Lima: In most countries, Coca-Cola is the top soft drink. But in Peru, that spot belongs to Inca Kola, a bright yellow soda tied closely to national pride. For decades, it outshone the global giant. Created in 1935 by British immigrant Joseph Robinson Lindley, Inca Kola launched just one year before Coca-Cola entered Peru. 

Lindley, who had set up a drinks factory in Lima, promoted his new soda using TV ads and packaging with Indigenous motifs. With slogans like “the flavour that unites us,” it connected deeply with Peru’s diverse identity. 

Marketing professor And­res Macara-Chvili says it was one of the first brands to reflect what it means to be Peruvian. ‘Al Jazeera’ reports the drink’s success was not just about its bubblegum or chamomile-like flavour. It was also shaped by history. In the early 1900s, thousands of Japanese workers arrived in Peru, many stayed and opened bodegas. Shut out of formal banking, they built credit networks and became a strong merchant class. But by the 1930s, anti-Japanese sentiment was rising. In 1940, violent attacks left 10 people dead and 600 families with losses.

The bodegas were key sellers of Inca Kola. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Coca-Cola stopped supplying drinks to Japanese  stores. Lindleys stepped in and filled the gap, keeping Inca Kola on the shelves. The move boosted the market hold and created lasting loyalty among Japanese-Peruvians. Despite government hostility, including dep­o­rtations and the closure of Japanese institutions, the co­mmunity endured. -Agencies