What is it?
Laoshan Cola is a cola drink first introduced by Qingdao Beverage Co. in 1953. It was the top-selling domestic cola drink in China before the 1990s, when the brand was purchased by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola quickly discontinued the brand in 1997, a common tactic at the time by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola to eliminate competition. In 2004, the brand was acquired by another local Qingdao company, the Qingdao Laoshan Mineral Water Company and it was relaunched in 2008.
The drink is known for its unique flavour due to its traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-inspired herbal recipe and coffee beans for a caffeine boost.
Why did it go viral again?
Recently, Qingdao-born actor Ren Jialun brought boxes of Laoshan Cola to an event promoting his latest TV show, Silent Tide, for participating fans. This act of kindness and love for his hometown brought the drink into the spotlight.
- #崂山可乐Laoshan Cola: 22.93 million views on Weibo, ranking number 1 on the Hot Search list
Why does it matter?
Laoshan Cola, along with the Laoshan Soda Water (崂山苏打水) and Laoshan Oldenlandia Water (崂山白花蛇草水), both also from Laoshan Mineral Water Company, are collectively called the “worst drinks of Qingdao” by some netizens, in particular, the Oldenlandia Water, which has long been a meme and a social media challenge. Many shops market it as a “you’ll regret your whole life if you try it, you’ll regret it your whole life if you don’t” kind of novelty drink. The cola is known to be “surprisingly” good from novelty reviews.
Since last year, Laoshan Cola has been trying to regain its past market share and expand out of its regional comfort zone. The star power of Ren is certainly helping, but whether the brand can be known for more than just a meme and, if possible, ride the “guochao” and TCM wave, remains to be seen.