SodaStream

In 1903, SodaStream was born. Giles Gilby invented a carbonation system which made standard water into fizzy water; it was originally sold to the upper classes. Assorted flavours were introduced in the 1920s. Cherry ciderette and sarsaparilla were among the new choices. In countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia it enjoyed vast success In the 1970s and 80s.

The company underwent numerous changes in ownership, even being part of the Cadbury Schweppes empire at one stage. 1998 saw the company change hands for the final time when purchased by Soda Club, which at that time was the biggest supplier of SodaStream to Israel. Soda Club made a bid to change the brand from SodaStream to Soda-Club, but the name of the brand remained SodaStream.

More recently Soda Club sought to revive the SodaStream brand. Focusing on the health and diet issues that are so prevalent in this day and age, SodaStream was relaunched with a new machine and many new flavours, concentrating on producing a healthy alternative to fizzy, sugar-rich drinks such as Coca Cola and Pepsi.

In basic terms, the SodaStream product is a home carbonation kit, which allows you to change water into sparkling water, as well as allowing you to add low-calorie flavours such as cola and orange. A large assortment of calorie-free flavours to flavour sparkling water to great taste is sold at allfreightfree.com.

Here's how the SodaStream machine works: it forces co2 into a water-filled bottle suitable for pressurising. The co2 turns the water into sparkling (carbonated) water. This process of dissolving co2 is what we call carbonation. The carbonated water can then be drunk on its own as sparkling water, or mixed with flavours to create tasty, healthy treats. Once the co2 canisters have been used up they can be sent back to Soda-Club who recycle the canisters by refilling them with co2 then sending them back out.

As far as the actual health and diet benefits gained from drinking SodaStream, it is claimed that all their flavours are completely sugar-free and contain a maximum of 2 calories per 100ml, surely good news for parents concerned about their children's diet.

The SodaStream machine adds only co2 to the water, meaning it does not have the added sugar that some bottled sparkling water contains; consequently, there is little discernable difference from normal water.

SodaStream have made much of their environmental and health credentials, going so far as to claim that every litre bottle of SodaStream made saves three aluminum cans. The result is that over a span of 3 years, a family of four could slash their soft-drink-related packaging usage by over 90%. This is a big claim, one that should stand them in good stead in this environmentally conscious age. It is clear that Sodastream has developed into a realistic alternative to the big players in the soft drink world.