Korrikolari

The Basque word for “runner” is korrikolari, and it is also a fitting name for a cola created by an enthusiastic runner. In 2014, Iván García Caballero from Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country, Spain, began participating in long-distance running events. Over time, he felt the absence of a drink that aligned with the lifestyle he was pursuing: a refreshment, but without sugar and with a lighter nutritional profile.

He started developing his own cola recipe, and on 15 May 2016 he was ready to put Korrikolari into production. The drink is formulated without sugar and contains locally grown stevia. It contains caffeine and is marketed as a zero-calorie cola. The first production run consisted of 3,000 bottles, which he personally distributed by bicycle to restaurants and bars in his local area.

The brand initially operated under the spelling Korricolari, a wordplay combining korrikolari and cola. Public social media activity under that name ceased in 2020. It is unclear what happened to the drink during the period 2021–2022, and there is no documented online presence from those years.

In 2023, the cola reappeared with a new website and new social media profiles under the spelling Korrikolari. Iván García Caballero remains involved in the project.