink industry with a responsible product that consumers can feel good about drinking.” It’s only logical, then, that coffee-averse homebodies might relish having another bubbly option with Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ:SODA)’s system.
Will it matter?
The question remains: How does this affect SodaStream investors? The stock popped as much as 5% Wednesday but then fell nearly 2% on Thursday, so it’s doubtful the movement was strongly correlated with investor excitement over these deals.
Am I significantly more likely to buy a SodaStream machine now that they’ve added bubbly cranberry juice and new energy drinks to their repertoire? Probably not. After all, I wasn’t swayed when SodaStream signed deals with Breville, Country Time Lemonade, Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB)‘s V8, or Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT)‘s Kool-Aid and Crystal Light.
Even so, I can’t imagine the new flavors will be bad for business, especially with regard to making SodaStream’s solution that much stickier for existing at-home carbonation enthusiasts. In the end, carbonation refills and flavor packs are SodaStream’s bread and butter — the more shelf space the company can command with new flavors, the better.
However, I’ll have to admit that SodaStream’s propensity for creating ban-worthy advertisements certainly has me intrigued. The company has no qualms calling out both The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) by name in an effort to draw attention to the convenience of its own environmentally friendly solution. And that’s not to mention the fact that SodaStream most recently had the guts to do so — or attempt to do so, anyway — in a Super Bowl commercial. Thanks to the viral power of social media and the Internet, SodaStream continues to enjoy the perfect avenue for peddling its controversial wares to win consumers’ affection.
While SodaStream did manage to use that publicity to grow its 2012 revenue 51% year over year to just over $436 million, something tells me Coca-Cola and Pepsi aren’t exactly shaking in their giant boots just yet, especially since the global powerhouses boasted mind-numbingly massive 2012 sales of $48 billion and $65.5 billion, respectively.
The article Can SodaStream Juice Returns With These New Partners? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.
Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and SodaStream and owns shares of PepsiCo and SodaStream.
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