Mission Kofola

Kofola for dummies

Coca cola and Pepsi are well known throughout the world. We drink them with our French fries at McDonalds, at the cinema while eating popcorn, at our way to school in the morning when we are in need of some energy or just for the taste. And I’m not even mentioning the rivalry between team Pepsi and team Coca Cola. But what about team Kofola?

Kofola looks and tastes a lot like Coca Cola and Pepsi, so, what’s so special about it?

I would describe the taste as a bit more sweet and honey-like, maybe even spicy and less sparkling. Surprisingly – at least for me – it contains less sugar and a little more caffeine than coca cola. I personally see it (please don’t kill me for saying this) as a cheaper version of the other two and I don’t think it’s as refreshing as they are. On the other hand there are lots of serious Kofola addicts as you will later see in the post.   

History

Kofola was invented by the Czechoslovak Natural Sciences Institute because they wanted to create a caffeine drink similar to the drinks outside of communistic Czechoslovakia. They first created a syrup called KOFO and from it they created the drink called Kofola in 1960.

In the years 1970-1972 KOFOLA had its first big sales boom. It became the most popular drink in Czechoslovakia. And since that it has become ever more popular. In the year 2001 an advert with their most popular slogan “ked ju milujes, nie je co riesit” which means “when you love her, there is no problem” was spread on Czech and Slovak television and through that its popularity increased even more.

In 1989, after the velvet revolution other foreign popular caffeine drinks and cheap drinks came to Czechoslovakia. In 2002 Kofola was bought by a firm called “Santa Napoje” for 215millions, and the firm was renamed as Kofola a.s. and it still works like this.

“Kdyz ji milujes, neni co resit“  

“When you love her, there is nothing else to care about.”

I've always liked kofolas TV commercials .They are really cool and mostly end on a funny pointe. They present themes like love or young people. The christmas commercial with a little girl and her dad in the forest looking for a christmas tree will always stay in my memory. It became legend in the Czech Republic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJLjajWBRBM)

Subtitles:

:Když vydržíš nepapat, tak uvidíš zlatý prasátko!     

A tati, bude mít takový ty velky,zahnutý zuby nahoru?   

Když vydržíš, budou i zuby…                       

Já nemuším, já už ho vidím 

Jééééééé:           

Translation:                                                                        

:If you can go on without eating for today, then you will see a golden pig . (It’s a Czech Christmas tradition on December 24.) And dad, will the pig have that big, hooked up teeth? When you hold on, there will also be teeth … 

I don’t have to, I already see it! 

Yeaeeeeeeee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uYW9guxCA8  another funny commercial.

If Kofola were available in Austria, there should definitely be Kofola commercials too.

Opinion

When I was a child and I lived in Slovakia I drank Kofola all the time. If I and my friend didn´t have money to go out, we bought one little Kofola for 60 cents and we sat and confabulated in a bar sometimes for three hours.  When people want to go out with someone, they don´t ask if you want to go out with them, or if you want to drink one beer, they always ask: “Do you want to go drink one Kofola with me?” This question is (at least in the town where I lived) something like a tradition, which is asked always. Furthermore I can´t imagine summer, particularly visiting the swimming pool without Kofola.

I have only good memories of Kofola and every time I go to the Slovak republic, I buy one Kofola for me and when I drink it here in Vienna, I have a feeling of home…

Mission Kofola

How to get it if you live in Vienna?

We were in a shop, called Böhle in Wollzeile where you could get bottles of kofola. But the beautiful time is over. Now you can get this delicious drink only by ordering it in the internet. Or of course buy it in the Czech Republic or in Slovakia.