The Rising Trend of Cola Branding: A Summary of Notable Japanese Craft Cola Brands

Craft Cola is Trending ♡

Recently, craft cola has been a hot topic.

It's like craft beer, where cola is made unique to each region or brand... As someone who grew up in the era where cola meant Coca-Cola or Pepsi, I find it exciting and interesting ♡

Being able to create original cola like tea or mandarin juice, with different flavors depending on the brand, sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?

How is it different from regular cola...?

But first of all, what exactly is craft cola?

What does "craft" mean??

Let’s start by clearing up those questions.

First of all, it seems there isn’t a specific definition for the beverage known as cola.

✅ It seems there are no rules stating that cola must contain certain ingredients...

✅ There’s no rule saying that if a certain ingredient is present in a percentage above a certain level it can be called cola...

Apparently, any drink can be legally called cola if it includes "cola" in the product name.

Generally, cola is recognized as a sweet syrup mixed with spices.

However, the name "cola" originates from the kola nut, which comes from the kola tree found in Ghana, Africa.

This nut is regarded as a "gift from the gods," and it is treated as a sacred food in the region, with its syrup consumed as juice or medicine. This is the origin of cola worldwide.

(However, cola containing kola nut extract is said to be extremely rare globally.)

And "craft" gives the impression of something artisanal... but simply put, it means "made in small quantities."

It’s the opposite of mass production in large factories.

Therefore, craft cola refers to spiced syrups that are produced and sold in small batches, not mass-produced.

Now, let me introduce some craft colas available in Japan that I’m currently interested in ♩

1. Iracora

The world's first craft cola specialty manufacturer.

It is the pioneer of craft cola in Japan and around the world.

This cola is very rare globally as it includes kola nuts.

The main store in Shimura is glass-walled, allowing you to see the syrup production process of the cola.*

It's packed with fruits and spices and is amazing ♡

2. Shima Cola

A craft cola made with a unique blend of spices by "Tamarind Shokudo," a curry shop in Ishigaki Island.

This spicy cola is made using plenty of freshly harvested organic herbs and turmeric from Ishigaki Island.*

The large bottle looks similar to whiskey.

With plenty of spices, drinking it really refreshes the body like herbal medicine. It overturns the traditional concept of cola.

3. Off Cola

A stylish craft cola.

Developed in collaboration with chef Kiyoshi Hayashi, CityCamp, a lifestyle studio that merges urban and camping culture, creates spaces, music, fashion, and drinks.

The packaging is stylish.

It seems delicious even when drunk with milk ♡

The craft colas mentioned are all syrup types meant to be diluted.

You can mix them with soda or enjoy them hot by mixing with milk, which is recommended ♡

Cola was once treated as a medicine. The image of it being overly sweet and unhealthy may become a thing of the past, and instead, the notion of being refreshing with plenty of spices could soon become the new standard in the Reiwa era ♡