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Mecca-Cola
TypeCola
ManufacturerMecca Cola World Company
Country of origin France
IntroducedNovember 2002; 21 years ago (2002-11)
Related productsCoca-Cola, Zamzam Cola, Qibla Cola
Websitehttps://meccacolagroup.com/

Mecca-Cola is a cola-flavoured carbonated beverage. The flagship product of the Mecca Cola World Company, it is marketed as an alternative to U.S. brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola to "pro-Muslim" consumers. The product's name contains the traditional Latin-alphabet transliteration of مكة, "Mecca" in Saudi Arabia.

Details

Mecca-Cola was launched in France, in November 2002,[1][2] by Tawfik Mathlouthi as a means of aiding Palestinians by tapping into demand for alternative products in European countries. He had been inspired by a popular Iranian soft drink, Zamzam Cola and only decided to launch his own brand when he was unable to agree on terms for a distribution contract with Zamzam,[3] as well as providing an alternative for his sons instead of Coca-Cola.[4]

Mecca-Cola is now sold in some parts of the Arab world as well as in certain regions of Europe. It has also been bought and consumed in certain parts of the United States, Britain, India and Canada. Although the product was created in France, the company is currently based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Part of its corporate philosophy is, according to the Muslim charity precept, to support charities, and in particular to help the Palestinian people.[5] It pledges to donate 10% of its profits to fund strictly humanitarian projects (such as schools) in the Palestinian territories, and another 10% to charities in the countries in which the drink is sold.[2][6] This activist stance is reflected in the company slogan, which appears on all its products: "Shake your Conscience." The company also suggests that people avoid mixing the drink with alcohol. Mecca is the Islamic holy city, giving the name of the cola a religious connotation.

In addition to several different presentations of its cola, the company also sells a range of fruit-flavoured soft drinks under the Mecca-Cola name. The company was the sponsor of – and Mecca-Cola the official drink of – the October 2003 Summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), held in Malaysia.

In a BBC documentary produced in 2003, Qibla Cola's Zafer Iqbal and Mecca Cola's Mathlouthi are shown promoting their "Message in a Bottle".

In 2012 the Federal Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates decided that "Mecca-Cola" could not be registered as a trademark, due to a law disallowing religious connotations in trademarks.[7]

In 2015, Mecca Cola dissolved operations in many countries including India and the UK. [8][9]

International distribution

By 2008 Mecca Cola was distributed in 64 countries across the world.[10] Distribution in each country started on a unique date. A partial list of countries where it is distributed is as follows:

Country Date launched Notes
France November 2002 The company originally started in France[2] before moving to Dubai. It is also the company's top market. However, it only holds 1.7% of the market share.[10]
Pakistan[11] November 2003 In the company's top 5 markets
Malaysia[12] October 2003 In the company's top 5 markets
Yemen[13] June 2003 In the company's top 5 markets, holding 22% of market shares
Algeria[14] August 2003 In the company's top 5 markets, holding 19% of market shares
Saudi Arabia[15] February 2003 All products are distributed through an $80 million plant set up here
UAE[16] April 2003 The company is currently headquartered here.
Oman[17] 2003
Qatar[17] 2003
Kuwait[17] 2003
Iraq[18] April 2003
Lebanon[19] February 2003
Jordan[17] 2003
Syria[17] 2003
India[20] March 2004 Launched first in Jammu and Kashmir, then in Gujarat.
Bangladesh[21] May 2005

Notes

  1. ^ Verity Murphy (8 January 2003). "Mecca Cola challenges US rival". BBC. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
  3. ^ [1] BBC News
  4. ^ Tagliabue, John (2002-12-31). "They Choke On Coke, But Savor Mecca-Cola". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  5. ^ [2] Mecca-Cola corporate website as of 2007/06/20
  6. ^ [3] Mecca-Cola website as of 2007/06/20
  7. ^ Haneen Dajani (14 February 2012). "'Mecca' banned for use as brand name by top courts". The National. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Mecca-cola Beverages Private Limited Information - Mecca-cola Beverages Private Limited Company Profile, Mecca-cola Beverages Private Limited News on the Economic Times".
  9. ^ "MECCA COLA LIMITED. Free business summary taken from official companies house information. Free alerts. Registered as 04798073".
  10. ^ a b Bangkok's Independent Newspaper Archived 2008-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ pakistani perspective: Mecca Cola launched in Pakistan - PakTribune Archived 2006-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Cengage Learning". www.cengage.com. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  13. ^ Mecca Cola introduced to the Yemeni market – Yemen Times Archived 2008-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Arab News". Arab News. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  15. ^ "FRANCE: Mecca Cola to launch in Middle East". www.just-drinks.com. 2003-01-20. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  16. ^ "Road to Mecca". ITP.net. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Mecca-Cola - BetterCuisine". 2007-12-19. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  18. ^ BW Online | April 17, 2003 | After Iraq, Cola Wars Heat Up
  19. ^ THE-EDGE: News Archived 2007-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Farrar, F. W. (Frederic William), 1831-1903. (1994). The life of Christ. Bookcraft. ISBN 0884949397. OCLC 30964787.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Mecca Today

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