Bec Cola

Bec Cola is a carbonated soft drink produced by Bec Soda Inc. in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Sweetened primarily with maple syrup, it debuted in 2014; the company was founded by Olivier Dionne and brothers Gwendal and Kevin Creurer. The beverage is distributed by Horizon Nature and sold in Canada, France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Bec Cola
TypeCola
ManufacturerBec Soda Inc.
DistributorHorizon Nature
Country of origin Canada
Introduced2014 (2014)
FlavourCola
Websitebec-cola.com

History

In 2012, Olivier Dionne (born 1983 or 1984), a travel guide and former soul singer, and brothers Gwendal Creuer (born 1987 or 1988) and Kevin Creuer (born 1981 or 1982), a motion graphic designer and music teacher, respectively, decided to create a soda without using artificial ingredients,[1][2] after seeing the amount of chemical additives in other colas.[1][3] The founders have kept their previous jobs.[1]

It took two years to develop a formula that tasted the same. The trio worked with professional chemists to replace the chemical additives in generic cola with natural ingredients.[4] They also worked with the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers for a supply of maple syrup, which makes up 88% of the formula's sugar content; the rest is beet sugar,[1] and a bottle contains 30 grams of sugar total.[5]

Production

Bec Soda Inc. entered production in August 2014,[6] with $140,000 of the partners' money invested.[1] Two months after its launch, it began to be bottled in Rougemont, Quebec.[7] In the first year, it sold 50,000 bottles. The company sold 500,000 bottles in the first half of 2016. Lime and cranberry variants were introduced in June 2016, and the 100,000-bottle production run was pre-sold.[1] According to Dionne, the cola has received a generally positive public reaction.[8]

Ingredients

Geographic spread

As of 2016, company has 1,200 points of sale in Quebec and 1,000 points of sale combined in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.[1] It is also sold in Ontario.[2] The labeling, originally entirely in French, is also printed in English.[1]

References
  1. DeLean, Paul (20 June 2016). "Drinks sweetened with maple syrup put Bec Soda on the map". Montreal Gazette. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. Robin, Laura (19 August 2015). "Found: Made-in-Quebec cola, sweetened with maple syrup". Ottawa Citizen. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. Harvey, Véronique (26 November 2014). "Un cola purement québécois". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Quebecor Media. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. "From Foodie to Founder: Bec Cola". Futurpreneur Canada. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. Lavoie, Audrey (10 November 2014). "Du cola, c'est du cola!". Métro (in French). Médias Transcontinental. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. "Leur Bec Cola fait pétiller la Belle Province". Ouest-France (in French). 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  7. Ballivy, Violane (24 October 2014). "Un "Coke" au sirop d'érable". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  8. Villedieu, Yanick (4 November 2014). "Un cola 100 % québécois". L'actualité (in French). Mishmash Média. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.