Tuesday, January 27, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 5
New cola caffeinates Kansas
Zydacala is sold at five acre businesses. The new drink, which tastes like cola and coffee, has the maximum level of caffeine allowed. Photo by Geoff Krieger
By Emily C. Forsyth
Kansan staff writer
A new contender in the burgeoning market of coffee-cola hybrids is being marketed and sold exclusively in the Lawrence and Kansas City area.
Zydekola, a caffeine-laden beverage, is being test-marketed locally and targeted at 16 to 25year-olds, said Nathan Bieck, University of Kansas advertising graduate and Zydekola national sales manager.
Zydekola now is sold at about five businesses in Lawrence, including Alvin's IGA, Mojo's restaurant and the Jayhawk Bookstore.
"It like having a shot and a half of coffee in one can. It has the maximum amount of caffeine the FDA allows in a beverage," Bieck said. "It's well above Mountain Dew and Jolt."
It sells for between 80 cents and $1.00 for one can and $4.99 for a six-pack.
"We've really been focusing on Lawrence right now," Bieck said. "It's an up-all-night, go-go town. We find college kids really enjoy it."
Will Friend, operations manager at the Jayhawk Bookstore, said Zydekola sales were high.
"It's taken a little bit to catch on, but sales are increasing," he said.
Yzdekola also is sold at about 60 retailers in the Kansas City area, Bieck said. Once the product has established a good sales record in the current market, it will expand to a national scale.
"Our future plans are to absolutely saturate the Kansas City-Lawrence area with Yedekola to get it really solid here." Bieck said. "From there, it's endless."
The product recently has drawn attention from the television show "Inside Edition," which was in Lawrence and on campus to film a segment for a show scheduled to air in late January or early February.
The "Inside Edition" crew visited the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house and the Granada on Jan. 15 to videotape students testing the drink.
"'Inside Edition' came over
and set up a jazz band," said Bob Bishop, president of Phi Delta Theta. "We had about 20 or so guys, and some ladies from the Pi Beta Phi house came over. They had us try the cola, and everyone was talking to each other and seeing how they felt about it."
Bishop said that Zydekola tasted like a combination of coffee and cola and that it had received mixed reviews.
"The opinions varied," Bishop said. "It depended on whether you liked coffee or cola."
Bieck said that the idea for the coffee-cola blend originated in New Orleans when the drink's creator, Ernie Copabianco, heard that people were pouring cola into their coffee. He asked
"It's like having a shot and a half of espresso in one can. It has the maximum amount of caffeine the FDA allows in a beverage."
Nathan Bieck
Red Lyon Tavern
944 Mass.
832-8228
Zydekola national sales manager
a waitress to bring him a mixture of the two and instantly loved it.
"He thought he was on to something," Bieck said. "Caffeine is the drug of the millennium, so he decided to market it."
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