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Sodastream V-ECON

ECONOMIC AUDIT UPDATED 2026-06-02
V-ECON Score 8.00 /10 C Sodastream — BDS-1000 550
V-ECON 8.00

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream — see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

V-ECON Audit: SodaStream

Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

Direct Supplier Relationships: No public evidence identified. SodaStream’s core products are home carbonation appliances, CO₂ refill cylinders, and flavored syrup concentrates rather than agricultural commodities, and no public evidence has been found of SodaStream acting as an importer or distributor of Israeli agricultural products such as Medjoul dates, avocados, citrus, fresh herbs, or potatoes 1.

Importer of Record Structure: PepsiCo’s 2024 Exhibit 21 lists five Israeli-domiciled SodaStream entities: SodaStream Industries Ltd., SodaStream International Ltd., SodaStream Israel Ltd., So Spark Ltd., and VentureCo (Israel) Ltd. 1. Pre-acquisition, SodaStream International Ltd. served as the Israeli-domiciled legal entity for global manufacturing and export, with regional subsidiaries acting as importers of record in their respective markets 1.

Seasonal Sourcing Patterns: No public evidence identified. SodaStream does not operate in fresh produce categories 1.

Third-Party & Indirect Sourcing: No public evidence identified of Israeli-origin agricultural or food products reaching consumers via SodaStream through third-party or white-label arrangements 1.

CO₂ Supply Chain: No specific Israel-based CO₂ supplier connected to SodaStream’s Lehavim facility was identified in public records 1.

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

Settlement-Origin Manufacturing (Historical – Pre-2020, Confirmed Discontinued): Prior to September 2015, SodaStream’s principal manufacturing facility was located in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone in the Israeli-administered West Bank (Area C), approximately 10 km east of Jerusalem 2. The UN OHCHR’s 2020 database of enterprises with operations in Israeli settlements originally included SodaStream, citing the Mishor Adumim factory 3. SodaStream completed withdrawal from the West Bank factory in December 2015 and relocated to Lehavim in the Negev 2. The company was subsequently removed from the UN OHCHR settlement database in the 2023 update, citing cessation of the cited activity 3.

Post-2015 Labeling Compliance: Following complaints filed with the Oregon Department of Justice in May 2014, SodaStream changed labeling from “Made in Israel” to “Made in the West Bank” for products sold in the United States 4. Following the relocation to Lehavim (within internationally recognized Israeli sovereign territory), labeling practices shifted accordingly. No formal regulatory enforcement action specifically against SodaStream on labeling grounds has been identified in EU or UK public records post-2015. In August 2025, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians submitted a complaint to the UK Advertising Standards Authority regarding SodaStream advertising claims that products are “made by Arabs and Jews working side-by-side in peace and harmony” 5.

Corporate Labeling Policy: No formal public policy document on sourcing or labeling from occupied or contested territories was identified in SEC filings, annual reports, or corporate website archives 1.

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

Foreign Direct Investment in Israel: The Mishor Adumim factory in the West Bank was operational from the company’s founding through September 2015 and was cited as the company’s principal manufacturing asset in 20-F filings through 2014 2. The Lehavim factory in the Negev (Beer Sheva region, southern Israel) was inaugurated in October 2015, and SodaStream invested in constructing this facility while the Israeli government provided grants through the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments 26. Government grants total at least 43 million ILS: 25 million ILS ($7M) for initial Lehavim factory construction in 2015 plus 18 million ILS for 2018 expansion from a total 90 million ILS investment 6. SodaStream maintained its corporate headquarters and R&D center at Airport City, Israel (near Tel Aviv) throughout its independent existence and continues within PepsiCo’s subsidiary structure post-acquisition 1.

R&D & Innovation Centers: SodaStream maintained its principal R&D operations at its Airport City, Israel headquarters, documented in SEC filings as the location of product development and engineering functions 1. SodaStream signed a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement with Enlight Renewable Energy in 2023 to achieve 100% renewable energy at Israeli facilities by 2024 7.

