Mecca-Cola is a cola-flavoured carbonated beverage. The flagship product of the Mecca Cola World Company, it is marketed as an alternative to U.S. brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola to politically minded consumers. The product's name contains the traditional Latin-alphabet transliteration of Mecca, the holiest city of Islam.
It was launched in France, in November 2002, by entrepreneur Tawfik Mathlouthi , as a means of aiding Palestinians by taking advantage of demand for alternative products in European countries. He had been inspired by a similar Iranian product, Zamzam Cola, which was already successful in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and in fact only decided to launch his own brand when he was unable to agree on terms for a distribution contract with Zamzam.
Mecca-Cola in turn inspired the creation of Qibla Cola in the United Kingdom.
Mecca-Cola is now sold extensively in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and, to a lesser extent, in the Americas and Oceania. Although the product was created in France, the company is currently based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Part of its corporate philosophy is its pledge to donate 10% of its profits to fund Palestinian, humanitarian projects such as schools, and another 10% to charities in the countries in which the drink is sold. In particular (to quote its website) it seeks to support "associations who work towards peace in the world and especially for peace in the conflict between Palestinians and fascist Zionist apartheid". This activist stance is reflected in the company slogan, which appears on all its products: "No more drinking stupid, drink with commitment!"
In addition to several different presentations of its cola, the company also sells a range of fruit-flavoured soft drinks under the Mecca-Cola name. The company was the sponsor of — and Mecca-Cola the official drink of — the October 2003 Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), held in Malaysia.
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