Only a few days passed since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip after Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7, but major campaigns were launched in many Arab and Islamic countries to boycott international products that openly support the Israeli occupation. At the forefront of these countries was Egypt. Which witnessed a widespread boycott of many international brands, and calls to support local products and provide alternatives.
The boycott campaigns targeted many famous products, most notably the fast food chain McDonald’s, whose sales in Egypt collapsed by 70% during the months of October and November compared to last year, while the international coffee chain Starbucks suffered a sharp decline in sales. The demand for its products prompted it to lay off a number of workers and employees in its various branches. Certainly, the famous international soft drink companies, led by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, were at the top of the list of products affected by the boycott (1).
With calls to provide alternatives to international products, many local products appeared in the Egyptian markets in various sectors, which received popular support regardless of their level of quality. Among these local products was an ancient product that came from the distant past and sparked great controversy among Egyptians. It is supposed that it It offers a good alternative to international soft drinks, but it has a slight problem, which is that Egyptians often cannot pronounce its name!
100 years back
“We received hundreds of calls from everyone. We were bombarded with orders from retail outlets and restaurant chains. Everyone wanted our product. We no longer sleep for more than two hours. The phones don’t stop. The momentum for Spates has reached its peak. We have doubled production by one, two, or three times.” .
(Marcos Talaat, Marketing Director of Spirospats Company, in a press interview (2))
In 1920, at a time when guarded Egypt was celebrating the birth of Crown Prince Farouk I, the only son of King Fouad and Queen Nazli, and while gifts, free food and drinks were being distributed to all the people in joy of the birth of the country’s next king, among these drinks was a soft drink that appeared to be… New to the Egyptian market, it bears the name “Spirospats”, which has been well received by people.
At first glance, it seems a strange name that is difficult to pronounce, but this was not the case for the Egyptians at that time, as Egypt was teeming with foreign communities of various nationalities at that time. It was not difficult for the Egyptians to know that this name goes back to the Greek “Khawaja” Spirospats, who launched his first soft drink bearing his name in the Egyptian market. At that time, Al-Khawaja was over thirty-five years old, and he had gone through a journey of struggle that led him to produce this drink.
Spiro was born in 1885, came to Egypt at the age of fifteen, and studied in Egyptian schools that included large numbers of foreigners of various nationalities. Before coming to Egypt, the Greek boy worked in the honey bees on the local California island, which would greatly influence his future perceptions, and would cause him to put the “bee” logo on his soft drink forever. In 1909, the young man was working in the small factory owned by his uncle, “Nicole Spates,” for soft drinks, which made him absorb the craftsmanship and master all stages of beverage production, gave him great experience in the field of manufacturing, and launched his personal ambition to create an innovative soft drink.
Greatest sparkling water!
“Spirospats. This man came to Egypt as young as Theo Kharis, or even younger than him, and he carried one important and new idea, which was the necessity of producing a national Egyptian drink for soft water. It was usual for foreigners to invest in the beer industry, but there remained a constant need for A popular Egyptian drink that is in line with the idea of prohibiting alcoholic beverages in the Islamic religion.”
(From the book “The Seven Khawajat” by the Egyptian writer Mustafa Obaid (3))
Since the launch of his factory in 1920 on Khaleej Al-Khor Street, off Imad El-Din Street, in the central Cairo area, and with the distinctive “bee” logo that Spouts insisted would be the official logo for the soft drink next to its name, the “Sperospats” drink began to gain great popularity in the Egyptian market among all circles. Popular and foreign communities as well. With the diversity of its flavours, the drink achieved wide spread during the following years, to the point that it won the King Farouk Medal at the Second Specific Exhibition for Industries, which was held in 1941, as the best local product in the field of soft drinks – or gasoline, as it was called at the time – outperforming dozens of factories. Other competition in this field.
The drink flourished greatly in royal Egypt, and became one of the Egyptian national industries that received government encouragement, to the point that the Royal Palace concluded a contract to supply its needs of “Spirospats” drinks. This prosperity led to the growth of the factory, which expanded to include hundreds of workers, and more than 20 cars to distribute products throughout all Egyptian governorates – which was considered a large fleet of cars in that era – as well as the use of railways to deliver the product to remote areas in southern Egypt.
After Khawaja
On May 8, 1950, “Al-Khawaja” Spirospates died at the age of sixty-five, and was buried in ancient Egyptian cemeteries next to St. George’s Church, leaving behind four children, three of whom were male, and a multi-flavored soft drink that dominates the beverage market in Egypt. After his death, his son, “Elijah,” took over the leadership of the company after him.
Despite the wave of nationalization that affected foreign-owned companies in the 1950s after the declaration of the republic, the “Spirospats” company escaped the grip of the Free Officers and Abdel Nasser and continued its work with the same efficiency. The July Revolution even considered it an example of a local Egyptian product that deserved encouragement and support, and gained the confidence of the state and the market. So much so that it was the number one drink in Egyptian government institutions.
