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November 16, 2009

Coca Naming and Branding: Watch Out Coke, Kūka Is Here

As faithful readers of this blog know, I am often amused by the world of energy drinks and the launch of Kūka, another coca-based drink, brings a smile to my face this Monday.

Not because this is a particularly wacky name, although it does sound a little cuckoo, but because it is yet another name that tries to sidestep the biggest coca drink in the world: Coca-Cola.

The key ingredient in this 100% natural beverage is "hand-picked Andean coca leaves." The web site boasts "called by its original name, Kūka [Koo-ka] is a curiously complex all-natural non-carbonated coca leaf beverage straight from the heart of the Andes."

They even have loads of testimonials on the Kūka blog site, and some bloggers have noted that the stuff mixes well with whiskey and also with rum, leading us to wonder who exactly is paying top dollar to mix this subtle, natural drink with all of its "medicinal and nutritional values" in a drink.

This is the "signature" beverage for Kuka Drink, Inc. (note the lack of a macron mark over the "u" in the company naming"). The web site for the company promises us a drinking experience without the sugar "jolt" that other, nameless coca drinks give you (cough, Coke, cough).

The slogan is "Feel the Andes" and I suppose this mellow, green package design serves well enough.

The name, of course, is yet another attempt by somebody trying, once again, to sell us on the "good" kind of coca leaf (as opposed to the white stuff and that fizzy stuff from you know who).

Back in 2005, a company named Coca Sek ("Coca of the Sun") tried to re-establish the "good name of the coca leaf" - the drink was sold in Bogata Columbia by people who touted it as the answer to Coke's "imperialist domination." But of course, they did like that Coca name.

Kūka is not an anti-Coke drink but it's hard not to think of Coke when you say the name.

Frankly, I think all of these drinks are well served by the fact that we are all used to drinking Coke. Selling a drink from the coca leaf just isn't that big a leap for most of us.

Technorati Tags: Kūka, Energy Drink, Coca-Cola, Beverages, Coca Leaf

Posted by William Lozito at November 16, 2009 9:37 AM
Posted to Beverages | Brand Naming | Branding | Naming | Product Naming

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