12 Feb 2013 For making DIY carbonation sexy
SodaStream heads the list of FastCompany’s annual list: The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food. The company has been making many waves in the US, and elsewhere, even South Africa, as it takes on Big Soda.
1_SodaStream
For making DIY carbonation sexy. The Israeli-based company may be the world’s largest producer of home carbonation: Its seltzer- and soda-makers are carried by 60,000 retailers in 45 countries, and it sold 3.5 billion cans of its flavourings in the past year. But it’s only in about 1% of U.S. homes–paltry compared to other countries. (In Sweden, it’s in 25%).
To make it in the United States, it is appealing to Americans’ love of familiar brands by partnering with companies like Kraft so it can create flavours with Crystal Light, among others. It is also playing to Americans’ love of convenience by producing single-serving capsules. To add a touch of class, it secured acclaimed industrial designer Yves Behar to redesign the SodaStream chassis, and it is going into wide release with a diverse range of retailers, from Walmart to Williams Sonoma.
2_Applebee’s
For using a sense of humour to drive two years of same-store growth. Last year, Applebee’s hired Saturday Night Live star Jason Sudeikis to voice its latest ad campaign, “See You Tomorrow.” Applebee’s had crossed paths with the actor before; in 2011, Sudeikis appeared in the Farrelly Brothers comedy Hall Pass as a loser who’s ridiculed for his love of the casual dining chain. Sa
ys Julia Stewart, CEO of Applebee’s parent company DineEquity, “Jason has a voice that people recognize and associate with a lighthearted, irreverent feel.” That brand revitalization (which also involved selling off 479 company-owned stores, leaving 99% of the 1,954 US locations in the hands of franchisees) has been key to the chain’s recent success.
3_Stonyfield Farm
For making its supply chain more sustainable – and more profitable. Over the last six years, the yogurt company has introduced eco-friendly innovations in transportation, light-weight packaging, and waste reduction (including a program to recycle up to 90% of manufacturing waste) that have cut costs by some $24 million.
Now, the company is helping its suppliers do the same. A new program is underway to build small, mobile processing plants at a Costa Rican banana coop so that its growers can slash waste by as much as 50% and improve their profit margins. The project is a model for Stonyfield’s parent, the global giant Danone Group, which has made sustainable development a corporate priority.
4_BrightFarms
For slashing the distance from farm to market by building farms on grocers’ rooftops. Farmers markets are great. But the truth is, most people shop at the supermarket. BrightFarms works with supermarkets to plant lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs on site (or very nearby), which cuts transport costs and waste for the grocer and adds days to the shelf life of perishable foods in customers’ refrigerators.
This spring, the company will debut a 100,000-square-foot rooftop farm, the largest in the world, in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, which will produce 1 million pounds of produce annually…..
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