The story behind every sip

Gustav Hell, a pharmacist from Opava, can be considered the great-grandfather of Kofola because he founded the company G. Hell and Co. at the end of 19th century. In addition to pharmaceutical products and confectionery, the Hell family also produced Syrupus Colae compositus Hell containing liquid extract of cola seeds.

Following the complicated post-war period and several waves of nationalisation, the national enterprise Galena Opava was established, focusing on the production of pharmaceuticals, tinctures, and cultivation of plant crops.

The highest ranking political figures announced development to create a purely Czechoslovak drink that could compete with the cola drinks from the "West". This task was assigned to the United Pharmaceutical Works (Spofa Praha/Spofa Prague); Galena was later incorporated in that company, and this is where Kofola was born.

It took the team of Assist. Prof. RNDr. PhMr. Zdeněk Blažek, CSc. two years to find the right formula for KOFO syrup. Finally, they combined fourteen herbal and fruit ingredients supplemented with caffeine, into the unique formula which is still used today.

Kofola began its historical journey and as soon as it landed on the shop shelves, everyone fell in love with it. Eventually, its consumption grew during the 1960s so much so that Czechoslovakia ran out of the herbs needed for its production and they had to be imported from abroad.

Kofola began to conquer households, as well as public space. First slogans, eye-catchers, and mobile advertising lured people to taste Kofola. A new logo in the shape of a coffee bean appeared soon after and was used for 30 years.

At that time, you could find Kofola in every village pub, townhall or post office as well as in every co-operative shop. Returnable bottles usually clinked not only in string shopping bags but also in company canteens. The refreshing drink of Kofola became part of our daily life.

Stejně jako národní výbor nebo pošta – i Kofola má své místo v každé vesnici. V konzumu, ve výčepu i mezi kolínkem a krupicovou kaší v závodní jídelně. Vratné lahve cinkají v síťovkách a kofolové bubliny se stávají každodenní samozřejmostí. Pije se doma, v práci i jen tak cestou kolem – proč si ji nedopřát, když tak chutná?

The Velvet Revolution brought about a decline in the sales of Kofola. With freedom regained, people started to demand previously foreign drinks that had become almost instantly inaccessible. The half-forgotten Kofola changed owners several times before being gradually prepared for its grand re-entrance onto the beverage centre-stage.

It was the Greek native named Kostas Samaras who gave Kofola new hope. He bought a small soda factory in Krnov, previously belonging to the state-owned company Nealko Olomouc, and started the production of carbonated beverages. All of this was a prelude to bringing Kofola back to life.

In this period, a subsidiary transport company, now known as SANTA TRANS, was established and other companies across Czechoslovakia entered in our business portfolio. With the Jupí brand, we entered the category of syrup production; moreover, we bought the registered trademark Top Topic. By doing so, we returned the traditional grape juice drink to Czech and Slovak consumers. Last but not least, we started to produc children's drink known ase Jupík.

To make matters even more interesting, we entered the Slovak market and started the construction of a production plant in Rajecká Lesná.

Eventually, we combined our production schedule with Kofola, after signing a license agreement to bottle the drink with current owner of the brand Kofola - the pharmaceutical company Ivax of Opava.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia were flooded with a wave of love for Kofola for the first time. The slogan “If you love her, nothing else matters ...” has won the hearts of not only those already in love. Today, this popular slogan still transmits its strong message ...love is all that matters!!!

We managed to buy the registered trademark for the original Kofola recipe for CZK 215 million. Since then, Kofola has been in the hands of the Samaras family.

Cult advertising appeared on TV for the first time that year and immediately (based on a heartwarming, Czech Christmas tradition, where a father and young daughter are depicted choosing their Christmas tree in the forest, when suddenly a wildboar appears...interrupting their revelry), started to compete for viewers. The fact that everyone fell in love with thise cute
scene, as well as the piggy, has resulted in the fact that our TV ad is now one of the symbols of the Christmas time.

After 40 years of Kofola's existence, its first innovation – Kofola Citrus – came into being. Moreover, we added the natural spring water Rajec to our portfolio. We have also revitalized Chito Tonic, a traditional drink which has always proven, popular in times of bitter social changes.

Even though they tried their best, foreign cola drinks had a very hard struggle in our country. In short, Kofola has enjoyed more fame here than other global brands. We introduced a number of 100% natural juices and fruit drinks of the Jupí brand to the market, as well as Rajec Bylinka, natural spring water with herbal extracts of lemon balm and thyme. We also bought the Vinea trademark and started producing Kofola Sugar-Free.

Kofola has achieved the highest sales in history, even in comparison with the roaring 1970s. The company could now continue to grow. We invested 250 million Czech crowns in Rajecká Lesná to expand the production facilities in Slovakia.

