Virgin Cola was a carbonatedcolasoft drink and was launched in 1994. The beverage became popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and caught the attention of Coca-Cola, who subsequently began to create lucrative deals with stockists to sway them from carrying Virgin; this meant that whilst the Virgin Cola brand had become popular, it began to decline and fade into obscurity, and by the late 2000s was only available in limited locations. After being discontinued in the UK, it still existed overseas for a short time before ceasing existence.
History
Virgin Cola was set up during the early 1990s in conjunction with Cott, a Canadian company that specialises in bottling own-label drinks. Cott was looking for a major international brand that could have global appeal. Virgin Group founder, Richard Branson was looking to widen the Virgin name and to rival the Coca-Cola and Pepsi brands. Virgin Cola began to hit international shores within its first year. The UK first served the drink on Virgin Atlantic flights, on-board shops on Virgin Trains and also at Virgin Cinemas. The Gulliver's Kingdom chain of theme parks in the UK also sold post-mix Virgin Cola. This led Virgin Cola to agree a distribution deal with British supermarket retailer Tesco in 1994. From 1996, the 500 ml bottles were marketed as "The Pammy", as their curves were designed to resemble Pamela Anderson who was at the height of her popularity in the UK at the time. It went on to be launched in France, Belgium and South Africa. In 1998, Branson himself attended the USA launch of Virgin Cola, driving a tank into New York City's Times Square as part of the launch. It subsequently agreed distribution channels with US retailers such as Target. Virgin Drinks USA, the company dealing in Virgin Cola's US market, closed in April 2001, having managed to establish just a 0.5% share of the market by volume. In 1999, a bottle of Virgin Cola can be seen on the coffee table in Monica and Rachel's apartment during the 4 February U.S. airing of the Friends episode entitled "The One with Joey's Bag." Branson had previously appeared in an episode and was said to be a fan of the show. A can of Virgin Cola appeared in Ally McBeal in the title character's refrigerator in the episode "Love Unlimited," first aired on 18 January 1999. In season 4 episode 10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow is seen drinking a can of Virgin Cola in a scene with Buffy. In 2002, a vanilla cola called Virgin Vanilla was launched in the UK, ahead of the launch of a similar product from rival Coca-Cola. In 2004, it was announced that Virgin Vanilla would be discontinued in order to focus on the teenage market.
Decline
In 2007, Silver Spring acquired the UK licence from Princes Group. However, in 2012 the company fell into administration and ceased production. No company acquired the UK Virgin Cola licence in its place. It is unclear as to when the drink officially ceased production. The drink was still briefly available in certain international markets following the production ceasing in the UK, though began to disappear.
Legacy
The story of the drink and its subsequent rise and decline has been the subject of numerous articles and interviews, especially in relation to marketing, business and the wider story of Branson and the Virgin Group.