During that period, “Sperospats” turned into a famous brand, even on the artistic and advertising level, as it was known to be the favorite soft drink of the most famous Egyptian singer, “Umm Kulthum.” It also appeared in many famous Egyptian films of that period, the most famous of which was the film “Bab Al-Hadid.” In which actress Hend Rostom played the role of Hanoma, a cold drinks seller, she limited herself to the Spirospats drink in particular (4).
Elijah died in 1960, and a new era began in the 1960s in which the “Sperospats” brand continued with the same strength, with the state’s tendency to support local products, until the defeat of 1967 came to bear a new Egyptian reality that represented a major turning point in the popularity of the soft drink and its success, which continued as the most important local product. In the country for more than forty years.
Spatz betrayed the people!
One of the funny stories circulated in the news at that time about the “Sperospats” drink is what happened in the student demonstrations that swept Egyptian universities in 1968 following the defeat, where students went out in a demonstration in which calls were chanted against Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, as he was primarily responsible for the setback. When security forces surrounded the demonstration, the demonstrators took out bottles of Spirospats and chanted: “Down with Spirospats… Spirospats betrayed the people.” This chant was a pun to denounce the leader without mentioning his name.
After the October 1973 war, and the Egyptian state’s move towards a policy of economic openness and its embrace of the Western model, Egyptian markets were filled with international products, most notably the drinks of the international companies “Coca-Cola” and “Pepsi”, which led to a sharp decline in the spread of local products, which led to a sharp decline in the spread of local products. The Greek company “Al-Khawaja” affected. However, Spirospats continued to remain in the Egyptian markets under the supervision of his sons until the end of the nineties, when it was announced that the entire company would be acquired in 1998 by Sabsa Carbonated Water Company, an Egyptian company founded in 1970 by two brother businessmen Talaat Atwan and Samir Atwan. It is also developing some local soft drinks.
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With the departure of the sons of “Al-Khawaja” Spates from Egypt, and the transfer of the company to Egyptian management, “Speros Spates” maintained its brand and developed its flavors, although its spread became so limited that it completely disappeared from Egyptian shops and cafes during the first decade of the millennium. With the death of the Atwan brothers and the departure of many of their children abroad, “Spirospats” continued to disappear until the factory stopped completely and was sold in 2014, which meant the death of the brand that was founded by the ambitious Greek about 100 years ago (1) (3).
Return
“We reopened the company again. Soft water is a family business. We have a history that extends for decades in the industry. We know its secrets and details more than anyone else, and we know our ability to exist with an ambitious plan but with specific goals.”
(Marcos Talaat, one of the owners of Spirospats)
In 2019, the family was reunited again, and Spirospats quietly reappeared in the Egyptian market. In 2020, with the Corona epidemic sweeping the world, the company launched several advertising campaigns and began to have a timid presence in the market, but it was not an effective presence in light of the dominance of global soft drinks, and the new generations did not know anything about this product, let alone their ability to pronounce its name. But the matter changed completely with the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, and the rise of calls to boycott international products as one of the popular tools to put pressure on international companies that support the Israeli occupation.
Within a few weeks of the battle, Spirospats sales had increased by 300%, a figure that was completely unexpected. This strong demand was surprising to the company, and although it seemed like an opportunity that would not be repeated, it carried with it a great challenge in light of the company’s lack of production capabilities to provide its product in the market in abundance that matches the intensity of demand, and also to improve its flavors to compete with international products. It was natural, given the huge demand, for the company to announce that it was opening its doors to employ thousands of workers, which led to it receiving more than 15,000 CVs by the end of last October, and launching a major advertising activity that contributed to introducing millions of Egyptians to its brand (5) ( 6).
In the end, the Gaza war represented the beginning of life for many different local products and services in the Arab countries, the most important of which was the “Spirospats” drink, as the name – despite its difficulty in pronouncing – became popular among Egyptians, even those who had not yet tasted it due to the lack of its quantity in the markets. Despite the high price, which doubled due to the intense demand. In the end, this remains one of the examples worth contemplating about the sudden fluctuations of markets against the backdrop of political events, and how the shape of business competitions can change overnight.
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Sources
- 1 – Starbucks lays off employees in Egypt after the boycott campaign due to Gaza
- 2 – Owners of Spiro Spats: The setback of 1967 changed our course and the Gaza war gave us the kiss of life.
- 3 – Spats, the first Egyptian thing to fall.. How was it founded by Khawaja Greek and why did the Egyptians call it the “Dubana” and the students chanted for its downfall? | a dialogue
- 4 – The story of Umm Kulthum’s favorite drink returning to the market after 103 years because of Gaza
- 5 – Chairman of Spirospats Company: Sales increased by 300%… and we seek to cover all governorates of Egypt.
- 6 – After a 350% increase in sales… Spiro Spats announces that it has received 15,000 CVs to work for the company.
