As supporters of Palestine continue to boycott brands associated with the Israeli aggression in Gaza, a London-based man has developed an alternative to Coca-Cola — Gaza Cola.
Osama Qashoo, who founded Hiba Express, a fast-food chain serving Middle Eastern food, created Gaza Cola in November 2023. According to Al Jazeera, Qashoo highlighted that the drink, which is made from typical cola ingredients and has a sweet and acidic taste similar to Coca-Cola, “is totally different from the formula that Coke uses”.
He said all profits from the drink are being donated towards rebuilding the maternity ward of the al-Karama Hospital, northwest of Gaza City.
Qashoo started by getting Hiba Express and other local Palestinian restaurants to carry Gaza Cola. The drink is also sold by Muslim retailers such as Manchester-based Al Aqsa, which recently ran out of stock, according to the store’s manager, Mohammed Hussain. Since early August, 500,000 cans of Gaza Cola have been sold, according to Al Jazeera.
“These companies that fuel this genocide, when you hit them in the most important place, which is the revenue stream, it definitely makes a lot of difference and makes them think,” Qashoo said. Gaza Cola, he adds, is “going to build a boycott movement” that will hit Coke financially.
