'Alternative' cola group expands range
an alternative to US brands, has launched a number of new products
this week. But are they just another set of me-too products,
despite the company's posturing?
The UK-based Qibla Cola Company has extended its product range this week with the addition of a new pack size for its flagship product, two new carbonates and a bottled water brand.
Products such as Qibla Cola and its French counterpart Mecca Cola have positioned themselves as alternatives to major US brands such as Coca-Cola, targeting primarily Muslim communities. Not surprisingly given the current US-led action in Iraq, sales have soared in recent months, prompting Qibla to extend its range.
Qibla Cola already comes in 2-litre and 500ml bottles, but now the company has added a 300ml can to the range. It has also launched Qibla-5, a lemon-lime flavoured carbonate, and Qibla Fantasy, a fruit-flavoured carbonate in orange and mango variants. Both are available in 2-litre and 500ml bottles.
In addition, the company has launched its first bottled water brand, Qibla Spring Water, in 2-litre and 500ml bottles.
Qibla promotes its products as an alternative to the major soft drinks brands by highlighting the fact that 10 per cent of its profits are given to good causes within the Arab world.
As Zafer Iqbal, CEO of Qibla Cola, put it: "The Qibla Cola Company is here to provide consumers from within the Muslim community and all people of conscience with an alternate brand of these popular soft drinks - a real alternative."
While few people would argue with any company offering a percentage of its profits to good causes, Qibla treads a fine line between politics and marketing - two areas which are increasingly becoming confused.
Qibla's main marketing thrust plays on the growing anti-American (and therefore, anti-Israel) sentiment in the Arab world. As Iqbal put it "The Qibla brand offers a real alternative for people concerned by the practices of the major western multinationals that support unjust causes and support the American administration, known for its colonial policies.
"Regardless of the people that these companies employ in the third world, their exploitation of the workforce and support of states who illegally occupy land [i.e. Israel] is obvious. People are increasingly questioning the role these brands play in their societies. They ask, 'Should the money of the oppressed go to the oppressors?' Muslims are increasingly seeking out alternative products and we have already witnessed huge demand within Europe and overseas markets for true alternatives."
Of course, Qibla has not invented this sentiment - it is merely exploiting it - but it is also quite content to benefit from the efforts of the western multinationals it is so keen to compete against. Would a truly alternative brand have copied the traditional red and white cola design which is the core feature of Coca-Cola (and indeed offered a Seven-Up clone for its lemon-lime drink and a Tango alternative for the orange carbonate)?
Most cola brands, be they retailers' own labels or branded alternatives, have followed the Coca-Cola design (the clear exception being arch rival PepsiCo which has opted for a blue motif rather than red) quite clearly because consumers associate that design with cola - so Qibla is no different than any other company in profiting from the brand equity of Coca-Cola.
That said, the brand has clearly been highly successful - as the launch of the additional brands this week has shown - and the thousands of people who will benefit from the money given to charities by the company make the effort worthwhile. Bringing politics into product marketing is a disturbing development - but one which is, sadly, likely to become more widespread in the future.
