Pakola

Pakola was the creation of seven brothers from the Teli family of Dhoraji in India who migrated to Pakistan in 1947. The idea of Pakola came from its founder Haji Ali Mohammad, who dreamed of developing a drink that portrayed the true reflection and taste of Pakistan. In order to pursue his dream, Haji Ali Mohammad opened a small factory with only two machines at Lawrence Road in Karachi with Pakola Ice-cream Soda being the initial product.

The drink was launched at Pakistan Air Force Base on the anniversary of Pakistan's Independence, 14 August 1950, in the presence of the first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan.

Later when Pakistan Beverages (PB) came into existence at SITE Karachi, the brand Pakola was produced there. In 1979 when Pakistan Beverages was announced as a production facility for Pepsi, Mehran Bottlers came into existence and continued to produce the drink along with other products such as Apple Sidra and Bubble Up.

Mehran Bottlers was managed by his nephews Zafar Habib and Arif Habib. In 2004, Mehran Bottlers and Pakistan Beverages started manufacturing cans in Pakistan.

In 2004, Zeeshan Z. Habib took charge as the chief executive officer of Mehran Bottlers. Mehran Bottlers is now among the few companies that are certified HALAL, HACCP, ISO and by the FDA.

In 2007, with the exception of Karachi, the Teli family gave the franchise rights of Pakola to the Leghari family who previously owned Pepsi Sukkur. The Leghari family has the right to sell Pakola nationally with the exception of Karachi, while all exports are done from the Karachi plant.

Since the company's founding, many beverages have been introduced in the local as well as the international market, but none have overtaken the original Pakola drink.

Several of the variants that have been introduced by Pakola:

• Pakola Ice Cream Soda (1950)
• Pakola Orange (1985)
• Pakola Raspberry (1985)
• Pakola Lychee (1991)
• Pakola Fresh Lime (2006)
• Pakola Water (2015)
• Pakola Pomegranate (2016)

Pakola is made with carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, cream soda artificial flavor, Color: FD&C Bleu No 1 (E 133), FD&C Yellow No.5 (E 102), and sodium benzoate. A typical can of Pakola (8.5 fl ounces/250 ml) has 33 g of sugar, 15 mg of sodium, 0 g of cholesterol, 0 g fat, 0 g of protein, and 130 calories.

Pakola is currently produced by two companies, Mehran Bottlers Limited and Gul Bottlers.

Pakola is now available in America, Africa, Australia, Canada, Middle East, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It the only carbonated beverage manufactured in Pakistan that is exported globally.

Due to the introduction of the capacity tax in 2013, Pakola discontinued the production and distribution of all glass-bottled products. The tax was levied on the overall production and distribution of the machinery instead of output, which was detrimental for companies with lower productions or smaller markets. After the collapse of this system, Mehran Bottlers quickly set up their PET lines to grasp the market once again.

• Pakola website