Spiro Spathis

Spiro Spathis

Type	Soft drink
Country of origin	Egypt
Introduced	1920
Website	www.spirospathis.com

Spiro Spathis is an Egyptian carbonated soft drink,^[1][2] which is manufactured by MYMCO (for Food And Beverage Company).^[3]

In 1909, Nicolas Spathis, a Greek entrepreneur from Alexandria, began producing and selling lemonade soda in green glass bottles.^[4] Two decades later in 1920^[5][6] his nephew, Spiro Spathis, expanded the family venture^[4] in Cairo, by establishing Egypt's first soda beverage^[7] and a soft drink's business that bore his name.^[8][9][10] The company's logo featured a buzzing bee, a nod to the family's involvement in apiary activities at the time.^[4]

The product gained popularity across Egypt, prompting the founder to expand operations by purchasing a factory on Rue Emadeddin.^[4][11] In 1921, Spiro introduced a new flavor to complement the original lemonade: an Apple Cider flavour or red apple fizzy drink, which quickly became popular among the local consumers.^[4] This was followed by tonic water and a rebranded bottle in 1925.^[12] The year 1935 marked the addition of several new flavors including Ginger Ale, Lime Juice & Soda, Grenadine, and Grapefruit. In recognition of the brand's local success, Spiro Spathis was awarded the King Farouk I medal in 1941.^[12][10]

In 1950, Spathis's daughter, Aftakhia Spathis, took over the busines.^[12] The brand maintained its popularity until 1974 when Egypt's third president, Anwar Sadat, launched the Infitah policy, or Open Door Policy, as an economic reform aimed at reducing Egypt's reliance on socilism.^[12] The policy opened the market to foreign investment, encouraging integration with the global market.^[12] However, the shift increased the country's dependency on imported good and contributed to the decline of local industries from foreign competitors.^[13][12]

The company remained family-owned until 1998 when it was acquired by the Sasba Carbonated Water Company,^[6] which was later renamed MYMCO Food And Beverage Company.^[14][15][12] The purchasing company was founded in 1970 by brother businessmen Talaat Atwan and Samir Atwan, who had been working on developing local soft drinks.^[16] MYMCO undertook a modernisation of the product line.^[12]

After a temporary closure in 2014, Spiro Spathis relaunched in 2019 ^[17] amid a national campaign to boycott foreign products due to support of Israeli involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict by international companies.^[18][19][20] This led to a resurgence in popularity, with sale increasing by 300% in 2023^[21] and the company receiving over 15,000 job applications.^[22][23]