Mecca-Cola was launched in
France, in November 2002, by the brand's founder Tawfik Mathlouthi as a means of aiding
Palestinians by tapping into demand for alternative products in
European countries. He had been inspired by a popular
Iranian soft drink,
Zamzam Cola and only decided to launch his own brand when he was unable to agree on terms for a distribution contract with Zamzam, as well as providing an alternative for his sons instead of Coca-Cola. Mecca-Cola is now sold in some parts of the
Arab world as well as in certain regions of
Europe. It has also been bought and consumed in certain parts of the
United States,
Britain,
India and
Canada. Although the product was created in France, the company is currently based in
Dubai in the
United Arab Emirates. Part of its corporate philosophy is, according to the
Muslim charity precept, to support charities, and in particular to help the
Palestinian people. It pledges to donate 10% of its profits to fund strictly humanitarian projects (such as schools) in the
Palestinian territories, and another 10% to
charities in the countries in which the drink is sold. This activist stance is reflected in the company slogan, which appears on all its products: "Shake your Conscience." The company also suggests that people avoid mixing the drink with alcohol. Mecca is the Islamic holy city, giving the name of the cola a religious connotation. In addition to several different presentations of its cola, the company also sells a range of fruit-flavoured soft drinks under the Mecca-Cola name. The company was the sponsor of – and Mecca-Cola the official drink of – the October 2003 Summit of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), held in
Malaysia. In a BBC documentary produced in 2003,
Qibla Cola's Zafer Iqbal and Mecca Cola's Mathlouthi are shown promoting their "Message in a Bottle". In 2012 the
Federal Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates decided that "Mecca-Cola" could not be registered as a trademark, due to a law disallowing religious connotations in trademarks. In 2015, Mecca Cola dissolved operations in many countries including India and the UK. == International distribution ==