An Upstart Tries a Soda Fountain for the Kitchen

摘要

When London gin distiller George Gilbey began selling British aristocrats do-it-yourself gadgets to carbonate tap water in 1903, the emphasis was on func tion, not style. Even by 1955, when the first mass-mar ket version was introduced, the soda machine resembled a miniature scuba tank. SodaStream International, a successor to Gil-bey's venerable enterprise, last year pumped up its mar keting in the U.S. of sleek countertop versions. Buzz about the $80-$200 appliances, which can turn tap water into over 100 flavors of soda in refillable bottles, has helped drive up SodaStream's share price 218 percent since its initial public offering eight