Parent & Beneficial Ownership Flows: PepsiCo invested $3.2 billion to acquire SodaStream in December 2018 8. As part of the acquisition PepsiCo publicly committed to keeping SodaStream’s manufacturing in Israel for 15 years, entrenching a long-term, contractually-signalled capital and production lock-in to the Israeli economy 9. SodaStream is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), a US-domiciled multinational headquartered in Purchase, New York 1. Post-acquisition, profits consolidate into PepsiCo’s US parent financial statements; Israel functions as a cost and manufacturing center rather than a profit-booking domicile 1. NBIM (Norwegian Government Pension Fund) holds $3.02 billion in PepsiCo shares, and PepsiCo is NOT on the exclusion or observation list 1011.

Strauss-PepsiCo Joint Ventures: Sabra was a 50/50 joint venture between PepsiCo and Strauss Group formed in 2008 for refrigerated dips and spreads in the U.S. and Canada 8. PepsiCo acquired Strauss’s 50% stake in November 2024 for approximately $244 million, becoming sole owner 812. Obela (PepsiCo-Strauss Fresh Dips & Spreads International GmbH) was previously a 50/50 joint venture between PepsiCo and Strauss Group, based in Geneva, operating in Australia/New Zealand/Mexico, and was fully acquired by PepsiCo in November 2024 8.

Portfolio & Fund Exposure: No public evidence identified that PepsiCo holds Israeli sovereign bonds, Israeli-domiciled equity investments beyond the Strauss joint venture, or Israel-focused investment funds as disclosed portfolio holdings 1.

Operational Presence & Market Activity

Physical Footprint: The Lehavim Industrial Zone in the Negev, southern Israel hosts SodaStream’s primary manufacturing plant, operational since October 2015, within internationally recognized Israeli sovereign territory 213. Airport City, Israel (near Tel Aviv) serves as the corporate headquarters and R&D center, confirmed operational within PepsiCo’s subsidiary structure post-2018 1. The Mishor Adumim Industrial Zone in the West Bank housed a former manufacturing facility that was confirmed vacated in September 2015; there are no ongoing operations at this location 2.

Employment: The Lehavim facility employs approximately 1,400–1,500 workers, with approximately one-third being Bedouin Arabs from the surrounding Naqab/Negev region 1314. At the Mishor Adumim facility before 2015, peak workforce was approximately 900–1,300 employees, of which reportedly more than 500 were Palestinian workers from the West Bank 15. Nearly 600 Palestinian workers lost their jobs after permit issues following relocation from the West Bank 15.

Market Positioning: In SodaStream’s final 20-F filings (pre-2018), Israel was not listed as a primary revenue market; principal disclosed revenue markets were the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Scandinavia, Australia, and the United States 1. Israel functions as an operational and manufacturing hub rather than a principal consumer market 1.

Post-ICJ/Post-ICC Continuation: SodaStream’s Lehavim manufacturing operations and Airport City headquarters are located within internationally recognized Israeli sovereign territory, and these operations continued without documented interruption through the post-July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion period and post-November 2024 ICC arrest warrant period 1. No PepsiCo or SodaStream public statement responding to the ICJ Advisory Opinion in terms of operational adjustments to Israeli activities has been identified 1.

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

Founding & Incorporation History: SodaStream traces its origins to Soda-Club, an Israeli company, and the modern brand and corporate entity was built on this Israeli foundation 1. The company was incorporated in Israel, listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), and subsequently dual-listed on NASDAQ (IPO November 2010, ticker: SODA) 1. Prior to the PepsiCo acquisition, the company was redomiciled from Israel to the Netherlands (as SodaStream International B.V.) for tax and corporate structuring purposes 1.

Headquarters & Domicile: The legal domicile is SodaStream International B.V. (Netherlands) as an intermediate holding company within PepsiCo’s structure post-acquisition 1. The operational headquarters at Airport City, Israel remained throughout the company’s independent existence and post-acquisition within PepsiCo’s EMEA structure 1.

Israeli-Nexus Factors: The company was founded in Israel—confirmed through Soda-Club origins—while the brand was built and incorporated in Israel 1. The headquarters and principal place of management in Israel are confirmed at Airport City, Israel, with operational HQ throughout the independent existence and post-acquisition 1. Israeli tax residency is confirmed, as SodaStream Ltd. (Israeli operating entity) is registered and tax-resident in Israel and continues post-acquisition per Exhibit 21 1. Approved Enterprise/PTE status under Israeli tax law was confirmed only pre-2020, referenced in 20-F filings from 2013–2016, with post-acquisition status not disclosed 1. Beneficially owned or controlled by Israeli capital (current) is not confirmed—post-acquisition, the company is wholly owned by PepsiCo Inc. (US), with no Israeli sovereign or institutional capital in the ownership chain 1.

