Kofola
 |
|
| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Kofola, a.s. |
| Country of origin | Czechoslovakia |
| Introduced | 1960 |
| Related products | Coca-Cola, Pepsi |
| Traded as | |
|---|---|
| ISIN | CZ0009000121 |
| Headquarters | Ostrava, Czech Republic |
|
Key people
|
Jannis Samaras (Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO) |
| Revenue |
 EUR 263.6 million (2015) |
|
EUR 21.6 million (2015) |
|
| Website | www |
Kofola is a carbonated soft drink produced in by Czech company Kofola, headquartered in Ostrava, Czech Republic. It is the principal rival of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Kofola originated in the Czechoslovak Research Institute of Medicinal Plants in Prague now Czech Republic in 1959, during research targeted at finding a possible use for surplus caffeine produced in the process of coffee roasting. The resulting dark-coloured, sweet-and-sour syrup Kofo became the main ingredient of a new soft drink named Kofola introduced in 1960. 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 not generally available.
Since 1998 Kofola has been bottled (in addition to classical 0.33-litre glass bottles) in 0.5-litre and 2-litre plastic bottles. 0.25-litre cans were introduced in 2003, 1-litre plastic-bottles in December 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 you love her, there is nothing to question"). Until 2000, the Kofola logo featured a coffee bean. It now resembles a coffee flower.
After the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, 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 similarly tasting "kofola" because the term became a genericized trademark), in 2000 the Santa nápoje company, owned by the Greek-immigrant Samaras family, became the only producer and distributor of Kofola in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Other producers of similar drinks had to rename their products (most notable are Hejkola and Šofokola).
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Wikipedia