Baghdad Soft Drinks Co (ISX: IBSD on the

Iraq Stock Exchange The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), formerly the Baghdad Stock Exchange, is a stock exchange in Baghdad, Iraq. It was established by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Order No. 74 as a ''sui generis'' independent non-profit organization on Apr ...

) is a

Soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a s ...

Bottling company A bottling company is a commercial enterprise whose output is the bottling of beverages for distribution. Many bottling companies are franchisees of corporations such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo who distribute the beverage in a specific geographic ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. It is the company that has the exclusive licence to sell

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

products in

PepsiCo International PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the fo ...

's franchise agreement authorises Baghdad Soft Drinks Company to produce and distribute PepsiCo's

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, Seven-Up and

Mirinda Mirinda is a brand of soft drink originally created in Spain in 1959 and now owned by PepsiCo with global distribution. Its name comes from the Esperanto translation of "admirable" or "amazing". It is available in many fruit varieties, like ora ...

soft drink brands. Many bottling companies are

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

es of corporations such as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

and

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

who distribute the beverage in a specific geographic region. It has a staff of ~1,400, and the 2004 agreement with pepsi is expected to create some 2,000 new jobs at Baghdad. Iraqi Pepsi is currently selling about 7.2 million bottles a month, though this number drops subject to power outages.

History

Pepsi-Cola in Iraq goes back to 1950, when the brand was launched. Pepsi grew to become Iraq's leading soft drink brand, with Baghdad Soft Drinks Company, becoming a Pepsi franchisee in 1984. However, that relationship ended in 1990, when PepsiCo ceased doing business in Iraq after US and international trade sanctions barred trade with the country. Hamid Jassim Khamis, serves as managing director, but resigned after he clashed with

Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein ( ar, عدي صدام حسين; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and the eldest son of Saddam Hussein. He held numerous positions as a sports chairman, military officer and businessman, and was the head ...

, son of the dictator Saddam Hussein, who bought a 10 per cent share of the company. During the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, the local Pepsi-maker was forced to replace authentic PepsiCo concentrates with counterfeit varieties smuggled in from eastern Europe, due to international regulation. After 2003, Uday Hussein's stake was frozen and Mr Khamis was brought back. Current Chairman of board of PEPSI Cola in Iraq is Essam Kareem Kzar Alasadi PepsiCo's rival Coke returned to Iraq in January 2004. A new company with the name The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Iraq has been set up. Coca-Cola drinks are imported into Iraq from Jordan, Turkey and other neighbouring countries. Pepsi Cola had been the only cola in Iraq since the mid-1960s

Arab League boycott of israel The Arab League boycott of Israel is a strategy adopted by the Arab League and its member states to boycott economic and other relations between Arabs and the Arab states and Israel and specifically stopping all trade with Israel which adds to ...

, because of Coke's investments in Israel. Through local lawyers, PepsiCo is trying to re-register its trademark in Iraq, hoping for a crackdown on counterfeiters.

References

{{PepsiCo PepsiCo bottlers Drink companies of Iraq Companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange

History

See also

References