Coca-Cola has come under fire from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement for having a factory located in Israel’s illegal settlement of Atarot in the occupied West Bank.
A Palestinian-Swedish beverage company has witnessed a sharp increase in sales of its Coca-Cola and Pepsi substitute as consumers shun the US companies due to their alleged connections to Israel.
The National was informed by Palestine Drinks that it is finding it difficult to meet demand as European restaurants avoid market leaders owned by Americans. Four million cans have been sold in less than two months.
Six months ago, Hussein, Mohammed, and Ahmad Hassoun – successful Malmo businessmen and brothers of Palestinian descent – decided to develop a soda substitute for Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
Their brand has in practically no time garnered a great many social media hits and pulled in interest from organizations overall hoping to stock its cola.
The unique cans have the slogan “liberty for everyone,” emphasizing the founders’ belief that everyone has the right to freedom, regardless of race or religion, along with historical symbols of Palestine like olive branches and a Palestinian keffiyeh design.
The Hassoun brothers want to support organizations that assist those impacted by the violence in Gaza and the West Bank and spread awareness about Palestine.
“We’ve devised a plan aimed at aiding our fellow Palestinians, with a special focus on the children of Gaza.”
The Hassoun family intends to create the Safad Foundation in Sweden, where money raised by the business will be gathered and given to Palestinian projects.
The town in Galilee (in what was then Palestine) that the Hassoun family’s grandfather and uncles fled in 1948 is the name of both the foundation and Palestine Drinks’ parent company, Safad Food.
After being banished, they relocated to Lebanon and then to Sweden.
The three brothers, who were born and bred in Sweden, moved into real estate after starting a prosperous business selling car accessories roughly 25 years ago.
The brothers’ first venture into the beverage industry was Palestine Drinks, which they picked because “they wanted to start producing something that had a lot of profit.”
The eldest brother, Hussein, took the initiative when he visited multiple restaurants and retail establishments and realized they had no substitutes for Pepsi and Coca-Cola since many restaurants in Europe and Sweden refused to carry those brands.
Customers are boycotting a number of international brands, including US beverage companies, because of their business dealings with Israel and its occupying settlements.
There was a spike in sales of smaller, regional brands in the Middle East following the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October.
Coca-Cola has come under fire from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), an anti-Israel human rights organization that was founded in 2005, for having a factory located in Israel’s illegal settlement of Atarot in the occupied West Bank.
Due to accusations that the company supports Israel, the Turkish parliament banned Coca-Cola products from its eateries in November, according to Reuters.
In 2018, after Pepsi acquired the Israeli soft drink company SodaStream, BDS called for a boycott of the company.
Locals in Lebanon are showing a greater preference for substitutes like Zee Cola and Jalloul, while Spiro Spathis is seeing a 350% increase in sales in Egypt, according to local media.
In Bangladesh, Akij Food and Beverage promised to contribute a portion of every sale of Mojo cola products to a Palestine fund. Local media sources reported that sales increased by 140%, resulting in a 6% increase in the company’s market share for soft drinks. It has also brought in close to $150,000.
With its current product line limited to cola, Palestine Drinks aims to have its products “available at every restaurant, and every supermarket or convenience store in all of Europe.”
The brothers consulted a European consultant with extensive experience in the drinks industry, having invested just under $50,000 in their venture.
Four million units sold in two months is a far cry from the daily sales of over 1.9 billion servings of the US soft drink giant Coca-Cola. It is estimated that PepsiCo’s food and drink products sell for more than one billion dollars every day.
Between its launch in 2020 and August of last year, Berlin-based brand Holy – which has customers in Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland – sold over 10 million soft drinks.
Global interest in Palestine Drinks is evident, as 100 companies from Australia, Asia, Canada, the US, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe have expressed interest in becoming distributors. Although there has been a lot of demand in the Middle East, there have been challenges in introducing Palestine Drinks to the area.
