- Kofola
Infobox Beverage
name = Kofola
bgcolor =
type =soft drink
abv =
proof =
manufacturer = Kofola, a.s.
distributor =
origin = Czechoslovakia
introduced =1962
discontinued =
colour =
flavour =
variants =
related =Coca-Cola ,Pepsi
website =Kofola is a carbonated
soft drink produced in theCzech Republic andSlovakia . It is the principal rival ofCoca-Cola andPepsi in these two markets.History
Kofola originated in the Czechoslovak pharmaceutical company
Galena in the early 1960s during research targeted at finding a possible use for surpluscaffeine produced in the process of coffee roasting. The resulting dark-coloured, sweet-and-soursyrup "Kofo" became the main ingredient of a newsoft drink named "Kofola" introduced in1962 .During the 1960s and 1970s Kofola became exceedingly popular in communist
Czechoslovakia because it substituted for Western cola-based drinks like Coca-Cola or Pepsi, which were available but priced at 5 Kčs (Czechoslovak crowns per bottle). This was more than twice the price of Kofola. After the fall of the Communist regime in1989 , Kofola had to compete with many foreign brands that entered the attractive newly opened market. After a period of decline and trademark lawsuits (many companies produced their own "kofola" as the term became a genericized trademark, although it had nothing to do with the original one — just because it was an established trademark), in2000 the Santa nápoje company, based in the Czech town ofKrnov and owned by the originally GreekSamaras family , became the only producer and distributor of Kofola in theCzech Republic andSlovakia .In
2002 , the company built a new factory inRajecká Lesná ,Slovakia , to satisfy the demand of the Slovak market. In2003 , Santa nápoje changed its name to Kofola, a.s.. Apart from Kofola it also produces othersoft drink s (Top Topic, Jupí, Jupík,RC Cola ) that are exported toPoland ,Hungary ,Slovenia andCroatia . The company's intention is to build a factory inPoland as well.Since
1998 Kofola has been bottled (in addition to classical 0.33-litre glass bottles) in 0.5-litre and 2-litre PET-bottles. 0.25-litre cans were introduced in2003 , 1-litre PET-bottles inDecember 2004 . Kofola draught from 50-litre kegs, traditionally sold in many bars and restaurants across the two countries, is very popular as well.Since
2002 the producer has launched a successful media campaign aimed at a young and hip audience based on the slogan "Když ji miluješ, není co řešit. / Keď ju miluješ, nie je čo riešiť." ("If/When you love it/her nothing else matters.") Until2000 , the Kofola logo featured acoffee bean. It now resembles a coffee flower.In
2008 Kofola announced consolidation with the Polish lemonade producer Hoopcite web
last = Klofanda
first = Martin
title = Kofola has announced another significant merger
url = http://company.kofola.cz/m_infocentrum__info_aktual__ID_161.html
publisher = Kofola a.s.
date = 2008-03-12
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] .Sales
In
Slovakia , Kofola is the most formidable rival of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In2003 , 14.28 million litres of Kofola were sold on the Slovak market; in2004 , Kofola sales reached 19.44 million litres. According to a 2004 survey, 17% of Slovak cola-based soft drink consumers buy Kofola most frequently, compared to 14% preferring Coca-cola. Kofola's market share has doubled in the period of the last three years (4.6% in 2002, 9.4% in 2004). Kofola thus occupies third position in the Slovak market, after Coca-cola (11.5% in 2004) and [http://www.walmark.biz/ Walmark] (9.6%), preceding Pepsi (5.5% in 2004). Fact|date=December 2007Ingredients
Kofo
syrup , the main ingredient of Kofola, consists of 14 natural ingredients (such as extracts fromapple ,cherry , currant, or herbalaroma ),sugar , andcaramel . In comparison with Pepsi or Coca-Cola it contains 30% lesssugar , a little morecaffeine (17mg/100ml, Coca-Cola 15mg/100ml) and it does not containphosphoric acid .In
2004 , new lemon-flavoured "Kofola Citrus" was introduced.In
2007 , yet another version, cinnamon-flavoured "neKofola"/"joKofola" was introduced.In
2008 , new sugar-free "Kofola BEZ cukru" was introduced.References
External links
* [http://www.kofola.cz Czech homepage]
* [http://www.kofola.sk Slovak homepage]
* [http://www.kofolaoriginal.cz where you can buy original Kofola (Czech Republic)]
* [http://www.kofolaoriginal.sk where you can buy original Kofola (Slovakia)]
* [http://www.jmimport.com/kofola-soft-drink-p-163.html where you can buy original Kofola (Canada)]
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