 | |
| Type | Cola |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | American- Canadian |
| Introduced | 1994 |
| Discontinued | 2014 |
| Variants | Diet Cola, Vanilla, Lime, Orange, Cloudy Lemon, Blue Lemon |
| Related products | Coca-Cola Pepsi Cott RC Cola |
| Website | www |
Virgin Cola was a carbonated cola soft drink, launched in 1994. In 2009, it was discontinued in the United Kingdom, and in 2014 it was stopped being made by its final licensee, in Bangladesh.
Virgin Cola was set up during the early 1990s in conjunction with Cott, an American-Canadian company that specialises in bottling own-label drinks. Cott was looking for a major international brand that could have worldwide appeal. Virgin Group founder, Richard Branson was looking to widen the Virgin name and to rival the Coca-Cola and Pepsi brands.
Virgin Cola began to hit international shores within its first year. The UK first served the drink on Virgin Atlantic flights, on-board shops on Virgin Trains and also at Virgin Cinemas. The Gulliver's Kingdom chain of theme parks in the UK also sold post-mix Virgin Cola. This led Virgin Cola to agree a distribution deal with British supermarket retailer Tesco in 1994. [1]
A promotional blimp can be seen saving a woman’s life on the show Baywatch , in the episode “The Runaways”, first aired in the U.S. on May 20, 1995. The episode features Richard Branson heavily.
From 1996, the 500ml bottles were marketed as "The Pammy", as their curves were designed to resemble Pamela Anderson who was at the height of her popularity in the UK at the time. [2] [3] It went on to be launched in France, Belgium and South Africa. [4]
In 1998, Branson attended the USA launch of Virgin Cola driving a T-54/55 tank into New York City's Times Square. [5] [6] It subsequently agreed distribution channels with US retailers such as Target. [6] Virgin Drinks USA, the company dealing in Virgin Cola's US market, closed in April 2001, having managed to establish just a 0.5% share of the market by volume. [7]
A bottle of Virgin Cola can be seen on the coffee table in Monica and Rachel's apartment in the Friends episode "The One with Joey's Bag" that first aired in the U.S. on 4 February 1999. Branson had previously appeared in an episode and was said to be a fan of the show. A can of Virgin Cola appears in Ally McBeal in the title character's refrigerator in the episode "Love Unlimited", first aired on 18 January 1999. In season 4 episode 10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("The Hush"), Willow is seen drinking a can of Virgin Cola in a scene with Buffy.
In 2002, a vanilla cola called Virgin Vanilla was launched in the UK, ahead of the launch of a similar product from rival Coca-Cola. [8] In 2004, it was announced that Virgin Vanilla would be discontinued in order to focus on the teenage market. [9]
“We had a great brand. But Coke had a great brand. The taste of the Cola was maybe marginally better, but it was neither here nor there. So since then what I learned from that was only to go into businesses where we were palpably better than all the competition.”
—Branson's retrospective on Virgin Cola. [10]
According to Branson, a campaign was run by The Coca-Cola Company against Virgin Cola. [11] Originally Coca-Cola did not treat Virgin as a serious competitor, but when Virgin started outselling Coke in the United Kingdom and entered the American market, Coke realised it needed to do something. At the suggestion of a British female Coca-Cola executive, Coke assembled teams for an influencing campaign. [12] Its intent was to make deals with retailers that sold Coke and Virgin Cola to get Virgin Cola removed from the shelves. [13] Branson admitted Virgin did not know this was going on and it eventually led to a drop in sales. [14] Branson did become aware that the drink had become discontinued in Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket. [15] Later the Coke executive would work for Lloyds TSB and would become the manager of Virgin Group's bank accounts to which Branson, when he found out from her at a dinner, said "I wasn't sure whether to strangle her or not" but forgave her for it. [14] [16]
In 2007, Silver Spring acquired the UK licence from Princes Group, who had been operating Virgin Cola in a limited capacity. [17] However, the company stopped producing Virgin Cola by early 2009, though would hold on to the license until it fell into administration in 2012. [18]
In 2014, Global Beverage Company Limited, the final international licensee for Virgin Cola, based in Bangladesh, stopped producing the beverage, leading to its total demise. [19] Branson claimed he decided to pull the plug after seeing that Bangladesh was the only remaining success. [20]
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.
Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imitated by other manufacturers. Most colas originally contained caffeine from the kola nut, leading to the drink's name, though other sources of caffeine are generally used in modern formulations. The Pemberton cola drink also contained a coca plant extract. His non-alcoholic recipe was inspired by the coca wine of pharmacist Angelo Mariani, created in 1863.
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".
Diet Coke is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on July 8, 1982, and introduced in the United States one month later, it was the first new brand since Coca-Cola's creation in 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook the company's existing diet cola, Tab, in sales.
The Coca-Cola Company's formula for Coca-Cola syrup, which bottlers combine with carbonated water to create the company's flagship cola soft drink, is a closely guarded trade secret. Company founder Asa Candler initiated the veil of secrecy that surrounds the formula in 1891 as a publicity, marketing, and intellectual property protection strategy. While several recipes, each purporting to be the authentic formula, have been published, the company maintains that the actual formula remains (allegedly) a secret, known only to a very few select employees. The claim that the recipe is only known to two (2) people and that they cannot fly on the same plane due to the chance they may die, and the recipe will become unknown, is a myth and has been fact-checked multiple times.
