动手达人:家庭自制可口可乐的秘诀

For a century, the executives of Coca-Cola Co. have done everything possible to put their famed cola 'within arm's reach of desire,' to the point that one chief executive frequently pondered an extra tap at the kitchen sink--with Coke flowing from it.

一个世纪以来，可口可乐公司(Coca-Cola Co.)的高管们使尽浑身解数，努力想把大名鼎鼎的可乐置于人们触手可及的地方，以随时满足对它的渴望。有一名首席执行长甚至经常考虑在厨房水池上额外安装一个龙头――让可乐从龙头里流出来。

The company's plan to team up with the maker of the Keurig single-serve coffee brewers to develop a do-it-yourself countertop Coke machine comes pretty close.

公司与Keurig单杯咖啡机的生产商合作开发台式自制可乐机的计划，标志着多年来的努力目标几近实现。

The new cold drink machine won't look anything like SodaStream, the leading home soda maker, says Coke's new partner, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. It will have a similar design to Green Mountain's boxy coffee maker, and keep the Keurig name.

可口可乐的这家新合作伙伴――绿山咖啡公司（Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc）表示，这款新型冷饮机和SodaStream（家用汽水机主要品牌）外观完全不同。机器的设计将与绿山公司四方形的咖啡机类似，并将沿用Keurig这一品牌名称。

'You put a pod in, push a button, and get a drink,' Brian Kelley, chief executive of Green Mountain said in an interview Thursday, one day after Coke said it will pay $1.25 billion for a 10% stake in its new partner.

绿山公司首席执行长布赖恩・凯利(Brian Kelley)接受采访时表示：“你把饮料胶囊放进去，按下按钮，饮料就做好了。”可口可乐此前一天宣布，将斥资12.5亿美元收购其新合作伙伴10%的股份。

The companies are betting that customers want convenience, he says, not having to lug cases of Coke or carbon dioxide canisters like those used in a SodaStream. The soda Keurig won't depend on canisters, says Green Mountain, because consumers found them inconvenient to refill and hard to manipulate.

他说，两家公司确信，消费者追求便利，不想把一箱箱可乐或者SodaStream使用的那种装二氧化碳气的钢瓶拖到家里。绿山公司表示，Keurig汽水机不会依赖气瓶，因为消费者觉得充气不方便，而且很难操作。

In a statement Thursday, SodaStream International Ltd. said Coke's announcement 'serves as further validation of the relevance of our unique business model and the enormity of the global opportunity that lies ahead for us.'

SodaStream International Ltd.发布声明称，可口可乐宣布的计划“进一步证明了我公司独特商业模式所具有的重要意义，也证明我们面临的全球性机遇无比广阔。”

Avoiding CO2 cannisters was one of the highest hurdles in the five-year process of creating the cold brewer, Mr. Kelley said. Another challenge was figuring out how to instantly chill the soda. 'We make our hot drinks come out hot quickly; we had to make the cold ones come out cold quickly,' he added.

凯利表示，在开发这款冷饮机的五年里，如何避免使用二氧化碳气瓶是最大的障碍之一。另一项挑战是如何让汽水迅速冷却。他补充称：“我们能使热饮出来后迅速变热；我们也必须使冷饮出来迅速变冷。”

The soda pods will contain two chambers, he said. The first will have a liquid syrup for flavoring; the second will contain a pre-form of carbonation that will be released when the drink-making process starts. In addition to pods for Coke brands, the Keurig will also offer pods for non-carbonated cold teas, juice and sports drinks. The company wouldn't say whether they will contain powder or liquid.

他说，汽水胶囊将由两部分构成。第一个部分内装有液体调味糖浆；第二个则装有碳酸化预制原料，会在饮料制作过程启动时释放出来。除可口可乐品牌的饮料包以外，Keurig还将提供非碳酸凉茶、果汁和运动饮料的冷饮包。该公司未透露饮料包中是粉末还是液体。

The flash-chilling and pre-measured doses of drink syrup are what differentiates the new Keurig soda maker from SodaStream and are probably why quality-obsessive Coke is willing to take such an unusual step.

瞬间冰镇功能和预先设定剂量的饮料糖浆是新款Keurig汽水机与SodaStream的区别所在，很可能也是极重质量的可口可乐愿意采取这一非常举措的原因。

But the move is no guaranteed home run. Coke's last attempt to create a miniature soda fountain for the home, BreakMate, flopped in the early 1990s after great fanfare.

但可口可乐并不一定能一举成功。公司20世纪90年代初曾试图开发微型家用汽水机BreakMate，结果在大张旗鼓的宣传之后偃旗息鼓。

'The opportunity is small, will likely frustrate bottlers trying to accelerate bottle/can sales, reflects a bias for pushing brands over innovating 'in the bottle' and carries significant execution risk,' Mark Swartzberg, a Coke analyst at Stifel, wrote in a note to investors Thursday.

