Breton cola a success

Four years ago Stephane Kerdode took on a seemingly impossible challenge, trying to beat the world's biggest soft drinks manufacturer at its own game. It's a gamble that paid off handsomely.

Fed up with what he saw as Coca Cola's grip on the fizzy drinks market in his native Brittany, the then 30-year-old decided to create a local alternative. The result was Breizh Cola -- the moniker comes from the Breton name for Brittany -- and it was an overnight success.

"It was a complete gamble. We really didn't know if it would work or not, but four years on the sales just keep rising," said Kerdode, at a small brewery in the Breton village of Le Roc Saint Andre, from where he runs not only his soda business but also a successful firm selling a range of local beers.

The young entrepreneur explained that the idea behind Breizh Cola was to create a product that symbolised the struggle against a certain form of globalisation.

"It could be argued that Coca-Cola is the epitome of a global multinational company. What we tried to do was claim cola back and give it a regional, Breton identity. I always say that cola is no more an American drink than a Breton one," he said.

But Kerdode stressed that Breizh Cola was never intended to be an overtly anti-American product, despite its cheeky advertising slogan 'L'autre cola du Phare Ouest' -- a play on words with the word "phare" in French also meaning lighthouse, one of the symbols of Brittany.

"In 2002 there was actually a very strong pro-American feeling in France that was based on a sentiment of solidarity after the September 11 attacks.

"Back then, Breizh Cola was much more about a reaction to globalisation than trying to criticise a particular country," he said.

All that changed in 2003 however, when relations between Washington and Paris slumped to a record low over France's refusal to sanction the US-led military invasion of Iraq.

"When we saw pictures on the news of Americans tipping French wines into the gutter because our country disagreed with them, that seemed to have an effect. I think at that point some people started to drink Breizh Cola as a protest," he said.

Today however, with tempers cooling on both sides of the Atlantic, the Breton soda remains popular, proof, Kerdode insists, that the drink is more than a passing fad.

"There was certainly a kind of fashion effect back in 2002. It was a new drink and the media picked up on it.

"But if the product is still here today it is because people like it. Breton consumers may buy Breizh Cola for the first time out of a sense of regional pride. But they are not stupid. They won't keep coming back for more unless they think it's good," he said.

Kerdode is cagey about exactly how much cola he sells every year and refuses to give precise figures. But the drink is available in supermarkets and bars across Brittany as well as in certain outlets in Paris, where there is a large Breton community.

Breizh Cola is arguably the best known Breton product that uses its regional identity as a key selling point, but it is by no means alone.

In 1993 a small group of Breton business leaders set up a non-profit organistion called 'Produit en Bretagne' (Produced in Brittany) to support local firms.

"The economy wasn't doing so well back then and we decided we couldn't rely on the politicians to make things better so we set up our own initiative," said director Frederick Bourget.

"The idea was to create a label that would let consumers know that the products they were buying were from Brittany, were of high quality and respected Breton values," he explained.

The label can now be seen on the products of 175 different companies selling goods as diverse as biscuits, tuna fish, beers, clothes and financial services.

In order to join, companies must be based in Brittany and meet certain social and environmental standards.

"All of our member companies have to treat their employees decently and respect the environment. We wouldn't let a firm that is responsible for polluting the region join, for example," Bourget said.

Bourget says it is hard to say precisely what advantages firms using the Produit en Bretagne label enjoy, but he cites the case of one firm, which he declines to name, that saw sales fall after dropping the label from its packaging.

"They put it back again pretty quickly afterwards," he said wryly. Both Bourget and Kerdode say the fierce regional pride felt by so many Bretons forms the bedrock of their success.

"I certainly don't think we've reached saturation point in this market yet. We're already planning to launch other Breton lines," said Kerdode.