iNTERVIEW with Laura Wilson
For over a decade, Laura Wilson, Managing Director of SodaStream Australia, has been at the forefront of transforming the way Australians enjoy sparkling beverages. Under her leadership, SodaStream has redefined its brand with a strong commitment to sustainability, advocating for a world with less single-use plastic.
In this exclusive Q&A, Wilson shares insights into her journey, SodaStream’s latest product innovations and how the brand is continuing to ‘Push for Better.’
Why you do what you do? I’d love to know what is it that really drives you to do the work that you do everyday.
I’m going to go back several years to answer that question – several years to when I was just a child. I have always loved stories. I’ve always loved writing them – and I remember even when I was eight or nine years old, I would spend a lot of time in my own room writing stories.
What kind of stories?
Just anything an eight or nine year old would like, with dogs, eyeballs, horror. I really enjoyed it and I never thought too deeply about why, but it was always just very innate, that the love of story. When the time came to pick a career, when I was in high school, I ended up doing some work experience in year 10 at a PR agency. There, I discovered something called ‘marketing’ and I realised very quickly that that would give me an opportunity to tell stories. It was a way to blend my passion for storytelling and the ability to make a living.
I’ve found that throughout my career, the brands that I’ve worked with the longest are those that have given me the broadest scope for storytelling. At SodaStream, I’ve been here twelve and a half years – longer than anywhere else – and the stories just never end. There’s always a new story to tell.
What was it that really resonated about SodaStream and made you feel that you could apply those things?
What I loved most about the SodaStream brand was that we were really changing the way the world drank. We were building a category. We were really pushing the status quo and showing people that there was an alternative out there.
Can you tell me about the trends that have impacted the SodaStream brand over those years?
Sure. Health and wellness was probably the first trend we tapped into, even before sustainability became the juggernaut that it is today – and hopefully remains forever because it’s so important. We gave people the option to make healthier drinks. Instead of just buying it as-is from the bottle, we challenged that idea by offering ways for people to enjoy their favourite flavours with less sugar, by adding fruit or a twist of some herb to make it delicious.
The health trend was really the first big one. Hydration was another. We had studies done showing that people who had a SodaStream actually drank more water because it was more exciting and interesting. Sustainability, of course, was another trend we were ahead of, long before it became mainstream. We leveraged that by saying, ‘Here’s a way you can be more sustainable with very little effort, have fun doing it and make a huge impact with minimal effort.’
We’ve also tapped into other trends like DIY and personalisation. During lockdowns, we saw people making their own drinks at home to make staying in more interesting. So, in a way, the pandemic was good for us.
Tell me about how consumers have responded to some of those innovations over the years in this particular space, especially considering that your business has played into the sustainability piece for longer than it’s been at the forefront of the industry. What has consumer feedback been like?
In the early days, we felt it was our responsibility to make people aware of sustainability issues. We ran campaigns that, in a fun and positive way, highlighted the issue and showed how SodaStream could help. One of our best-known campaigns was the ‘Walk of Shame’ campaign based on Game of Thrones. We recreated the scene where Queen Cersei walks in shame – but with a person who had bought bottled water instead. We even had an actor ringing the bell, saying ‘Shame, shame.’ That campaign went viral – it was huge.
Over time, we took things more seriously. We examined our packaging, operations, and practices to be more sustainable. I think leading by example is key. We showed people and other businesses a better way to operate, and luckily, the movement grew. It’s a proud moment for us to have contributed to this increased level of awareness. Overall, consumers have responded well.
What innovations have taken place as a direct result of feedback and impacted product development or the direction of the business? I’ve noticed a few adjustments over the evolution of your machines, so for those who haven’t seen the range, can you share some more about that?
We have a huge focus on consumer insights because we believe that’s how we’ll continue to lead the way. Our innovations are based on feedback around user experience but we also look at macro trends like flavours. For example, in 2022, we upgraded all of our machines with our Quick Connect cylinder to improve the user experience, which had been a pain point for years. We’ve also been collaborating more with our mothership, Pepsi, especially in flavour innovation. There’s some exciting stuff coming soon – though I can’t share the details yet.
On the sustainability side, all of our flavour bottles are now made from recycled plastic and some of our machines are using more recycled materials. Our entire system follows a circular economy – the cylinders come back to us when they’re empty, we clean and refill them, and then they go back on the market. We’re innovating in various ways across the board.
Can you tell me about some of the partnerships SodaStream has had and if possible, what you have coming up?
Before we became part of Pepsi, we engaged in smaller partnerships. One example is with a small Australian brand called Tea Tonic, where we tapped into the emerging sparkling tea trend. We also worked with Samsung on a sparkling fridge that used our gas for sparkling water.
Since joining Pepsi, we’ve been collaborating with them closely. They’re the kings of flavour and are always ahead of the trends. We’re leaning into their strengths, and they’re leaning into ours. When we launched the Pepsi range of flavours in 2020, it really moved the dial in terms of how many people were using SodaStream to make flavoured drinks—it was a game-changer.
