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Dueling diets

Kofola's Bez to take market-leader Coca-Cola head on

By Michael Heitmann
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 20th, 2008 issue

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COURTESY PHOTO
Kofola says its new cola, Bez, will appeal to both sexes, unlike similar offerings from Coke and Pepsi.
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Coke Zero, a soft drink targeted at young adults, has been a hard sell in several European countries since its global launch in 2005. But that didn’t deter Coca-Cola from pouring out all the lavish resources it could on Zero’s Czech launch last week: At the stylish Smíchov club Jet Set, hostesses took journalists on a course including toy racing cars, video game consoles disguised as motorcycles, cocktails and a flamboyant stage show.
The soda is free of sugar, as its name indicates, though it does still contain one calorie in a standard-size 0.25 liter beverage, according to the manufacturer. Distribution of the drink started in early February and has already reached the majority of stores, said Coca-Cola spokeswoman Kateřina Pospíšilová.
“Coca-Cola Zero is targeted at young adults. … We expect mainly young males to be attracted by the brand,” she added.
The launch of Coke Zero comes as competition on the soft drink market has intensified, pushed by the rise of Kofola, the signature domestic soda during communist days, to the country’s No. 2 spot behind Coca-Cola. Kofola has a 23 percent share of the Czech market in volume, according to a recent Nielsen survey cited by the company.
Kofola is looking to expand this share further by jumping on the diet bandwagon. The company introduced a sugar-free variety, called Bez (“without”), in mid-February.
Making a promise familiar to many soft drink companies, Kofola says that Kofola Bez tastes similar to its regular soda. Such a resemblance was one of the main development goals, according to Martin Klofanda, Kofola’s PR manager.
To those unfamiliar with Kofola’s taste, Klofanda described it as a cola with caramel and citrus notes based on the Kofo syrup, which is made from 14 natural ingredients. They give the drink its flavor and “unmistakable, exhilarating taste,” Klofanda said.
The company says that even regular Kofola contains less sugar and only half the caffeine of competing products, although this statement has been challenged by experts.
Double trouble
Kofola Bez faces a double-barreled diet assault from Coca-Cola, which will retain its previous calorie-free brand, Coke Light, along with Zero. The company says the two brands complement each other.
“Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Light have a different taste and composition and each appeals to a different target group,” Pospíšilová said. “We are concentrating on extending the choice of beverages suitable for a healthy, balanced lifestyle,” she added.
A bit forgotten in this shuffle is the country’s No. 3 soda company, Pepsi, which launched its own “bloke” coke, Max, more than a decade ago. While women buy more Pepsi Light and Twist, Pepsi Max is aimed at men, said Petr Mlateček, marketing director at Pepsi Americas. However, a great number of women actually drink Pepsi Max as well, he added.
The popular perception that diet sodas are for women will not be a problem for Kofola, which considers all of its products unisex, Klofanda said.
“Unlike our competitors, we do not target only women or men,” he said.
So far, Kofola does not plan to expand sales of its new product into neighboring countries. Kofola’s success in a market like Germany would not be guaranteed, as the German soft drink industry has been shaken up by the arrival of organic soda. Kofola said it had no plans to introduce such varieties, while Coca-Cola would only say that the company is constantly reevaluating its beverage portfolio.
The arrival of organic sodas comes as diet sodas have come under criticism from some circles, with media reports claiming that such drinks actually increase appetites shortly after their consumption.
“That’s the opinion of one group of experts and nutrition specialists,” Klofanda said. “There are other groups saying that this isn’t true. Maybe the lobbying of sugar producers is behind these reports.”
Either way, consumers should be able to regulate their calorie consumption with the wealth of health information available to them, Pospíšilová said.
“Humans are not solely dependent on their natural ability to regulate food intake,” she said. Most people have access to basic caloric information on the packages of foods and beverages they consume and can, therefore, make informed decisions to regulate their intake appropriately, she added.
Beyond that, “there are studies that have shown that the use of no-calorie and low-calorie foods and beverages containing alternative sweeteners can play a helpful role in weight loss and weight maintenance,” she added.
Despite Kofola’s rise, Coca-Cola managed to increase its volume sales 12 percent in 2007. Although its core brands, like Coca-Cola and Fanta, did well, the sales of a true zero-calorie drink really took off: water. The company extensively expanded production capacity at its Lúka u Piešťan plant in Slovakia, where it bottles water.
“We relaunched the Bonaqua spring water brand on the Czech and Slovak markets with huge success, achieving 33 percent volume growth in sales last year,” Pospíšilová said.

Michael Heitmann can be reached at mheitmann@praguepost.com


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