A $199.99 countertop machine capable of producing approximately 1,000 drink combinations is SodaStream's most direct challenge yet to the fountain-drink format — and it arrives with a full omnichannel media campaign built around Olympic champion Simone Biles as brand ambassador.
The system, called Sodastream Fountain™, lets consumers dial in carbonation level, flavor intensity, and serving size — 8, 16, or 24 ounces — from a library of more than 40 flavors that includes PepsiCo-owned brands: Pepsi®, Mountain Dew®, Starry®, bubly™, and Mug®. The machine dispenses directly into a glass, carafe, or other vessel, a deliberate departure from traditional SodaStream cylinders designed around sparkling water alone.
The Brand Launch Play
The Biles partnership is structured for sustained visibility, not a one-off product moment. Aliza Leferink, Chief Marketing Officer at SodaStream North America, confirmed the campaign spans TV, digital, social, in-store, and direct-to-consumer channels at sodastream.com — with Instagram and TikTok carrying exclusive content and custom drink inspiration. Leferink described Fountain as "the next evolution of the at-home beverage experience — moving from drinks that are predetermined to beverages built around individual taste and creativity." The brand framed Biles as the opening chapter of a broader, ongoing relationship rather than a product-launch cameo.
For brand launch professionals and agencies tracking celebrity-to-product fit, this activation follows a recognizable pattern: pair a high-customization product with an athlete whose identity is built on personal creative expression, then distribute across every retail and media surface simultaneously. Walmart, Target, and Amazon are all listed as launch retail partners, giving Fountain immediate national shelf presence alongside its direct channel.
What Operators and Suppliers Should Read Here
The Fountain launch is a signal worth tracking for anyone in the beverage supply chain or foodservice equipment space. SodaStream — already the world's leading sparkling water maker brand by its own account — is using PepsiCo's flavor portfolio as the unlock to move upmarket into the broader carbonated soft drink category at home. That is a direct encroachment on the beverage customization territory that fountain-drink equipment suppliers and contract beverage producers have historically owned at the foodservice level.
For brand launch and retail strategy teams, the product architecture matters: a device priced at $199.99 with a recurring consumable (flavor pods and CO₂) creates the kind of locked-in purchase cycle that suppliers and co-packers should pay attention to. The flavor licensing model — where PepsiCo's own brands are the anchor — also raises a structural question for independent beverage brands eyeing the at-home customization space: the platform that reaches consumers first tends to set the flavor standards everyone else gets measured against.
From a growth marketing and media buying perspective, the SodaStream Fountain campaign launch follows an always-on multi-surface approach rather than a burst-and-done model. Brands and agencies building similar launch strategies should note that the campaign's social content is designed to generate ongoing drink inspiration — not just awareness — which extends the campaign's functional shelf life well past the October launch window.
The launch-day promotion (20% off sitewide with code LAUNCH20, single-use, non-combinable) is a clean direct-to-consumer acquisition mechanic designed to drive first purchase and build the customer file before retail velocity data is established.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
