Iceland’s answer to Coke and Pepsi – Klettagos – is officially no more, and millions in debt.
Klettagos made its debut in late 2010, offering a sweetened, caramel-colored soda made with Icelandic water, set to compete with soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi. It would not be in the cards for Klettagos, RÚV reports, as the company went belly-up in August 2011, shutting down production and laying off staff.
The company filed for bankruptcy in Reykjavík District Court in December 2011. As processing continued, any and all assets were liquidated, but it proved far from breaking even for the company. They are now 330 million ISK in debt.
Klettagos had an uphill battle ahead of them from the start. There is not much a soft drink war in Iceland, as the country famously drinks tremendous quantities of Coca-Cola per person – 115 litres per capita per year, to be exact. Klettagos attempted to provide an Icelandic alternative, and used photographs of hip young 101 Reykjavík Icelanders on its labels to convey the trendy and cool image they were going for. Jói Kjartans, a former Grapevine graphic designer, was the photographer for the labels.
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