TechAmok

[topicmaker]

Earlier this month, around the time of the Super Bowl, a minor controversy erupted around SodaStream, the make-your-own-soda company. SodaStream sells countertop soda makers powered by small tanks of compressed air. The cheapest machine costs around eighty dollars. You fill a small bottle with tap water and attach it to your Sod...read more

[lorcro2000]

In areas that have good tap water this system makes a lot of sense. First of all, because hauling home soft drinks is a huge pain - it's heavy and bulky to haul that much water (with flavorings) around manually.

It's also cheaper - by a rather large margin, if you shop around for the syrups. That depends on where in the world you are, I'm sure, but making sparkling water will leave you with a liter cost that can be counted in cents worth of carbon dioxide rather than dollars/euros for a bottle of "mineral water" that isn't all that special.

I don't think the big soft drink pushers have that much to worry about, brand recognition is still a factor and they spend enormous amounts of on-going ads to keep it that way, but for savvier consumers stuff like the sodastream makes a lot of sense.