Bec Cola is a

carbonated Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic ch ...

soft drink 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 su ...

produced by Bec Soda Inc. in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. Sweetened primarily with

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

, it debuted in 2014; the company was founded by Olivier Dionne and brothers Gwendal and Kevin Creurer. The beverage is distributed by Horizon Nature and sold in Canada, France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

History

In 2012, Olivier Dionne (born ), a travel guide and former soul singer, and brothers Gwendal Creuer (born ) and Kevin Creuer (born ), a

motion graphic design Motion graphic design, also known as motion design, is a subset of graphic design in that it uses graphic design principles in a filmmaking or video production context (or other temporally evolving visual media) through the use of animation or ...

er and music teacher, respectively, decided to create a soda without using artificial ingredients, after seeing the amount of chemical additives in other

cola Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imita ...

s. The founders have kept their previous jobs. It took two years to develop a formula that tasted the same. The trio worked with professional chemists to replace the chemical additives in generic cola with natural ingredients. They also worked with the

Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (french: Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec, FPAQ) is a government-sanctioned private organization that regulates the production and marketing of maple syrup in Quebec. As of 2011, ...

for a supply of

, which makes up 88% of the formula's sugar content; the rest is

beet sugar A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wit ...

, and a bottle contains 30 grams of sugar total.

Production

Bec Soda Inc. entered production in August 2014, with $140,000 of the partners' money invested. Two months after its launch, it began to be bottled in

Rougemont, Quebec Rougemont is a municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, located within the Rouville Regional County Municipality in the Montérégie region about 18 kilometers southwest of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Sain ...

. In the first year, it sold 50,000 bottles. The company sold 500,000 bottles in the first half of 2016. Lime and cranberry variants were introduced in June 2016, and the 100,000-bottle production run was pre-sold. According to Dionne, the cola has received a generally positive public reaction.

Ingredients

* Filtered

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

* Organic

Citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in t ...

* Organic

caramel colour Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized than ...

* Organic

flavour

Geographic spread

, company has 1,200

points of sale The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...

and 1,000 points of sale combined in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is also sold in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The labeling, originally entirely in French, is also printed in English.

References

External links

* {{Official, http://bec-cola.com/ Products introduced in 2014 Canadian drinks Cola brands