Qibla Cola

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Qibla Cola

Type	Cola
Manufacturer	Qibla Cola Company
Country of Origin	Derby, England UK
Introduced	February 2003
Discontinued	2005(unknown if right)
Related products	Coca-Cola, Zam Zam Cola, Mecca-Cola

Qibla Cola was a cola-flavoured carbonated beverage. Available in regular and diet varieties, it was the flagship product of the Qibla Cola Company, based in Derby, England.

Qibla Cola was launched onto the UK market in February 2003, with a television advertising campaign beginning in October. Since then, agreements have been reached with distributors in other countries in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Qibla Cola's marketing strategy and corporate vision reflected an attempt to tap into a desire for responsible consumption. They claimed to offer a genuine alternative for those cola-drinkers who are wary about the practices and ethics of the major multinational soft-drink companies. Qibla's ethical stance manifested itself in the company's pledge to donate 10% of its net profits to humanitarian causes around the world.

Although the product's name appeared to contain a clear reference to Islamic theology — where the word Qibla is used to indicate the direction of the Masjid al Haram in the holy city of Makkah (Mecca), towards which all Muslims turn when praying — the company said that in its name, qibla was used in its simple, non-religious sense, meaning "direction". Qibla Cola was thus aimed at consumers of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds, although the company noted that they had focused more on Muslim markets and that all their products are halal.

In addition to its two cola varieties, the company produced and sold the following products:

Qibla Mango
Qibla Guava
Qibla Fantasy (orange flavour)
Qibla 5 (lemon-lime)
Qibla Water (premium spring water)

Qibla's chief competitors included London based Evoca Cola, France's Mecca-Cola and Iran's Zam Zam Cola, in addition to the US-originating products of the Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola families.