The story behind Fritz-kola, the German soft drink with little sugar and lots of caffeine

Twenty years ago, Mirco Wolf Wiegert and Lorenz Hampl wanted to create their own business. Cola was the thing but we all know there is a huge competitor already sitting in that market. So how can one be different? It was time to get creative. The two young men, in their 20s at the time, decided to go with a drink that contained more caffeine and less sugar than Coke and Pepsi. They added the maximum amount of caffeine allowed by law: 25 milligrams per 100 milliliters. After raising some initial funding (€7,000), they registered the company and looked for a manufacturer to set them on the right track.

Early market research involved partying with other twenty-somethings - to discover if that demographic would take to their new idea. It went down well and twenty years later, Fritz-kola employs 300 people, selling successfully across several European countries, including Austria and Switzerland. According to Nielsen data, in German bars and restaurants, it has been the second best-selling brand, ahead of Pepsi. And they have many flavours on show: apple, lemon, orange and rhubarb.

Why kola with a K?

The creators of Fritz-kola decided to listen to their future customers to come up with the drink’s name. Putting together a list of possible names that were related to Hamburg and northern Germany, they included Alster kola, after the lake; Elbe kola, after the river; and Northern kola. They also stood at a shopping centre and asked shoppers questions to gather feedback. Fritz comes from the name Friedrich. And the K makes them stand out.

Sustainability

Sustainability is key for the brand; Fritz-kola is only sold in glass bottles. Since its founding in 2003, its commitment to glass and avoiding the use of plastic in the manufacturing process of its bottles has allowed the company to make a difference with respect to the competition. In Germany and central Europe, they use returnable bottles, which are cleaned and refilled up to 50 times.

Today, it is Wiegert who remains at the helm of the company after his partner left in 2016. “Our long-term goal is to become the number-one cola drink in Europe in the hospitality segment, in bars and cafés,” he tells Spanish outlet El País.