Coca-Cola Vanilla is a vanilla-flavored version of Coca-Cola, introduced in 2002 but subsequently discontinued in North America and the United Kingdom in 2005, though it remained available at certain fountain outlets. It was relaunched in the US in 2007, in Denmark in 2012, the UK in 2013 and Canada in 2016. Vanilla Coke has been available in Australia since its initial introduction in 2002, being produced by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. Originally announced as a limited edition in the UK, it became permanent for several years; however, Vanilla Coke was again discontinued in the UK in Summer 2018, though Diet Vanilla Coke and Coke Vanilla Zero remain available.
Dasani is a brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola Company, launched in 1999. It is one of many brands of Coca-Cola bottled water sold around the world. The product is filtered and bottled.
Crystal Pepsi is a cola soft drink made by PepsiCo. It was initially released in the United States and Canada from 1992 to 1994. It was briefly sold in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Diet or light beverages are generally sugar-free, artificially sweetened beverages with few or no calories. They are marketed for diabetics and other people who want to reduce their sugar and/or caloric intake.
Tab was a diet cola soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company, introduced in 1963 and discontinued in 2020. The company's first diet drink, Tab was popular among some people throughout the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to Coca-Cola. Several variations were made, including a number of fruit-flavored, root beer, and ginger ale versions. Caffeine-free and clear variations were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Coca-Cola C2 was a cola-flavored beverage produced in response to the low-carbohydrate diet trend. This Coke product was marketed as having half the carbohydrates, sugars and calories compared to standard Coca-Cola. It contained aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose in addition to the high fructose corn syrup typically found in cola beverages distributed in America.
Virgin Drinks was a company that marketed Virgin Cola and Virgin Vodka. It was a subsidiary of the Virgin Group owned by Richard Branson.
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a component of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.
Umbrella branding is a marketing practice involving the use of a single brand name for the sale of two or more related products. Umbrella branding is mainly used by companies with a positive brand equity. All products use the same means of identification and lack additional brand names or symbols etc. This marketing practice differs from brand extension in that umbrella branding involves the marketing of similar products, rather than differentiated products, under one brand name. Hence, umbrella branding may be considered as a type of brand extension. The practice of umbrella branding does not disallow a firm to implement different branding approaches for different product lines.
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is a diet cola produced by the Coca-Cola Company.
Coca-Cola Cherry is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international markets.
Whiskey and Coke is a highball cocktail made by mixing whiskey, typically bourbon or Tennessee whiskey, with Coca-Cola or other colas. A popular version of the drink is Jack and Coke, where the Jack Daniel's brand of whiskey is used. The drink is especially popular in the American South. The drink is generally served with ice – sometimes in an old-fashioned glass or a Collins glass, and sometimes in less-expensive containers such as disposable plastic cups. When bourbon is used, it is often called bourbon and Coke, or more generically, bourbon and cola. The "Coke" part of the name may tend to imply that the Coca-Cola brand of cola is used, but it is common for any brand of cola to be referred to as "Coke", at least in the American South.
Coca-Cola Freestyle is a touch screen soda fountain introduced by The Coca-Cola Company in 2009. The machine features 165 different Coca-Cola drink products, as well as custom flavors. The machine allows users to select from mixtures of flavors of Coca-Cola branded products which are then individually dispensed. The machines are currently located in major Coca-Cola partners and retail locations as a part of a gradual and ongoing deployment.
Coca-Cola Creations is a series of limited edition variants of Coca-Cola. The flavors use non-traditional branding designed to appeal to younger consumers, and a focus on digital marketing and augmented reality experiences. The brand launched in February 2022 with Coca-Cola Starlight, a "space flavored" cola.
Cola brands | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
 Austria | Red Bull Simply Cola, Keli Cola |
 Bangladesh | |
 Canada | |
 Czech Republic | |
 China | |
 Colombia | |
 Cuba | |
 Denmark | |
 France | |
 Finland | |
 Germany | |
 Greece | |
 India | |
 Hong Kong | |
 Iran | |
 Ireland | |
 Myanmar | |
 New Zealand | |
 Pakistan | |
 Peru | Beed Cola, Kola Real, Cassinelli, Fruti Kola, Fuji-Cola, Isaac Kola, Inca Kola, Kola Real, Perú Cola, Triple Kola |
 Poland | |
 Sweden | |
 Slovenia | |
 Thailand | |
 Turkey | Cola Turka, Kristal Kola |
 Trinidad and Tobago | |
 United Arab Emirates | |
 United Kingdom | |
 United States | 365, Big K, Blue Sky, Boost!, Boylan, Bubba, Caleb's Kola Coca-Cola (Diet Coke, Zero Sugar), Tab, Cott, Cricket Cola, Diet Rite, Double Cola, Dublin Faygo, Filbert's, Fitz's, Grandpa Graf's, Grapette, Jolt Cola, Jones Soda, Like Cola, Maraschino Cola, Mr. Cola, Nuka Cola, Olipop, Pepsi, RC Cola, Reed's, King Kong Cola, Sam's Choice, Shasta, Signature, Stars & Stripes, Texa Cola, Speed King Cola, Triple Cola, Ultrapop King Cola, Vess, Virgil's, Zevia |
 Vanuatu | |
 Venezuela | |