We duly celebrated our jubilee by whilst trying to remember the roots of Kofola. We attempted to figure out, how the moment of Kofola's conception might have looked like precisely. Our birthday advertisement again proved to all that love played the essential role... but the fact that love is all that
matters is, not rocket science.

We have continued enrich our beverage portfolio with drinks such as Semtex and Erektus (both energy drinks). We invested 150 million Czech crowns in hot-fill technology for the production of preservative-free fruit drinks. Then, last but not least, we finished the year with a grand victory: Jannis Samaras, CEO of Kofola, won the Entrepreneur Of The Year award.

We demolished the borders and renamed the company as Kofola ČeskoSlovensko/CzechoSlovakia, a. s. We focused on the youngest and started to produce water for babies named Rajec. Older children (and their parents) welcomed products that were newly sweetened with stevia - a natural  sugar substitute. After acquiring a majority in the UGO Freshbar network, we purchased the technology for high-pressure foodstuff processing, the so-called - pascalisation.

At the beginning of the year, we launched the 100% fresh fruit and vegetable juices UGO processed by pascalisation. We have become the exclusive distributor of premium French mineral waters Evian and Badoit. The Jupík drink won the award for its packaging at the Red Dot Award and Pentawards.

With the acquisition of Mangaloo company, our UGO has become the largest operator of the Freshbar network. We have added the traditional, healing mineral water Vincentka to our distribution network, and the Forbes magazine evaluated our Rajec water as the 8^th best brand of Slovakia this year. Marián Šefčovič, our Sales Director, won the Manager of the Year award.

The advertising campaign, based on a cute mutt with an unfortunate overbite and subsequent lisp) won the Golden Effie award in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Kofola was floated on the Prague Stock Exchange and employees were able to become shareholders of the group. Together, we welcomed the company Radenska, a Slovenian mineral water producer, and launched an exclusive distribution of Rauch products in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Kofola and Jupí drinks were awarded the Most Trusted Brands in their category on the Czech market, and Daniel Buryš, CFO of the Kofola Group, became the CFO of the Year.

We entered the Croatian market, where we took over PepsiCo distribution under the Radenska brand and bought three new traditional brands from the Badel company - Voćko, Nara, and Inka. At the end of the year, we purchased the Croatian Studenac company. Advertising for “Fofola” with the dog, named Stefan became the 2016 campaign and won the gold award in the Euro Effie Awards. For the first time, the Kofola company won third place in the Czech TOP 100 business ranking awards.

We have expanded the portfolio of healthy food products on the Polish market and welcomed Premium Rosa, the brand of premium natural syrups and juices. UGO's Freshbar and Salateria network bought a factory for the production of fresh salads from the Titbit company. In the autumn, we re-launched the Royal Crown Cola brand - authentic Southern Cola in its original design, sweetened only with cane sugar.

Jannis Samaras opustil post generálního ředitele Kofoly ČeskoSlovensko, aby se mohl plně soustředit na budoucnost a směřovaní celé skupiny. Novým generálním ředitelem pro československý trh se stal Daniel Buryš. Akvizicemi roku byly: LEROS, výrobce bylinných čajů a směsí z léčivých rostlin, a Kláštorná, královna minerálních vod.

Under the heading of LEROS, we opened a plant for the buy of herbs in Rajecká Lesná. We are about to purchase the companies of Espresso, the manufacturer of premium coffee Café Reserva, and DILMAH, the distributor of Sri Lankan teas. We continue to develop Czechoslovak brands with strong backgrounds. We have also re-launched the Kláštorná Kalcia mineral water on the Slovak market. 

Kofola enters the segment of crafted ciders and lemonades through the purchase of the Czech manufacturer F. H. Prager. It also acquires a 100% stake in Karlovarská Korunní and Ondrášovka and thus expands its portfolio with the traditional Czech brands of mineral water.

Even though the crisis associated with the pandemic is at its peak, we are not afraid to come up with other innovations in our portfolio. That is why we are starting to write the story of our own premium lemonade brand Targa Florio. It's made from Sicilian citrus and celebrates the legends of the eponymous motor racing.

We are creating a new mission and vision for Kofola. We are innovating in the area of sustainable packaging - thanks to the Cirkulka project, we are introducing our traditional brands (Kofola, Vine and Rajec) in returnable bottles. We are developing an incubator where (not only) startups have the opportunity to bring their ideas to life. And we have established a non-profit organisation, Kvapka Rajeckej Doliny, which focuses on water conservation measures in the Rajecka valley in Slovakia. 

We are buying a majority stake in Pivovary CZ Group, which develops the traditional beer brands Holba, Zubr and Litovel. After herbs, we also focus on the story of other ingredients. We buy apple orchards in the Úsovsko region and acquire a stake in a coffee plantation in Colombia. We introduce Prager's Kombucha from F.H. Prager and two types of tonics from Targa Florio. With the Láskyplný páteček campaign, we are launching a new era of Kofola brand communication and inspiring couples to spend more time together.