RIYADH, 21 August - Iranian soft drink Zamzam Cola, considered a viable substitute for US global rivals Pepsi and Coca Cola, has started selling in the Saudi market, the product agent said here yesterday.
"We started marketing the soft drink in the Eastern Province last week. We plan to extend distribution to other areas within a month's time," Hussein Baqshi, general manager of Al-Majarah Soft Drinks Co., told AFP.
Al-Majarah fought off stiff competition from several Saudi companies to win exclusive rights to distribute Zamzam Cola, named after Makkah's Zamzam holy spring water. Two shipments of the cola have already arrived from Iran at King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam , and the company plans more imports due to "highly encouraging sales," Baqshi said.
In the first week, the company distributed about four million one-liter bottles but high demand has forced them to place import orders for several million more bottles, he said. Preparations are under way to establish a bottling factory in Bahrain, and Al-Majarah has already requested the Iranian parent company for a license to set up a similar factory in Saudi Arabia, Baqshi said.
Sale of US products, especially soft drinks and fast food chains, was adversely affected due to a powerful boycott campaign launched in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world against US support of Israel.