Stifel 的可口可乐分析师马克・斯沃茨伯格(Mark Swartzberg)在给投资者的报告中写道：“胜出的机会很小，可能会让试图加快汽水瓶罐销售的灌装企业感到失望，反映出该公司偏重品牌推广而非产品创新，并伴有重大执行风险。”

Green Mountain says it already has reached 13% U.S. household penetration for its pod-based coffee machine in a few years. (SodaStream has a 1% household penetration.) But soda is different than coffee. Coffee needs to be brewed fresh to taste good and most consumers prefer it hot, unlike soda, which can be bottled or canned and sit on shelves or in fridges for weeks while retaining its taste and carbonation.

绿山公司表示，该公司的胶囊式咖啡机短短几年间已经渗入13%的美国家庭（SodaStream的渗透率为1%）。但汽水和咖啡是不一样的。咖啡要现煮口感才好，而且多数消费者更喜欢热咖啡，而汽水可以装在瓶子或者易拉罐里，在货架或者冰箱里摆放几周也不会影响口味，不会跑气。

Soda is already readily available and cheap, thanks to extensive bottling and distribution systems built up over decades. Many consumers might not want to fork out $100 to $200 for a Keurig cold drink machine that would sit next to their coffee makers on increasingly cluttered kitchen counters--especially when SodaStream machines start at $80.

得益于过去几十年建立起来的广泛的灌装和分销体系，汽水已经是随处可买而且价格低廉。许多消费者可能不想花100到200美元添置一台Keurig冷饮机放在咖啡机旁边，让厨房台面乱上加乱――尤其是在SodaStream汽水机起售价仅为80美元的情况下。

The companies haven't said what the soda pods will cost. The coffee K-Cups are more expensive per serving than buying a tin of coffee of a comparable brand. But people are willing to pay a premium for the convenience, Green Mountain has said. The company also has marketed Keurig as a good deal, since they are cheaper than buying a cup at a coffee shop.

两家公司尚未透露汽水胶囊的售价。每份K-Cups咖啡价格要比购买相同品牌罐装咖啡贵。但绿山公司表示，人们愿为追求便利而多付些钱。该公司也在营销中打出Keurig物超所值的口号，因为它做出的咖啡要比在咖啡店买便宜。

If the at-home push succeeds, it could turn the cold beverage industry on its head. U.S. household penetration of soda is roughly 90%--nearly rivaling toilet paper.

如果家庭自制可乐的计划取得成功，则可能彻底改变冷饮行业的面貌。汽水在美国家庭的渗透率约为90%――接近厕纸的渗透率。

Dorothy Chatman, a 69-year-old retired school teacher, and lifelong Coke drinker, is intrigued. She already owns a Keurig coffee maker. As for a Keurig cold drink machine with pods of Coke, 'I'd probably buy that too, ' she said, adding that it sounds 'convenient.'

69岁的退休教师多萝西・查特曼(Dorothy Chatman)喝了一辈子可口可乐，她对可乐机很感兴趣。她已经有了一台Keurig咖啡机。她说，至于带可乐胶囊的Keurig冷饮机，“我很可能也会买”，她还说，这种机器似乎“很方便”。

Coke could fatten its profit margins if more consumers agree to make its sodas and other flavored cold drinks at home. That's because customers would be adding the water, which is heavy and inflates transportation costs. The lightweight pods also make e-commerce more financially feasible.

如果有更多消费者愿意在家自制汽水及其他调味冷饮，那么可口可乐的利润率有望提高。这是因为消费者会自己加水，而水很重，（如果像原来一样由公司负责加水）会增加运输成本。从财务上来说，重量很轻的可乐胶囊还让电子商务变得更加可行。

Bottling and distributing soda is a high-cost, low-margin business. In Europe, where Coke sells concentrate mix to independent bottlers and distributors, the company's operating profit margin is around 40%. The company's margin in North America dropped to the low teens from around 20% after acquiring its largest U.S. bottler in 2010.

汽水灌装和分销业务成本高，利润率低。在欧洲，可口可乐向独立灌装商和分销商出售浓缩液，营运利润率达到40%左右。而在北美，可口可乐2010年收购其美国最大的灌装商之后，利润率由20%左右降至10%-14%之间。

Shares in Green Mountain soared 26% to $102.10 on Thursday after the Coke partnership was announced late Wednesday. But shares in SodaStream also rose Thursday, gaining 7.2% to $38.35, as some investors placed bets the at-home movement will gain momentum and that SodaStream could team up with PepsiCo Inc. or Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.

受与可口可乐结盟的消息推动，绿山公司股价次日飙升26%，达到102.10美元。但 SodaStream当天股价也上涨7.2%，达到38.35美元，因为一些投资者押注自制冷饮有望形成趋势，他们还预计，SodaStream可能会与百事公司(PepsiCo Inc.)或Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.结盟。

SodaStream, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper declined to comment on any potential talks.

SodaStream、百事公司和Dr Pepper拒绝就任何潜在谈判事宜置评。

SodaStream's website makes fun of its rivals, with the slogan 'Sorry, Coke and Pepsi.'

SodaStream的网站打出“不好意思，可口可乐和百事可乐”这一标语，调侃其竞争对手。