What changes would you suggest for Mecca Cola's future global marketing mix, in order to meet its future challenges?

Mecca Cola: Marketing of a 'Muslim' cola to the European market Until now the cola war has mainly been going on in North America and Europe. But a French Tunisian, in January 2003, opened up a second front by producing a carbonated drink named Mecca Cola, a new soft drink designed to cash in on anti- US sentiment, mainly in European markets. The new drink will be marketed in bottles of 1.5 litres and 330ml cans. Zam Zam Cola It is not the first time Coca-Cola has been the target of a 'buy Muslim' challenge. Zam Zam Cola, an Iranian drink named after a holy spring in Mecca, has won an enthusiastic reception in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. US companies such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Nike and the two cola giants admit the campaign is wounding them. Sales of Coca-Cola have dropped between 20 and 40 per cent in some countries. In Morocco, a government official estimates sales of Pepsi and Coca-Cola could fall by half in the north, which is a stronghold of Islamic groups. In the United Arab Emirates, sales of the local Star Cola are up by 40 per cent over the past three months. Zam Zam, which also produces non-alcoholic 'Islamic beer', has a long pedigree in Iran, where it was founded in 1954 and today has 47 per cent of the domestic market. For many years it was the Iranian partner of Pepsi Cola until their contract was ended after the 1979 revolution. A Saudi firm owned by one of the kingdom's princes, Turki Abdallah al-Faisal, in January 2003 signed an agreement with the Zam Zam Group, giving the Saudi company exclusive distribution rights in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and a number of other Arab countries. Zam Zam was taken over by the Foundation of the Dispossessed, a powerful state charity run by clerics, and today it employs more than 7,000 people in its 17 factories in Iran. It is now planning to build factories in the Persian Gulf. Its cola is already exported to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the company says it will soon ship its drinks to Lebanon, Syria and Denmark - its first European client. The marketing and internationalization of Mecca Cola Other firms in the Middle East have tried creating different cola drinks, but none has turned its drink into a political weapon. The first businesses to sell Mecca Cola were what Mr Mathlouthi described as 'small ethnic shops in Muslim areas'. Now the drink can be found on the shelves of large cash and carry supermarkets in France, Belgium and Germany. The company behind Mecca Cola says the United Kingdom is also a huge market and already has orders to send about 2 million bottles a month to Britain. Mecca Cola was originally targeted at France's Muslim community but now several major hypermarket chains in France are stocking the soft drink. While Coca-Cola's revenues in the Middle East represent less than 2 per cent of its global business, it is galling for Coke to lag behind Pepsi in the region. Britain's 1.8 million Muslims have only recently begun to discover a collective voice and it remains unclear whether a boycott or a 'buy Muslim' campaign will occur. In Muslim areas of Paris the soft drink is sold for 1.20 per 1.5 litre bottle, approximately the same as its US rival Coke. Latest developments Riding on anti-western anger over issues like Palestine, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, and also the Danish Muhammed cartoons (January-February 2006), Mecca Cola has achieved impressive sales in several Muslim countries. Pakistan, Algeria, Yemen, Malaysia and France are Mecca Cola's top markets. In 2006 the demand for Mecca Cola is estimated to be 1.5 million cans per month in the Gulf region alone. Mecca Cola (with its HQ in the United Arab Emirates) says it will now launch coffee shops under the brand name Mecca Caf to provide an alternative to established western outlets in Muslim countries. The first coffee shop is ready to be opened at Dubai Healthcare City. The Dubai opening will be followed by coffee shops in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Pakistan's Islamabad. Mecca Cola plans to have at least one coffee shop in every Muslim capital. After that it will discuss franchising arrangements with partners for expanding the chain. The company has also launched a new energy drink called 'Mecca Power'. This drink is based purely on halal ingredients (Husain, 2006)