CEO of SodaStream 2007–2019. Took over a struggling Israeli soda-machine company, rebuilt it into a global consumer brand, took it public on Nasdaq in 2010, moved the factory from Mishor Adumim to Idan HaNegev in 2015, and sold to PepsiCo in August 2018 for $3.2B.
The Builders | Olam.business
Published Jun 27, 2026.
Daniel Birnbaum (born 1963, Israel) is the Israeli operator who took over a struggling Israeli soda-machine company called SodaStream in 2007, rebuilt it into a global consumer brand, took it public on Nasdaq, weathered the Mishor Adumim factory boycott controversy that became one of the most-covered BDS confrontations of the 2010s, and sold the company to PepsiCo in August 2018 for $3.2 billion in cash.
The SodaStream arc is one of the cleanest Israeli operator stories of the post-2000s era — a consumer brand built almost entirely outside the country's tech-and-defense industrial base, scaled into a global household-name position, and exited cleanly to a strategic acquirer at a number that validated the entire category.
Birnbaum is also one of the most publicly visible Israeli CEOs of his decade. He carried the SodaStream public profile through several international press cycles, defended the West Bank factory operation against international boycott pressure, and moved the production to Idan HaNegev — the new Negev industrial park near Rahat — in 2015 in a transition that became its own consequential public-relations story.
Snapshot
| Born | 1963, Israel |
| Education | Hebrew University of Jerusalem; INSEAD MBA |
| Pre-SodaStream career | Senior roles at Procter & Gamble (international consumer brands) · Nike Israel (general manager) · operating across consumer goods |
| CEO of SodaStream | 2007–2019 |
| SodaStream Nasdaq IPO | November 2010 (Nasdaq: SODA) at $20/share |
| Mishor Adumim → Idan HaNegev | Moved primary factory from West Bank to the Negev industrial park near Rahat in 2015 |
| PepsiCo acquisition | August 2018 · $3.2 billion in cash · $144 per share |
| Post-SodaStream | Investor and advisor across Israeli and international consumer-brand ventures; public speaker |
| Based in | Israel |
The Business Story
SodaStream is older than most of its consumers realize. The original carbonation-at-home device was developed in the UK in 1903 by Guy Hugh Gilbey and produced commercially through the twentieth century in various forms. An Israeli company called Soda-Club, founded by Peter Wiseburgh, acquired SodaStream in 1998. By the early 2000s, it was a small, struggling operator. Birnbaum joined as CEO in 2007 with a turnaround mandate.
The repositioning was structural. Birnbaum reframed SodaStream from a kitchen-appliance company into a sustainability and consumer-lifestyle brand — built around the thesis that home carbonation displaced single-use plastic bottles. The reframing aligned the brand with a fast-growing global concern (single-use plastic) and gave SodaStream a distinct positioning against the global beverage incumbents (Coca-Cola, Pepsi) rather than competing on appliance shelf space.
By 2010, SodaStream had grown to global scale. The company listed on Nasdaq (NASDAQ: SODA) in November 2010 at $20 per share. Revenue peaked at $562.7 million in 2013, then compressed as the global growth curve flattened. By the mid-2010s the company was operating in over 40 countries with millions of active machines.
The 2014 Super Bowl advertising controversy — Scarlett Johansson resigning her Oxfam ambassador role to keep her SodaStream sponsorship, the rejected anti-Coke/Pepsi commercial — generated one of the largest single-event PR cycles for an Israeli consumer brand in the period. SodaStream brand awareness expanded materially as a result.
The Mishor Adumim (מישור אדומים) factory in the West Bank was the next controversy. International boycott pressure grew through the early 2010s. In 2015, Birnbaum announced the move of the primary production facility to the new Idan HaNegev (עידן הנגב) industrial park near Rahat (רהט) in the Negev — a transition that took the BDS pressure off the factory question while preserving the Bedouin and Arab-Israeli employment base. The transition was a major operational undertaking; it also became one of the most-covered industrial-relocation stories of the period.
In August 2018, PepsiCo announced the acquisition of SodaStream for $3.2 billion in cash at $144 per share — a multi-decade-high price-to-sales multiple for a consumer-products acquisition of this size. The deal closed in December 2018. Birnbaum stayed on through the integration period and exited the operating role in 2019.
Why Birnbaum Matters in Israel
First — SodaStream is one of the few Israeli consumer-brand exits at the multi-billion-dollar tier. Most Israeli exits at this scale are in technology (cybersecurity, semiconductors, enterprise software) or pharmaceuticals. SodaStream's $3.2 billion sale to PepsiCo was a structural data point: an Israeli consumer brand, built primarily in physical retail and direct-to-consumer channels, sold to one of the world's largest beverage operators.
