Mecca-Cola stirs up a new anti-US fizz

www.iol.co.za January 26 2003 at 10:56AM

Paris - Ask French entrepreneur Tawfik Mathlouthi why his Mecca-Cola has become such a phenomenal success, and he is likely to say it's all about politics.

"Not only Arabs and Muslims are buying it, but also non-Muslims who are sick and tired of the crimes committed by America," he said.

If Mecca-Cola is indeed a measure of the level of discontent with Washington's foreign policies, then President George W Bush should probably pay some attention to its bottom line.

In the ten weeks since he brought his new soft drink on the market, Mathlouthi has received orders for 16 million 1,5-litre bottles.

'Every order I get from the US gives me great pleasure'"We originally planned for 160 000 bottles," he said. "They were gone in three days."

The soft drink is now being distributed in 23 countries, nine in Europe, with England providing the most lucrative market by taking 1,8 million bottles a month.

However, the 46-year-old father of four is most proud of the 80 000 bottles he has so far sold to the United States, the drink's political target and home of its mega-rival, Coca-Cola.

"Every order I get from the US gives me great pleasure," he said with a smile you could sense over the phone.

Mathlouthi said another 30 countries - including Indonesia, Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba and South Africa - were waiting for him.

"They don't want to close the deal with anyone," he said. "They want to talk to the man whose idea it was, me. And I can't be in 20 places at once. It's just a question of time. In June, we will be distributed on five continents."

Not bad for a business that was begun with a shoestring budget of €22 000 (R207 240) and, as he put it, "a little creativity". - Sapa-DPA