In 1956 the regime in the German Democratic Republic decided that the people deserved better non-alcoholic beverages than what was available. And certainly, capitalist products like Coca-Cola were not available!

A chemical company, Miltitz in Leipzig, got a contract to develop a cola drink that was reminiscent of the caffeinated lemonades from the western world. The chemical engineers came up with the idea of adding a twist of lemon – and a cult product was born.

The first Vita Cola was offered in 1958 and until the German reunion in 1989 as many as 200 companies produced Vita Cola. After the reunion the market was flooded with new exiting products from the West that pushed products from the East off the shelves. This also meant an end for Vita Cola.

Or rather a break because in 1994 the company Thüringer Waldquell Mineralbrunnen secured the trademark rights and decided to resurrect Vita Cola. The chemical factory in Leipzig – now owned by Americans – found the original recipe in a drawer and handed it over.

Thüringer Waldquell is based in the German state Thuringia and interestingly Vita Cola has been able to beat Coca-Cola as a market leader in all the years since 1994. Coca-Cola is the market leader in the rest of states.

Below are various designs from the GDR era.