The success story of Germany-based Fritz-Kola is an example of the power of youngsters. Fritz-Kola that captured the soft drinks market, dominated by giants like Coca Cola and Pepsi, has been founded by students Lorenz Hampl and Mirco Wiegert from Hamburg, Germany.
They thought about launching their own Cola company back in 2003. They had no idea about the ingredients required to make Cola. Like everyone, they also were just consumers of Cola. Although they googled for the recipe, it was in vain. As next step, they reached out to various breweries in Germany requesting a cola recipe. Many key breweries declined their request. After hundreds of calls, they finally got a ‘yes’ from a small brewery in Western Germany. Thus was born Fritz-Kola. The first batch had 170 boxes containing 4,080 bottles. The bottles were displayed in bars instead of supermarkets and retailers. The duo delivered the product at bars in a van.
Initially, bars were reluctant to use Fritz-kola instead of the main cola brand. Lorenz and Mirco won orders by offering a refund for unsold stock. After weeks of hard work, Fritz-kola reached the masses. Many decided to try it as it was the effort of two students. Fritz-kola’s triumphant journey began there. The company’s first logo was the face of Lorenz and Mirco. The logo was created at a cost of 100 euros. The project started with an investment of 7000 euros and was registered for 70 euros. The logo was made black and white because of the high cost involved in colour printing.
Fritz is a common name in Germany. It was chosen after conducting a small survey among the people. For a unique taste, Lorenz and Mirco reduced sugar and added a bit more lime juice and more caffeine than in Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This gave Fritz-kola a strong taste. If 100 ml of Coca-Cola contains 10mg of caffeine, Fritz has 25mg caffeine. In addition, sugar-free cola and various fruit drinks were launched.
Both Lorenz and Mirco worked without an office and staff for three years. The project that kickstarted through mouth publicity gained more traction in future through advertisements criticising Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Erdogan. It gave Cola a different face. Fritz-kola became a well-known brand in Germany. Today, Fritz-kola is manufactured in five manufacturing plants.
The Startup, which was started by two students from an apartment 17 years ago, is undoubtedly the best brand in Europe today. Thanks to the attitude of youngsters. Though Lorenz parted ways in 2016, Mirco continued. He owns a majority stake and leads Fritz-kola with 280 employees.
