Egyptians are boycotting western soft-drink brands over their perceived support for Israel. Getty Images
Egyptians are boycotting western soft-drink brands over their perceived support for Israel. Getty Images
Egyptians are boycotting western soft-drink brands over their perceived support for Israel. Getty Images
Egyptians are boycotting western soft-drink brands over their perceived support for Israel. Getty Images

Pepsi out, local brands in as Egyptian soft drinks get a political flavour


Kamal Tabikha
  • English
  • Arabic

In the Cairo neighbourhood of El Korba, an affluent sector of the larger Heliopolis district, Ali Hussein, 59, waits for a delivery of soft drinks for his grocery shop.

His shop, like many others in the area, has a small Palestinian flag displayed in the window as a mark of support during the Israel-Gaza war.

For the third week in a row, he has refused discounted offers from wholesalers for any drinks made by Pepsi or Coca-Cola, companies whose products have fallen out of favour with some Egyptian consumers over accusations by rights organisations that they support Israel.

Since the start of Israel's war in Gaza, many Egyptians appear to be boycotting western-made products and franchises over their perceived support for Israel.

Pepsi and Coca-Cola, usually popular choices for thirsty Egyptians, are among the products being criticised.

In my 40 years in the business, I haven’t seen people this committed to a boycott
Ali Hussein,
Cairo shopkeeper

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), a Palestinian-led campaign against Israeli products, has denounced Coca-Cola for operating a factory in the Israeli settlement of Atarot in the occupied West Bank.

Pepsi also came under fire from Palestinians rights activists over its 2018 acquisition of SodaStream, an Israeli-based soft drinks manufacturer. BDS called for a boycott of its products the same year.

Shopkeepers told The National that their sales of Pepsi and Coca-Cola have plummeted, while sales of locally made alternatives such as Spiro Spathis soared since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7.

“There have been many other boycotts of various imported products over the years,” Mr Hussein says. “A few years ago, people boycotted Danish products. But in my 40 years in the business, I haven’t seen people this committed to a boycott.”

Cairo's Syrian restaurants, many of them established by Syrians who settled in Egypt since the civil war broke out in 2011, are among those who have dropped western products.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi products are less visible in Cairo's lower-income neighbourhoods, but outlets in affluent neighbourhoods like New Cairo and Sheikh Zayed have continued to offer them to customers, one observer said.

“In Downtown Cairo, there isn’t a can of Pepsi or Coca-Cola in sight. But I was at a restaurant in Sheikh Zayed recently and there was a fridge full of both and there were some customers drinking it,” said Farida Ibrahim, a Heliopolis resident.

“But to be fair, I have also sensed that restaurants who offer Pepsi or Coca-Cola are feeling a certain shame over it and they display it on a bottom shelf or out of sight,” she said.

The country's drink wholesalers have suffered financially from the boycott, one told The National, explaining that many have amassed stocks of Coca-Cola and Pepsi that they had bought before the war broke out and are now unable to resell.

“All the sellers we deal with are asking for local alternatives like Spiro Spathis or Oso Blanco and nobody wants Coca-Cola or Pepsi,” said Rashid Al Zayat, a soft drinks wholesaler.

“I have tried to explain to sellers that they are not hurting Israel by not buying our wares, they are hurting us, and we are Arabs, not Israelis.”

Wholesalers faced with a drop in profits have begun to mandate that for every carton of local drink a seller purchases, they must also buy a Coca-Cola or Pepsi, Mahmoud Mohamed, 62, the owner of grocery shops in Greater Cairo, told The National.

“They can’t really force us to do that, but they have been pushing us hard,” Mr Mohamed said.

While some grocery shops and restaurants have switched to local soft drink manufacturers, others have joined a new trend of mixing their own in-house carbonated drinks.

Spiro Spathis announced earlier this week that its sales have increased by 500 per cent since October 7.

Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, the company's owners have adopted a pro-Palestinian narrative in media interviews and launched a patriotic social media campaign.

The company was launched by Spiro Spathis, a Greek immigrant to Cairo in 1920, and in 1998 was acquired by Sabsa, a small producer of beverages.

Its owners said that their grandfather was forced to shut down his business in the economic downtown after Egypt's 1967 defeat by Israel, and linked their current upturn in fortune to patriotism during the current Israel-Gaza war.

"The 1967 defeat changed our company's course and the Gaza war has given us the kiss of life," three members of the Morcos family told local outlet Al Masry Al Youm on October 31.

Although it started out selling the drink at eight Egyptian pounds ($0.25) per bottle – the same price as Coca-Cola and Pepsi products – the company has begun raising its prices to retailers as demand has increased, Mr Mohamed said.

At the same time, the company has continued to advertise its products as costing only eight pounds.

“I have stopped dealing with Spiro Spathis after they raised their prices. I find something unsettling about the way the company is exploiting the boycott to make as much profit as possible, at the expense of sellers like me who can’t raise prices on customers and have to carry the loss out of pocket,” Mr Mohamed said.

“I think what people were expecting was that the businesses expressing solidarity with Palestine on social media would suddenly reorient themselves to value justice over profit, and that is just not how business works, especially now with everything getting so expensive,” he added.

“The boycott over Gaza was the best advertising campaign Spiro Spathis could have hoped for. It came at a perfect time and they didn’t have to pay a penny, they merely had to position themselves right to massively increase sales.”

The rejection of Pepsi and Coca-Cola in Egypt is in line with a regional trend.

Arabs across the region are boycotting western businesses, particularly American ones, reflecting anger over the US support for Israel in the Gaza war.

Squad for first two ODIs

Kohli (c), Rohit, Dhawan, Rayudu, Pandey, Dhoni (wk), Pant, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Shami, Thakur, Rahul.

So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?

Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
 

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20TV%204K%20(THIRD%20GENERATION)
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The Year Earth Changed

Directed by:Tom Beard

Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough

Stars: 4

Company%20profile
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One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

The BIO:

He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal

He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side

By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam

Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border

He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push

His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level

THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
While you're here
The%20specs
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How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
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  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
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  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
SQUADS

South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi

Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed

Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Lecce v SPAL (6pm)

Bologna v Genoa (9pm)

Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)

Sunday

Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)

Juventus v Brescia (6pm)

Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)

Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)

Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)

Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

Monday

AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

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The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Men's football draw

Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica

Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea

Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA

Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda

Quick facts on cancer
  • Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases 
  •  About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime 
  • By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million 
  • 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries 
  • This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030 
  • At least one third of common cancers are preventable 
  • Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers 
  • Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
    strategies 
  • The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion

   

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Updated: November 17, 2023, 6:00 PM