State & Institutional Linkages: The Negev Development Authority and the Israeli Ministry of Economy provided financial incentives and grants to facilitate the Lehavim factory relocation 26. Prime Minister Netanyahu attended the inauguration ceremony of the Lehavim factory in October 2015 216. The Idan Hanegev Industrial Park and the Lehavim facility are located in Israel’s Negev region, designated as a “National Priority Area” under Israeli law, qualifying for enhanced government incentives and tax benefits 1. Human-rights and journalistic sources criticise the Idan HaNegev/Lehavim site as benefiting from the displacement of Naqab/Negev Bedouin communities: the zone has been publicly linked by officials to the wider Prawer-Begin Plan (which sought to relocate tens of thousands of Bedouin), with the factory sited on land within the historically contested Bedouin Naqab and framed as supplying relocated Bedouin labour 17. No state ownership stake in SodaStream has been identified in public corporate governance records 1.

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

Revenue Attribution: In SodaStream’s final 20-F filing (2017 fiscal year), Israel was not listed as a standalone material revenue geography 1. Post-PepsiCo acquisition (2018–present), SodaStream’s financials are consolidated into PepsiCo’s EMEA segment reporting without separate Israeli revenue disclosure 1.

Profit Flows: Pre-acquisition (through 2018), profits were recognized at the Netherlands-domiciled holding entity level, with Israeli operating subsidiary profits subject to Israeli corporate tax before upstream remittance 1. Post-acquisition (2018–present), profits from SodaStream’s Israeli operations flow upward into PepsiCo’s consolidated US parent financial statements; Israel functions as a cost and manufacturing center rather than a profit-booking domicile 1.

Economic Ecosystem Role: The Israel Export Institute cited SodaStream as a prominent Israeli export success story and consumer goods brand in promotional publications circa 2012–2014 1. The Israeli government’s active facilitation of the Lehavim factory relocation—involving the Negev Development Authority, Ministry of Economy incentives, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s personal attendance at the inauguration—reflects state characterization of SodaStream as a significant industrial employer and economic anchor in the Negev region 12.

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/77476/000007747625000007/pepsico202410-kexhibit21.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21 ↩22 ↩23 ↩24 ↩25 ↩26 ↩27 ↩28 ↩29 ↩30 ↩31 ↩32 ↩33 ↩34 ↩35

  2. https://www.whoprofits.org/publications/report/120 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  3. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session31/database-hrc3136/23-06-30-Update-israeli-settlement-opt-database-hrc3136.pdf ↩ ↩2

  4. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/193725 ↩

  5. https://www.icjpalestine.com/2025/08/04/icjp-submits-sodastream-complaint ↩

  6. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-sodastream-to-invest-nis-90m-in-new-negev-factory-1001250811 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. https://esgnews.com/sodastream-and-enlight-sign-agreement-for-supply-of-renewable-energy ↩

  8. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pepsico-to-acquire-full-ownership-of-sabra-and-obela-302313926.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. https://www.timesofisrael.com/30-years-after-israel-boycott-pepsico-confident-sodastream-buy-wont-fizzle/ ↩

  10. https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-norges-bank-invests-302-billion-in-pepsico-inc-pep-2026-05-30 ↩

  11. https://www.nbim.no/en/news-and-insights/the-press/press-releases/2025/decisions-on-exclusion ↩

  12. https://www.nosh.com/news/2024/pepsico-takes-full-ownership-of-sabra-for-240-8m ↩

  13. https://www.timesofisrael.com/sodastream-hires-hundred-of-new-employees-in-southern-israel ↩ ↩2

  14. https://www.jns.org/israel-news/pepsico-gains-sodastream-seeks-to-expand-plant-in-southern-israel ↩

  15. https://www.timesofisrael.com/sodastream-fires-last-palestinian-workers-after-permit-row ↩ ↩2

  16. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/7-28-2015-Natl-Security-Hearing-on-BDS-Birnbaum-SodaStream-Testimony.pdf ↩

  17. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2015/9/25/sodastream-factory-shows-palestinian-bedouins-plight ↩