Brazil’s Coke Obsession

Things I associate with the Coca-Cola brand are polar bears, Santa, Jack Daniel’s, Pepsi, and now, Brazil.

Walking through the market here, you would think that Coca-Cola was the only soft drink distributor as apart from varieties of Coke, you will usually find only Sprite, Fanta (both distributed by Coca-Cola), and some variation of Guanará (of which Coke has a brand, albeit not a very good one).

Pepsi exists, but it is rare, and I am more concerned with the absence of Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Canada Dry, and Cactus Cooler.

Now, I have been absent from the US for some time now, but I seem to remember that Coke Zero was not incredibly popular (like when they released Coca-Cola Black, Coke+coffee, Does anyone remember that? It was one of the worst things I have ever tasted); have things changed?

As you may have guessed, in Brazil Coke Zero is insanely popular, and I hardly ever catch anyone drinking Coca-Cola Light (I think I prefer the name “Diet Coke”). Overall, Coke and Guaraná Antarctica are the two most popular drinks with the rest of the pack trailing far behind.

It is not uncommon to see people on the street, in corner bars or in restaurants sharing a large (as in 2L+) bottle of Coke with one another. Which brings me to another point. The standard size for a bottle bought in the grocery store is 2.25L, and bottles can be found as large as 3.3L (basically a pony keg of Coke).

Note: Coca-Cola Light cans bear a striking resemblance to Coors Light cans (from the US – no Coors in Brazil) so check yourself before you get too excited about scoring some silver bullets.