Spiro Spathis

Egyptian Soda Company

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]

## History

[edit]

Spiro Spathis was created and served in the Cairo area during 1920 by a Greek man who had named the product after himself,[4][5] and who decided to start up a company to sell the product and purchased a factory to keep producing the drink as it had gained popularity in the Egyptian market after it started to be sold nation-wide across Egypt.[6] Spiro Spathis remained fairly popular until the national adoption of the Infitah policy in 1974, causing Spiro Spathis to compete with many foreign brands that entered the new open market.[7] The company remained under the supervision of the original founder's family until the end of the nineties, when it was announced that the entire company would be acquired in 1998 by Sabsa Carbonated Water Company (now named MYMCO For Food And Beverage Company.),[8][9] an Egyptian company founded in 1970 by brother businessmen Talaat Atwan and Samir Atwan, who were working on developing local soft drinks.[10] In 2014, the business was closed down shortly before returning back in 2019.[11] Spiro Spathis regained some of it's popularity after campaigns to boycott foreign products were launched to pressure international companies that have supported the Israeli involvement since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.[12][13] As a result of this, in 2023 Spiro Spathis have experienced an increase in their sales by 300%,[14] and have also received more than 15,000 work applications.[15]

Old Spiro Spathis sign

## References

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1. ^ Salma El Wardany, Leen Al-Rashdan, Nicolas Parasie, Daniela Sirtori (26 January 2024). "Starbucks, Coke Boycotts Over Gaza War Are Boosting Middle East Rivals". www.bloomberg.com.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. ^ Ariba Shahid, Jessica DiNapoli, Farah Saafan (4 September 2024). "Coke and Pepsi boycott over Gaza lifts Muslim countries' local sodas". www.reuters.com.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ "Spiro Spathis website homepage".
4. ^ عبد المجيد, ابراهيم (2022). استراحة بين الكتب. منشورات إبييدي. ISBN 978-9776892316.
5. ^ John Bambridge (3 May 2024). "Boycotts are a boon for local brands". www.meed.com.
6. ^ عبيد, مصطفى (2020). سبع خواجات. Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah. ISBN 978-9777953900.
7. ^ Dina Ezzat (4 January 2022). "Nostalgia in a bottle". english.ahram.org.eg.
8. ^ "شركة مصرية 100% .. أول رد من سبيرو سباتس على أنباء تعاقدها مع كوكاكولا". nabd.com. 16 April 2024.
9. ^ محمود سامي (5 November 2023). ""لن نشرب دماء إخوتنا".. مقاطعة داعمي إسرائيل تنعش المنتج المصري". www.aljazeera.net.
10. ^ عماد أبو الفتوح (9 December 2023). ""سبيروسباتس".. قصة المشروب الغازي الذي ارتفعت أرباحه بعد طوفان الأقصى". www.aljazeera.net.
11. ^ Yasmin Shabana (19 November 2023). "'Boycott Israel' breathes new life into 100-year-old Egyptian soda brand". www.aljazeera.com.
12. ^ Giorgia Valente (21 March 2024). "Local products replace Western brands as boycott gains momentum on Ramadan". www.jpost.com.
13. ^ Niveen Wahish , Nesmahar Sayed (12 November 2023). "english.ahram.org.eg article on making the list of Egyptian companies".
14. ^ Sophia Yan (12 November 2023). "Coca-Cola out, Egyptian soda in as anti-Western boycott sweeps Middle East". www.telegraph.co.uk.
15. ^ "Western brands boycott sweeps Mideast". www.nst.com. 6 November 2023.