Bulgaria: The Thaw That Refreshes

Vsychko Vyrvi Po Dobre S Coke means “Things go Better with Coke.” That will be the latest addition to the national variations of its slogan that Coca-Cola uses in the 130 countries where it operates. What is so unusual about the new phrase is that it is in Bulgarian. Coca-Cola is about to enter Eastern Europe, where for years it was considered the very symbol of decadent capitalism. Under an agreement between Bulgaria’s Communist government and Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, work has just started on a bottling plant in the Black Sea city of Varna that next June will begin producing the first Coke ever mixed behind the Iron Curtain.

Bulgarians are already hearty soft drinkers, satisfying their thirst mainly with boza, a rye-based soft drink similar to Russian kvas, or with a Coke imitation known as Bulgar Cola. The government is not anxious to change habits. Like Yugoslavia, Rumania and Czechoslovakia, the Bulgarians have imported Coca-Cola from West Germany to please Western tourists. With a record 1,000,000 visitors expected next summer, Bulgaria is merely taking the sensible step of providing a local Coke supply and cutting import costs.

Coca-Cola will supply syrup and bottles from Italy; the government will add water, sugar and distribution, and the two will split earnings fifty-fifty, with Coke getting its share in U.S. dollars.

Coca-Cola has broader hopes for the partnership than immediate profit. It is anxious to get beyond the tourists, create a market among Bulgarians themselves. Depending on how well sales go in ten-ounce bottles, Coke may move on to other sizes and containers, perhaps to fountain sales. Meanwhile, if the Bulgarian experiment works, there are the Czechs, Yugoslavians and Rumanians, all of whom may yet go better with Coke.