Guides
Buyer's guides for counter-top water dispensers and soda makers.
These are written by the people who design, tool and build the machines — not by a marketing agency. If a guide says something costs you time or money, it is because we have watched it happen.
Category
Counter-top water dispenser: the bigger category
A soda maker names the mechanism; a counter-top water dispenser names the appliance your buyers already stock. Why we reframe the same machine — and the five combinations it unlocks.
7 min read · Read the guide →
Mix & carbonate
Soda blender: the machine that carbonates the drink
A soda maker carbonates water; a soda blender carbonates the drink. Which models do it, what to specify — and why that matters in a juice market.
7 min read · Read the guide →
CO₂ systems
CO₂ cylinder supplier: sizes, valves, shipping gas
From 8 g capsules to 0.6 L, TPED and DOT certified, shipped with gas inside and packed with the machine — the part most suppliers skip.
6 min read · Read the guide →
OEM & ODM
Private label soda maker: what the project really involves
The three levels of "new", what drives MOQ, who owns the tooling — and the order the machine actually gets made in.
6 min read · Read the guide →
Sourcing basics
How to vet a soda maker factory: 10 questions
How to tell a real factory from a trading office — and the ten answers that are hard to fake, from capacity to tooling ownership.
8 min read · Read the guide →
Sourcing basics
OEM or ODM: which one do you actually need?
How to choose without paying for tooling you do not own — and when a proven platform beats a brand-new mould.
7 min read · Read the guide →
From zero
How to start your own sparkling water brand
The six decisions to make before you talk to any factory, the real timeline, and the certification checklist importers ask for.
9 min read · Read the guide →
Inside the factory
Why we blow-mould our own bottles
Most factories buy bottles in. We do not — here is what a dust-free bottle line changes for your product.
6 min read · Read the guide →
Compliance
Soda maker certificates: what importers ask for
Food contact, RoHS, REACH, packaging, social audit and cylinder approvals — grouped by who is asking, and how to check each one.
7 min read · Read the guide →
Cold water
Ice barrel: chilled sparkling water, explained
Two different objects share the name. What the one inside a soda maker does, why cold water holds more CO₂, and the seven things to specify.
6 min read · Read the guide →
Looking for something specific?
We answer sourcing questions directly — certifications for your market, bottle systems, carbonation pressure, packaging. Ask now, even if you are only at the research stage.
Ask the engineers →