Russian import substitution

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it quickly prompted international companies to withdraw from the Russian market in protest, while several countries imposed export bans on Russia. The Russian government responded with import restrictions, and the term ‘import substitution’ emerged to describe domestically produced goods intended to fill the gaps left by departing foreign brands.

On March 8, 2022, both Pepsi and Coca-Cola announced their exit from Russia. At the time, the two giants together held 92% of the country’s cola market, and their withdrawal left an enormous void. It did not take long, however, before local bottlers came to the rescue of Russian colaholics, rolling out a wave of new colas.

The following list includes only colas launched after Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

First Half of 2022

• Aqualife (Аквалайф), based in Chernogolovka near Moscow, appears to have introduced Fun Cola in March 2022. In May 2022, they also launched Chernogolovka Cola. The timing of Fun Cola’s debut—just days after Coca-Cola and Pepsi announced their withdrawal from the Russian market following the invasion of Ukraine—could arguably be more than a coincidence.

• Slavda Group in Vladivostok in the far east of Russia were some of the first to seize the opportunity and launched Grink Cola in April 2022.

• Ochakovo (Очаково) in Moscow is one of Russia largest manufactures of beer, lemonade, wine, and hard liquor. In May 2022 they launched a line of soft drinks under the names CoolCola, Fancy, and Street.

• The Komi Republic northwest of Moscow launched their own Komi-Cola, also i May 2022.

• The company Aqualife (Аквалайф) from the town Chernogolovka near Moscow introduced Chernogolovka Cola. The company was already a market leader in bottled water, soft drinks, and energy drinks. In March 2022 they had also launched Fun Cola.

• Volkovskaya Brewery added a cola to their existing line of lemondes called Volchok (Волчок). It seems to have happened in May/June 2022.

• Funky Monkey Cola Classic by Perspektiva (Перспектива) came out in June 2022. It was meant to be launched in 2020, however, but was delayed due to Corona.

• The company StatusAqua from Sochi seems to have been founded in June 2022 and introduced Status Cola as part of the initial line up of soft drinks.

• Moscow Brewing Company produces both its own beers, and international brands under license. In June 2022 it expanded into the soft drinks market introducing the brand Dubl Bubl.

• Cola DV by IP Grizodup seems to have emerged in early summer of 2022.

• Loco Cola was first produced by Real which was taken over by United Penza Vodka Factories in late 2022. Google’s earliest memory of Loco Cola is from June/July 2022.

• Healthy Products (Здоровые продукты) introduced their take on a cola in the Summer of 2022 with Positivity Cola. The company is best known for producing ice cream and frozen semi-finished products.

Second Half of 2022

• Bochkari Cola by Bochkarevsky Brewery came in July 2022.

• Bernaul Brewery (Барнаульский пивоваренный завод) already had a succesful line of soft drinks under the name Good Stripes. They also saw a business opportunity in the absence of Coke and Pepsi, and on July 14th 2022 the first Good Stripes Cola rolled off the production line.

• In July 2022 Prague Brewey (Пражская пивоварня) from Volgodonsk in Russia launched Z-Cola to express their sympathy with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Z has become a militarist symbol in Russian propaganda and is used by Russian civilians to indicate support for the invasion.

• Zagorskaya Malt House (Загорская солодоварня) was established in 2017 and produces a wide range of beers along with a small selection of fruit-flavored soft drinks. Around July or August 2022, they came to the aid of colaholics by launching Zagorskaya Cola (Загорская кола).

• Belarusian vlogger Vlad A4 is arguably the most popular Russian speaking Internet celebrity. For years he has had his own clothes line and more recently he has launched a line of chips and soft drinks under the Lava Lava brand. In August 2022 Clown Cola (Клоун-кола) was introduced.

• Dobry Cola (Добрый кола = “Good Cola”) is made by Multon Partners which is owned by Coca-Cola HBC. The Dobry brand was already Russia’s largest juice manufacturer. Dobry Cola was launched in August/September 2022 – around the same time when Russia ran out of Coca-Cola syrup.

• The brewery Bavaria also launched their Cola Bavaria Limited Edition in August 2022.

• The Russian food retail chain VkusVill (ВкусВилл) with 1.500 stores in Russia (2023) also has its own cola, Vkus-Cola (Вкус-кола). It seems to have been introduced in August 2022.

• Mineral water and soft drink manufacturer Karachinsky Istochnik from Novosibirsk added an Extra-Cola (Экстра-Кола) to their line of soft drinks under the brand name Extra. The drink seems to have been put on the market in August 2022.

• The Dutch brewery giant Heineken stopped producing their world famous beer in Russia as a consequence of the Russian aggression towards Ukraine. They did, however, launch Royal Cola Original in September 2022. The cola seems to be doing OK, and have since introduced some varieties, e.g. Zero, Cherry, Vanilla, and even Mojito.

• The Russian supermarket chain Chizhik (Чижик) launched Fun Up Cola Classic in September/October 2022 along with other soft drinks under the Fun Up brand. The drinks are bottled by Leader (Лидер).

