in Vienna - Austria Today

Sinalco
A Cult Brand's Comeback
Practically vanished from the scene for years, cult beverages of the sixties and seventies
are celebrating an extraordinary comeback: Sinalco Orange Soft Drink
and Sinalco Cola. At the moment in supermarkets, but coming soon to numerous
pubs, bars and restaurants.
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In the seventies it was a catchy tune which could have made it into the
hit-parade: a few bars of the Flea Waltz played to the slogan ‘Sinalco
tastes good’ found a direct path from radio and TV advertising into
people's heads. Sinalco was an absolute must-have then, especially among
the young.
In the 70s and 80s the brand changed owners frequently. Sinalco was treated
as a step-child and practically disappeared from the scene.
Only after the founding of the Deutsche Sinalco was the cult soft drink
actively marketed again. Since the middle of the 90s, a medium-sized family
business in Germany, the classic soft drink's country of origin, has been
successful at remaking Sinalco what it once was, a virtual cult brand. With
the unmistakeable shape and characteristic red dot, the re-launch of Sinalco's
legendary bottle has contributed significantly to its comeback. Both of these
traditional Sinalco symbols are protected worldwide. Moreover, Sinalco has
become the stadium drink in the most modern football arena of Europe,
AufSchalke. Since then its resonance has been enormous and not only with
the fans of the cult club Schalke 04. The superior taste is unmistakeable as
it was at the beginning of the 20th century. After all, Sinalco is the only
international soft drink brand produced with natural mineral water.
The result: 80% of the people in Germany know Sinalco.
The company's 100 years of history began in 1902: a naturopath,
Friedrich Eduard Bilz, created a new kind of refreshment, the Bilz Brause. He
marketed the essence of homemade fruit extracts with the manufacturer Fritz
Hartmann. Because there were many imitations, a distinctive brand name
was needed. In 1905 a prize competition produced the name Sinalco, which
stems from the Latin ‘sine alcohole’ ie without alcohol.
Shortly afterward it was exported all over the world, especially in the
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Middle East and South America. Today, Sinalco is once again found in over
50 of the world's countries, most recently in Austria.
S h o p p i n g - T i p
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Sinalco has again been available in Austria since
September. With 97 stores, the Merkur supermarkets
are the flagship enterprises which have included
the beverage in its product range throughout
Austria. There will soon be several specialist beverage
wholesalers to expand the marketing network
to the restaurant business as well, for the interest in
the cult brand Sinalco is immense.
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