CONSUMER REPORT Coke and Pepsi are coming under growing pressure from supermarket
taste-alikes. Tessa Boase reports on the cola wars
ACCORDING to company folklore, only two people within the Coca-Cola empire know how to make Coke, and the only copy of the recipe is locked deep in a vault, unavailable to anyone except by formal vote of the board of directors.But this has not stopped opportunists trying to crack the secret for themselves. And in recent months they appear to have come uncomfortably close to success.
Until April this year there had only ever been two players in the cola market: Coke and Pepsi. Launched in 1886, Coke is market leader, its sales in the UK worth £14 billion a year. Its corporate logo is, as the company gleefully claims, the single most recognised word in the world. Pepsi trails behind with a £500 million rating, but there has never been another serious contender to topple it from second notch.
But all that has changed. Few shoppers will have missed the launch of Sainsbury's Classic
Cola back in April, nor the ensuing controversy. Coke protested, claiming the packaging was
too similar to its famous red and white stripes, and the name too close to its own Coke Classic.
It threatened to sue.
Sainsbury's changed the look and continued to rake in the profits. It has now captured 70 per
cent of cola sales in Sainsbury's stores - more than 15 per cent of the UK market.
"It has done so well because it's a very good product," says a spokeswoman for Sainsbury. "This is not just a look-alike product, but a taste-alike one."
Who has cracked the secret recipe? Sainsbury's Classic Cola is made by Cott, a Canadian company with designs on the global own-label soft drink market. Cott is believed to be in discussion with Tesco, Safeway and Asda about own-brand colas.
"In the past, store brands had a reputation for being cheap and nasty," says owner Gerald Pencer. "They were never superior to the national brand, and never had good packaging. You couldn't take an own-brand product out of the kitchen and into the living room to let your friends see it. Now you can."
It might have gained social acceptance, but imitation Coke has still to do battle with the fast
expanding so-called "New Age" beverages: iced teas, flavoured mineral waters and energy-giving sports drinks.
Coke has already grasped the nettle and launched a range of fruit-flavoured drinks in America under the brand name Fruitopia - a "nutricious" mixture of natural fruit juices and water. With names like Raspberry Psychic Lemonade and Strawberry Passion Awareness,they seem aimed at 18 to 39-year-olds.
Coke should not, however, neglect the children's market. This is where a sweet tooth, orotherwise, is acquired. And if our band of cola testers are representative of today's youngtastebuds, it seems that syrup and fizz do not hold the illicit appeal they once did.
"Too sweet" was the most common criticism. The less Coke-like and more fruity tasting colas scored highest.
What would they rather be drinking? Lilt, Sunkist, Sourcy, Tango, Orangina - even mineral water. The cola war could turn out to be an irrelevant battle.
