Palestine Cola – Rival drink of Pepsi, Coca Cola reaches multimillion sales

A Palestinian-Swedish drinks maker has seen its alternative to Coca-Cola and Pepsi take off massively as consumers boycott the US brands over perceived ties to Israel, an article published in UAE state-owned English-language daily newspaper The National said.

Palestine Drinks told The National it is struggling to keep up with demand as some restaurants in Europe shun American-owned market leaders. Sales have reached around four million cans in just under two months.

Hussein, Mohammed and Ahmad Hassoun, brothers of Palestinian descent and successful businessmen in Malmo, decided six months ago to create an alternative to Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

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Their brand has quickly garnered millions of social media hits and attracted interest from companies worldwide looking to stock its cola.

The distinctive cans feature historic symbols of Palestine, such as olive branches and a Palestinian keffiyeh design, and the words “liberty for everyone” underlining the founders’ message that regardless of ethnicity and religion, everybody has the right to freedom.

The Hassoun brothers aim to raise awareness about Palestine, and support charities helping people affected by the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.

“We’ve devised a plan aimed at aiding our fellow Palestinians, with a special focus on the children of Gaza,” said Hussein Hassoun, in Arabic on social media.

“Our initiative involves a charity organisation run by two dedicated lawyers. Their mission is to channel funds directly to the people of Palestine, particularly those in Gaza.”

The Hassoun family plans to establish the Safad Foundation in Sweden, where funds raised through the company will be collated and donated to projects in Palestine.

The foundation and Palestine Drinks’ parent company, Safad Food, are named after the town north of Lake Tiberias in the Galilee (in what was Palestine) that the Hassouns’ grandfather and uncles fled in 1948.

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They were expelled to Lebanon and from there they moved to Sweden.

The three brothers, born and raised in Sweden, established a successful car accessories business about 25 years ago, and later moved into property.

NO ALTERNATIVE

Palestine Drinks was the brothers’ first foray into the drinks business and was chosen because “they wanted to start producing something that had a lot of profit”.

“The initiative was taken by Hussein, the eldest brother. He went to see restaurants and stores and saw a lot of places that didn’t have any alternatives for the major brands, Pepsi and Coca-Cola,” said Mohamed Kiswani, communications director for Safad Food.

“A lot of restaurants in Sweden and Europe didn’t want to sell those brands.”

The US drinks companies are among several global brands being boycotted by consumers over their business conducted with Israel and its occupying settlements.

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After Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, several smaller, local brands experienced an increase in sales in the Middle East.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), a pro-Palestine human rights group launched in 2005, has criticised Coca-Cola for operating a factory in Israel’s illegal settlement of Atarot in the occupied West Bank.

In November, Turkey’s parliament removed Coca-Cola products from its restaurants over its alleged support for Israel, Reuters reported.

In 2018, BDS called for a boycott of Pepsi following its acquisition of SodaStream, an Israeli-based soft drinks manufacturer.

In Lebanon, alternatives Jalloul and Zee Cola are proving more popular with locals, while Spiro Spathis has seen a 350 per cent spike in sales in Egypt, local media reported.

In Bangladesh, Akij Food and Beverage pledged to donate a portion of each Mojo cola product sold to a Palestine fund. Sales surged by 140 per cent, increasing its soft drinks market share by six per cent, according to local media reports. It has also raised nearly $150,000.

Palestine Drinks, which currently only produces cola, hopes to have its range of products “available at every restaurant, and every supermarket or convenience store in all of Europe”.

“It’s one of the most sold products and one of the easiest ones to produce,” said Kiswani, adding, “In less than two months of trading, orders have been coming in by the millions. Sales have been very good. The only thing holding us back is the production.”

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Sales of four million in two months are a far cry from US soda giant Coca-Cola, which sells more than 1.9 billion servings of its drinks daily. Pepsico’s products, which include both food and drinks, generate estimated sales of more than one billion a day.

However, interest in Palestine Drinks is worldwide, with 100 companies interested in becoming distributors in Australia, Asia, Canada, the US, North Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

“We are planning to extend outside of Europe, but it might take a couple of months,” Kiswani said.

Demand from the Middle East have been strong but rolling out Palestine Drinks in the region has faced obstacles.