Second — Birnbaum is the canonical Israeli CEO of his decade in terms of international public visibility. The Super Bowl moment, the Scarlett Johansson controversy, the Mishor Adumim factory question, the Idan HaNegev transition, the PepsiCo deal — each generated substantial international press coverage.
Third — the Idan HaNegev industrial transition. The 2015 move of the SodaStream factory to the Negev near Rahat was one of the most consequential individual industrial-policy moves of the period. The Bedouin and Arab-Israeli employee base was preserved. The Negev industrial park got its anchor tenant. The BDS-pressure narrative was substantially defused.
Birnbaum's Legacy and Influence
The SodaStream arc — Israeli operator turnaround, Nasdaq IPO, global consumer-brand scale, BDS controversy, factory relocation, multi-billion-dollar strategic acquisition — is a complete operating case study. Birnbaum's tenure is one of the most-cited examples of how an Israeli CEO can run a global consumer brand from inside Israel while managing the political, regulatory, and media pressures specific to Israeli operating positions.
Among Israeli operating executives of the past two decades, Birnbaum sits in a small group — alongside Eyal Waldman (Mellanox), Mori Arkin (Agis), and a handful of others — who carried Israeli-built operating businesses to multi-billion-dollar strategic acquisitions by global incumbents.
In 2026, with the Israeli consumer-brand category navigating post-October 7 international pressure, the SodaStream operating playbook — sustainability positioning, direct-to-consumer scale, deliberate political-pressure management, controlled factory geography — is the reference text. The Israeli consumer-brand cohort that has emerged since (AHAVA, Sabon, Oddity, the broader Israeli beauty and food export layer) operates inside the framework SodaStream substantially built.
FAQ
Who is Daniel Birnbaum?
Daniel Birnbaum is the Israeli operator who served as CEO of SodaStream from 2007 to 2019. He took over a struggling Israeli soda-machine company, rebuilt it into a global consumer brand, took it public on Nasdaq in 2010, and sold it to PepsiCo in August 2018 for $3.2 billion in cash.
How much did PepsiCo pay for SodaStream?
$3.2 billion in cash at $144 per share, announced in August 2018 and closed in December 2018.
What was the SodaStream Mishor Adumim factory controversy?
SodaStream's primary production facility was located in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone in the West Bank. International boycott pressure grew through the early 2010s. In 2015, Birnbaum relocated the factory to the Idan HaNegev industrial park near Rahat in the Negev, preserving the Bedouin and Arab-Israeli employee base while removing the BDS focus on the West Bank facility.
What was the Scarlett Johansson SodaStream controversy?
Scarlett Johansson signed as SodaStream's brand ambassador in early 2014 and was featured in the company's Super Bowl XLVIII commercial. The campaign generated significant boycott pressure connected to the West Bank factory. Johansson resigned her ambassadorial role with Oxfam and continued the SodaStream partnership.
What is Daniel Birnbaum's background?
Born in Israel in 1963. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, INSEAD MBA. Pre-SodaStream career at Procter & Gamble and as General Manager of Nike Israel.
What does Daniel Birnbaum do now?
Investor and advisor across Israeli and international consumer-brand ventures. Public speaker on Israeli industrial policy and consumer-brand operating strategy.
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דניאל בירנבאום: המנכ"ל הישראלי שמכר את סודהסטרים לפפסיקו ב-3.2 מיליארד דולר
יליד 1963, ישראל. שימש מנכ"ל סודהסטרים בין השנים 2007 ל-2019. לקח חברה ישראלית קטנה ונאבקת ובנה אותה למותג צרכני גלובלי, הנפיק אותה בנאסד"ק ב-2010, והעביר את המפעל מאזור התעשייה במישור אדומים לפארק התעשייה עידן הנגב ליד רהט ב-2015. ב-2018 מכר את סודהסטרים לפפסיקו ב-3.2 מיליארד דולר במזומן.
הקריירה הקודמת שלו כללה תפקידים בכירים בפרוקטר אנד גמבל ובניהול נייקי ישראל. סיפור סודהסטרים הוא אחד הקייסים הקלאסיים של מותג צרכני ישראלי שנבנה לקנה מידה גלובלי ונמכר בעסקה אסטרטגית בסכום מולטי-מיליארד דולרי.
The Olam Editorial Team | The Builders / הבונים
