RIYADH, 20 September 2003 — The SaudiFood 2003 Exhibition, which concluded at the Riyadh Exhibition Center yesterday, confirmed that the boycott campaign against Coca-Cola and Pepsi has brought new brands into the Saudi market.
More than 200 companies from Asia, Europe and the Arab world participated in the expo, though Western participation was down.
A spokesman of Ulker, one of Turkey’s major food manufacturing companies, told Arab News that his company introduced Cola Turka and Camlica, Turkey’s own carbonated beverages in answer to the boycott of Pepsi and Coca Cola. “The demand is so high that we are unable to satisfy our own market,” he added.
A spokesman of a major hypermarket told Arab News that despite the denials by Pepsi and Coca-Cola, the boycott campaign against American goods had launched new substitutes of these drinks on the Saudi market.
They include Ohocola from Tunisia and LC Cola from the Eastern Province manufactured by the Al-Essayi group. Another substitute — Zamzam Cola — has now been banned by Saudi authorities on the grounds that it seeks to cash in on the name of the holy spring.
