1642 Cola: So Expensive It Gathers Dust

Let us be clear. Here at DepQuébec, we have a huge sweet spot for Quebec products. We love them intensely, we buy them and we taste them. And as you know, real love can also be tough.

This being said, with regards to this product called 1642 cola, a locally produced cola, we are at best skeptic and at worst downright confused.

The product itself looks fantastic: the bottle, the label, the brand (1642, the foundation year of Montreal) are very well designed and have everything to seduce French-speaking consumers, at least.

The small company behind this product has done good on spreading the buzz: its owner even parcipated at the Dragons’ Den show on French CBC and sold a company’s 10% stake live on TV.

Also recently, it signed an agreement with giant juice maker Lassonde to ensure distribution of its product in a growing number of points of sale.

So, lots of buzz and good creativity so far.

The only issue is the price.

The 341 ml bottle of 1642 Cola is priced at close to $ 3 each, or $ 2.50 in discount, as seen at IGA (see photo). This amounts to 73 cents per 100 ml.

But what’s in this beverage? The taste is close to Coca-Cola, with a little less salt and bubbles. It’s supposed to taste like maple a bit but being so sweet, it is far from easy to detect.

If you compare this product with Coke, it’s pretty much the same stuff on the label. Both are made of water and about 40 grams of sugar, with more salt for Coke.

Except that a case of 12 cans of 355 ml of Coke is detailed $ 4.99 at discount, which is 0.12 cents per 100 ml. The 1642 cola, even at a discount, is therefore six times more expensive than its rival!

So $ 10 for 4 small bottles is a heck of a price for a sweet, barely carbonated beverage.

The company deems its beverage to be in a “high-end” category, but still: this is just water with sugar, really.

The issue here is that being so expensive (and consumers being so cash-strapped), it stays on the shelves and gathers dust. And the more dust, the less it sells. It’s a vicious circle.

The vicious circle of dust! … hey, what a nice title for a marketing book.

 

We therefore strongly encourage this successful company to consider two options: one, to develop a more reasonably priced version that will better compete with the Pepsis and Cokes of this world or two, to consider exporting to Switzerland, Monaco or the Arab countries, markets recognized for their wealthy clientele. But Quebec?… nah, we don’t think so.