The Success of Germany's Bionade Soda

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Also, it can be very challenging for a family-owned company to cope with growth on the scale of Bionade's: Often a family firm needs to hire management expertise from outside the family if it wants international success, Pollmann says.

Still, he is optimistic. "It's an unbelievably good product," Pollmann says. "They've done everything absolutely right, from the product down to the trendy packaging." He goes on: "I think it corresponds to American tastes. You have German quality combined with organic ingredients. And there's still nothing comparable on the American market."

Too Successful for its Own Good?

But can Bionade get around the problems already created by its incredible success? Earlier this summer, delivery problems led to the drink temporarily disappearing from store shelves. Blum attributes the trouble to an unusually warm April, leading to unexpected demand and a shortage of bottles. "The problems have now been rectified," he insists.

Furthermore, Bionade faces difficulties from the sincerest form of flattery: imitation. The company is currently engaged in a court case with the supermarket chain Plus and the brewer Frankfurter Brauhaus over their "Maltonade" drink, which Bionade claims is a direct imitation of Bionade. Meanwhile German brewing giant Beck's is reportedly developing its own Bionade-style product. Other brewers are sure to follow suit.

A more serious threat may be self-inflicted. Bionade recently began advertising the drink—a major change in policy for the company which had previously relied on word-of-mouth, viral marketing—under the slogan "The official drink of a better world." Blum says advertising was essential now that the company is attracting competition. "We have to act to raise awareness as quickly as possible and secure the market," he says.

But will the bohemians who made Bionade a success be turned off by the new corporate style? Pollmann stresses that the company needs to watch its image: "You have to manage the brand very carefully and watch how consumers react to it." But he says the company does not have a choice. "It's so big now, there's no other way."

And perhaps Bionade will be the first German company to prove that organic doesn't necessarily mean small. "We never had the intention of being a niche product," explains Blum. "If you're going to take the organic idea seriously, then you have to make it accessible to everybody."

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