• Aziano, based on the outskirts of Moscow, produces juices and soft drinks with exotic flavors. In the autumn of 2022, the company also experimented with Aziano Cola Zero, although it was never actively marketed. The cola was in production by September 2022, and the only official reference to it is an Instagram post from October that year. It has never been mentioned on Aziano’s own website, yet as of August 2025 it remains available through the online supermarket Ozon.

• Sunbel Cola by Mareven Food Central came in October 2022.

• Kraisberg Brewery already had a couple of soft drinks in the portfolio along with their beers. Cola Classic was added in November 2022.

• Premium Taste Original Cola was launched in November/December 2022 by Ural Springs (Уральские Источники). The Premium Taste line also included takes on Fanta, and Sprite. The company already had the W!SH line with an identical portfolio. The W!SH line seems to have been discontinued at the end of 2023.

First Half of 2023

• The Russian online grocery retailer Samokat (Самокат) maintains a broad portfolio of private-label products, which has expanded significantly since 2022. In early 2023, it introduced Samokat Cola (Самокат Кола).
  In November 2025, Samokat launched Samokat Whisky Cola (Самокат Кола Виски), a sugar-free, non-alcoholic cola with whisky aroma.

• SNS already produced Alfa Cola under its Fresh Bar brand which is a cola/lemon blend. They added another four variants in January 2023; Original, Zero, Vanilla – and Banana!

• Slava Cola (Слава Кола) was also introduced in January 2023. The company Legend of Baikal bottles water from the deep end of Lake Baikal which is both the deepest lake in the world, and the largest fresh water lake by volume in the World.

• Good old PepsiCo had initially decided to reduce their activities in Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Pepsi is no longer being produced in Russia but in March 2023 two PepsiCo-owned companies both presented a new line of soft drinks: Evervess in the higher price segment, and the budget friendly alternative Lyubimaya (Любимая = Favorite).

• The food and beverage manufacturer Martin from the outskirts of Moscow launched their own cola, Cola From Martin (Кола от Мартина) in March 2023. In July the same year it was banned in Belarus due to too high concentrations of the sweetener sodium cyclamate.

• Uvinskaya from Udmurt Republic bottles mineral water and sodas under the AquaLity brand. In March 2023 they added a cola to their series of citrus drinks.

• Russian company Aqua Fonte from Moscow is a market leader in bottled water, soft drinks, and energy drinks. In November 2022 they launched yet another brand, Sever, to which a cola was added in early 2023.
  Aqua Fonte also produces colas under the brands Kalinov, and Beauty-Youth.

• Agrokompleks Vyselkovskiy is a large Russian agro-industrial holding producing meat, dairy, and processed foods. The company also bottles beverages, including juices, lemonades, and since the Summer of 2023 its own Agrokompleks Vyselkovskiy Cola.

• Rich Cola (Рич кола) was introduced in the Summer of 2023 by Multon Partners (owned by Coca-Cola HBC), who also makes Dobry Cola (August 2022). It is being marketed as a mixer.

Second Half of 2023

• Inzare Cola came in September 2023 and is made by Chechen Mineral Waters (Чеченские минеральные воды).

• Kiknursky Raypo from Kirov Oblast launched Kiknur-Kola in October 2023.

First Half of 2024

• The company Plast (Пласт) from Tatarstan had been bottling mineral water since 1999. In the Spring of 2024, it underwent a full rebranding and continued under the name Alabuga Bottling. At the same time, it launched the Unique soft drink line, featuring the familiar cola, orange, and lemon varieties.

• The company Old Spring (Старый источник) have produced mineral water since 1925. In May 2024 they introduced the This line which includes cola, orange, and lime flavors. This replaced the Sladinka line which had the same three variants and was introduced in 2017.

Second Half of 2024

• In July 2024, Russia was introduced to Wagner Cola (Вагнер Кола), a brand clearly inspired by the Wagner Group, the private military company. Its logo is directly lifted from the group itself. The Wagner Group played a major role in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Wagner Cola is manufactured by the Vietnamese Nawon Food and Beverage Company and imported into Russia by Beluga, a Saint Petersburg–based wholesaler of preserved fish and seafood since 2014. Notably, the Wagner Group is also headquartered in Saint Petersburg.

• Bakunin Botanicals (Бакунин Ботаникалс) was established in May 2024 in the town of Telmana, not far from St. Petersburg. The company produces craft carbonated beverages designed to work well as mixers. In November 2024, it launched Bakunin Cola.

• TSP (ТСП) has been producing soft drinks since the early 2000s. In late 2024, the company made a fresh start with new product lines and, apparently for the first time, introduced cola — in fact, two different ones. Both are sold under the Zhili-Byli brand (meaning “Once Upon a Time”). One is medium-carbonated and sweetened with a blend called “Multisweet,” while the other is more strongly carbonated and uses monk fruit and sucralose as sweeteners.

Primary sources: ria.ru (May 15, 2022), The Moscow Times (May 19, 2022), vk.com/bochkari_altay (June 22, 2022), Tolk (July 15, 2022), Executioner (December 26, 2022), Instagram/legendofbaikal.official (January 10, 2023), rbc.ru (March 16, 2023), Citizens Info (April 18, 2023)