While the Cola wars raged between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Peru was an entirely different battlefield for many years. Inca Kola, a lemon verbena-infused yellow-hued fizzy drink created by a British immigrant, was the clear king of the market
So strong was Inca Kola's reign that Coca-Cola gave up fighting and bought a stake in the brand in the late '90s. It still owns the global trademark outside of Peru and has a 50% of the brand's domestic operations.
But that deal was a bone to competitors. Rival blue-and-yellow-branded beverages can now claim to be more genuinely Peruvian than the original. And, of course, it wouldn't be a cola war without Pepsi also on the scene. Its Triple Kola also uses the same colours.
That competition has led to the latest Inca Kola rebrand as the original golden beverage aims to reassert its national treasure status. Some people had criticised a logo redesign in 2016, which dropped two key elements? Can revamped visuals and a sonic logo now help the brand regain its authenticity?
The last logo redesign reduced the Inca Kola identity to its core elements, stripping away the white borders around the type, along with the shape of Peru behind the text and the 'since 1935' legend below.
It was simpler, clearer and more readable: more visible on the shelf, younger and more modern. But some customers took offence at the decision to remove the outline of the country from the logo, suggesting it was a more globalised and more generic design.
It's fallen to design agency Epoch to refresh the branding in a bid to make it stand out against increased competition. The stripped-down logo remains, but the rebrand leans into stronger supporting visual assets that aim to emphasise a feeling of belonging.
The logo's shape becomes an asset in its own right, serving as a framing device for photography and video that present Inca Kola at social gatherings or paired with food, depicting it as the drink that brings Peruvians together.
There's also a new sonic logo created with Echoic Audio. The four-note mnemonic was created by tapping on traditional glass cola bottles – a sound already associated with the brand.
"Our creative exploration centred on honouring the brand’s iconic colours, shapes and patterns," Epoch says of the rebrand. "We modernised these elements, bringing them to life through an uplifting visual identity, sonic branding and brand world. Visuals put an emphasis on how the brand brings people together and its importance with food."
Will the refresh be enough to reclaim the brand's OG (original gold?) status?
