SodaStream executive Olga Zanetti discusses expansion with a focus on sustainability and leadership driven by purpose
Olga Zanetti, the new leader of SodaStream Australia, is revolutionizing the beverage industry with a unique approach to business. She doesn't see work and life as separate entities, but rather as a blend, prioritizing her family while remaining fully committed to her team and role.
Zanetti's vision for SodaStream is clear: sustainability, innovation, and purpose-driven growth. She aims to scale impact by helping consumers make healthier and more sustainable choices, combining wellness, convenience, and environmental responsibility. Her strategy prioritizes growing the business with intention, ensuring that innovation and an agile, purpose-driven company culture support the mission to help people drink better, live better, and contribute to a better planet.
A key aspect of Zanetti's leadership approach is her sustainability-centric vision. Inspired by SodaStream’s environmental mission, she is particularly passionate about its role in reducing single-use plastic bottles by offering an enjoyable, personalized hydration alternative.
Innovation is another driver for Zanetti. She focuses on ongoing innovation to improve the consumer experience and promote "better-for-you" beverage options. Her purpose-led growth strategy blends strong business performance with values, cultivating a culture that supports sustainable scaling and impact.
Consumer empowerment is also a crucial part of Zanetti's approach. She encourages consumers to make fun, healthy, and eco-friendly choices in their daily hydration habits.
Zanetti's leadership style is shaped by her experiences at L'Oréal and Coles, emphasizing a "one team" mindset, trust, open communication, and shared purpose. She makes space for strategic thinking by blocking dedicated time for reflection and future-focused planning, while staying close to the business by being present with the team and reviewing performance metrics.
Under Zanetti's leadership, SodaStream has expanded its range of low or no sugar soda mixers, including a 99% sugar-free Passionfruit soda mix and Pepsi Max Zero Sugar variants in Vanilla and Mango. The brand has also launched its new Fizz & Go Stainless Steel bottles, designed for use at home and on the go, to address the consumer trend of turning to single-use bottles when out and about.
SodaStream's ecosystem has been built with sustainability in mind, focusing on replacing and reusing to reduce single-use plastic waste. The CO2 cylinders are reused over and over again, and their flavor bottles are made from rPET and all of their packaging is recyclable.
Zanetti's focus in her new role is on scaling SodaStream's impact through innovation and a company culture that's agile and purpose-driven. She prioritizes balancing big-picture strategy with day-to-day execution, using a clear to-do list, strong delegation, and disciplined time management.
Zanetti is accessible and responsive to her team, often outside the standard 9-5, while building a rhythm that allows her to show up fully in both work and family life. The Fizz & Go Stainless Steel bottles, dual wall, stainless steel bottles designed to keep drinks fizzy and cold for hours, fit seamlessly into SodaStream's latest range of Sparkling Water Makers for easy carbonation and have an airtight cap to prevent leaks.
SodaStream has had a long-standing partnership with Clean Up Australia, with a shared mission to empower people to make positive choices every day for the sake of the planet. One SodaStream replaces over a thousand single-use plastic bottles, redefining how Australians hydrate and offering a real alternative to everyday beverages and single-use plastic bottles.
Zanetti was inspired to join SodaStream due to its innovation, environmental mission, and the way it empowers consumers to make healthier, more sustainable choices. She surrounds herself with a capable, empowered team to own the detail, allowing her to focus on enabling the bigger picture-setting clear direction, removing roadblocks, and ensuring alignment.
- Olga Zanetti, in her role at SodaStream Australia, is not only leading business growth but also promoting a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle for consumers.
- Zanetti's leadership approach emphasizes sustainability, innovation, and a culture that aligns with her purpose-led growth strategy in the home-and-garden, health-and-wellness, and fitness-and-exercise sectors.
- The new Fizz & Go Stainless Steel bottles by SodaStream, designed for use at home and on-the-go, are an example of her commitment to reducing single-use plastic waste, thereby contributing to sustainable living.
- In her previous roles at L'Oréal and Coles, Zanetti honed leadership skills that she has applied at SodaStream, including fostering a "one team" mindset, open communication, and encouraging a shared purpose.
- Zanetti's vision for SodaStream is not limited to the beverage industry; she views SodaStream as a catalyst for change, inspiring both businesses and consumers to embrace sustainable living practices.
