Jolly Cola

In the 1960s, Denmark was one of the very few places in the world where Coca-Cola lost the cola war. For several years, the country’s most popular cola wasn’t American, but Jolly Cola—a local upstart launched in 1959. At its peak, Jolly held as much as 40% of the Danish cola market, far surpassing Coca-Cola’s share.

That success didn’t come from innovation, but from strategy. Jolly Cola was a purpose-built counterattack, designed by a coalition of 18 Danish breweries who feared that Coca-Cola’s arrival would not only cannibalise soda sales, but also harm beer consumption. Ironically, Coca-Cola’s marketing misstep was to target adults, whereas the Danish brewers discovered that teenagers were the real cola drinkers. Danish adults, after all, preferred beer.

Jolly Cola launched on 1 July 1959, the very day Denmark abolished its “cola tax” under pressure from the United States. The Danish brewers moved quickly, founding A/S Dansk Coladrik to manage a national cola brand. Jolly copied Coca-Cola’s model down to the flavour and branding—right down to its English slogan “It’s a jolly good cola” and ads featuring American-style picnics.

Two key advantages gave Jolly the upper hand: it was bottled locally and distributed nationwide from day one, while Coca-Cola had to gradually build up its distribution network. In addition, Jolly Cola was sold in 25 cl bottles, compared to Coca-Cola’s unusually small 19 cl format—offering more cola for the money. In 1959 alone, Jolly outsold Coca-Cola by 9 million bottles to 5 million.

Decline and fragmentation

In the decades that followed, Jolly Cola’s dominance gradually faded. In the 1980s and 1990s, the brand lost support from major breweries such as Carlsberg and Albani Brewery, who began bottling Coca-Cola and Pepsi under license. Jolly’s image shifted from national flagship to kiosk cola—a nostalgic pick associated with hot dog stands and provincial sports halls.

Cultural trends also worked against it. Where the 1960s and 70s had seen European skepticism toward American consumerism, the 1980s brought a wave of pro-American sentiment, especially among youth. Denmark’s first Burger King opened in 1977, followed by McDonald’s in 1981, signaling a broader embrace of U.S. lifestyle brands. Jolly, once positioned as a teen-friendly alternative, was now increasingly seen as outdated.

In an effort to reverse this, the recipe was changed in the 1990s, but the new flavour failed to win over consumers. The updated formula—still in use today—is a warm, spicy cola with notes of clove, cinnamon and citrus. The blog author, for one, finds it unappealing, and hears similar feedback from others. This may help explain why Jolly Cola today holds only about 1% of the Danish cola market.

Legal battles and a temporary comeback

At the turn of the millennium, Jolly’s largest shareholder, Albani Brewery, was acquired by Royal Unibrew, which also held the Danish license for Pepsi. This led to two lawsuits from smaller stakeholders, Bryggeriet Vestfyen and Thisted Bryghus, who argued that Royal Unibrew had violated company bylaws by promoting a competing brand. In September 2003, the court ruled that Royal Unibrew must divest its shares, and Vestfyen acquired a 96% stake in A/S Dansk Coladrik. Vestfyen immediately launched a major campaign to revitalize Jolly Cola.

COOP, which operated supermarkets accounting for a quarter of the Danish grocery market, had removed Jolly Cola from its shelves in 1999 due to low sales. As a result of the 2003 campaign, Jolly returned to COOP stores, and by the summer of 2004, Jolly accounted for 22% of cola sales within COOP—a short-lived but notable resurgence.

Modern era

Since 2024, Bryggeriet Vestfyen owns 100% of A/S Dansk Coladrik, which was merged into the parent company in 2025. Jolly Cola is now produced primarily in cans and PET bottles by Vestfyen, with glass bottle production outsourced to Thisted Bryghus, as Vestfyen lacks that bottling capacity.

Jolly has no formal export strategy, though it has appeared in limited quantities in Sweden and in German border shops. It is widely available in the Faroe Islands, where local brewery Föroya Bjór has produced it since 1960. On the Faroes, Jolly Cola is so dominant that “a Jolly” is used as a generic term for cola. In 2001, Föroya Bjór acquired exclusive rights to the Jolly brand in the Faroese market and continues to develop local variants, including the sugar-free JollyX, which is not available in Denmark.

Revival in the shadow of politics

In early 2025, Jolly Cola experienced a sudden surge in popularity amid consumer boycotts of American products, following Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency. Sales more than doubled, prompting Bryggeriet Vestfyen to launch a new campaign branded “100% Danish”. The campaign avoided explicit political messaging, opting instead for humour and symbolism—most notably, a visual blending of a cowboy hat and a Danish “clap-cap”.

Whether this revival has staying power remains to be seen. But for a brand born in resistance to Coca-Cola, it’s fitting that Jolly’s appeal today again rests on being the small, local alternative to something bigger, flashier—and American.

Original Jolly Cola bottlers

Here is a list of the 18 breweries who joined forces in 1959. By 2003 only three Jolly producers were left, and by 2024 just one.

The years below show when the companies stopped production of Jolly Cola. Where the exact year is unknown, [the last possible year is noted].

• Kalundborg Bryggeri – 1960 (company ceased)
• Slagelse Bryghus – 1963 (company ceased)
• Stjernen, Frederiksberg – 1964 (company ceased)
• Tuborg, Hellerup – 1970 (acquired by Carlsberg)
• Odin, Viborg – [1983] (acquired by Faxe in 1978, merged into Lolland-Falster Bryghus in 1983; operations ended in 1988)
• Aalborg Aktiebryggeri – [1986] (became part of Jyske Bryggerier in 1976; ceased in 1986)
• Vendia, Hjørring – [1989] (acquired by Ceres in 1964; operations ended in 1989)
• Svendborg Bryghus – [1989] (acquired by Albani in 1967; company closed in 1989)
• Carlsminde, Nyborg – 1991 (acquired by Albani in 1991; closed in 1993; Jolly production likely ended at acquisition)
• Wiibroe, Helsingør – [1997] (acquired by Carlsberg in 1967, which stopped Jolly production in 1997)
• Carlsberg, Valby – 1997 (sold its stake in Jolly and began producing Coca-Cola)
• Slotsmøllen, Kolding – [1999] (acquired by Albani in 1986; operations ceased in 1999)
• Thor, Randers – [2003] (became part of Jyske Bryggerier in 1976; production in Randers ended in 2003)
• Albani, Odense – 2003 (lost rights to Jolly Cola following a lawsuit)
• Ceres, Aarhus – [2003] (had ceased Jolly production by 2003)
• Nykøbing F Bryghus – [2003] (renamed Lolland-Falster Bryghus in 1966; acquired by Faxe in 1983, had ceased Jolly production by 2003)
• Thisted Bryghus – 2024 (sold remaining shares to Vestfyen; continues glass bottle production on Vestfyen’s behalf)
• Vestfyen, Assens – Active (sole owner and primary producer since 2024)