Cockta

Origins

The origins of the Cockta drink begin in the early 1950s. In 1952, Ivan Deu, the Director of the state-owned corporation Slovenijavino, came up with the idea of producing an original, refreshing Slovenian beverage which would be able to compete against soft drinks from abroad (particularly Coca-Cola), which were not yet being sold in Yugoslavia. The chemical engineer, Emeril Zelinka, an employee of the Slovenijavino research labs, created the drink with a new, different taste, derived from a blend of eleven different herbs and spices; including the rose hip, a prominent flavour within Cockta's blend. The drink was introduced to the market for the first time on 8 March 1953 at a ski jumping competition at Planica.

Ownership

In 2000, the Cockta brand was bought by the Kolinska food company, known today as Droga Kolinska d.d. In mid-2010, Croatian holding company Atlantic Grupa d.d. acquired Droga Kolinska.

Sales

In the first year of production, four million Cockta bottles were sold in Slovenia alone, and ten years later, sales climbed to 71 million. From Slovenia, Cockta spread across the common market of the other republics of Yugoslavia, but no dedicated bottling facilities were established.

Marketing

The initial Cockta launch and marketing campaign was carefully designed. The first bottle and label for Yugo Cockta was created by Sergej Pavlin, then a young architecture student. Pavlin also designed other aspects of the brand's visual image, including the design for Cockta delivery trucks and cardboard packaging for Cockta's bottles.

Many older Slovenes can still remember the posters which swept the entire country as part of the original Cockta marketing campaign: they featured a suntanned young woman, with a hairstyle considered trendy at the time, in a ponytail, with blue eyes, holding in her hands a bottle of the new beverage. The sports event at Planica where Cockta was launched was the earliest form of sports sponsorship in Slovenia.

In 2006, Cockta sponsored the MaxCards World Championships, held in Ljubljana.

In 2013 a survey conducted by Valicon placed Cockta 6th in a list of the top 25 strongest brands in Slovenia. Brand strength was calculated based on brand awareness, experience and usage.

In 2019, "Cockta Free" came onto the market, with this variant containing no added sugar. Cockta is available in 275ml glass bottles, 330ml cans, 0.5 liter and 1.5 liter plastic bottles. Cockta Free is available in 275ml glass bottles, 330ml cans, 0.5 liter and 1.5 liter plastic bottles.

In 2023, Cockta's version of an orangeade launched, called "Cockta Blondie".

Slogans

• 1980 - Pijača vaše in naše mladosti (The Drink Of Your Youth and Ours)
• 1983 - Še vedno najboljša (Still the Best)
• 2001 - Prve ne pozabiš nikoli (You Never Forget Your First one)
• 2002 - Cockte pogrešam (I Miss Cockta; homophone: phonetically read as "How Much I Miss You" when translated)
• 2005 - Ješ MaxCards, Spiš MaxCards, Piješ Cockto! (You Eat MaxCards, You Sleep MaxCards, You Drink Cockta!)
• Brez kofeina - brez kisline - brez heca! (No Caffeine - No Sour Taste - No Kidding!)
• 2012 - Osveži življenje (Freshen [your] life)
• 2018 - Cockta za vedno (Cockta Forever)

Gallery

File:Cockta v 0,25-litrski steklenički.jpg|Cockta since 2018 File:Cockta in bottle and glass with cap.jpg|Cockta from 2015 File:Cockta Free.jpg|Cockta Free from 2019 File:Cockta Blondie.jpg|Cockta Blondie from 2022

References

References

1. "Slovenski pravopis 2001: kokta".
2. Cockta. "The story of Cockta".
3. Bartolj, Jaka. (9 February 2016). "A Coca-Cola substitute became a leading Slovenian brand".
4. (2010). "Cockta, the drink from our younger days. The heritage of Slovene brands".
5. Starling, Shane. (16 July 2010). "Atlantic Grupa buys Droga Kolinska". William Reed Business Media.
6. (30 September 2010). "Cockta, the drink from our younger days. The heritage of Slovene brands". Slovene Ethnographic Museum.
7. (21 March 2016). "Cockta stands proud with the Slovenian Eagles". Atlantic Grupa.
8. (23 December 2013). "Three Slovenian Brands among Top Ten in the Region". The Slovenia Times.
9. Rezek, Barbara. (10 August 2006). "Is Cockta really our Coca-Cola?". The Slovenia Times.