Bastien Poulain, the creator of 1642 Cola, left France to gain work experience abroad. But then: he tripped over a carpet of lilies carpet in Quebec … enough for him to establish his soft drinks business! (Extracted from devenirentrepreneur.com, 18 May 2016)
Coming from the coastal city of Biarritz, in south-western France, the entrepreneur is in love with his adopted city in Canada. The scene takes place in Montreal. Bastien Poulain, accompanied by some friends, looking for a soft drink, consults the menu. Only two major US brands are available: “Not much … he says, for a city that prides itself on good food and good drinks!”
In fact, Bastien is surprised that the fashioned regional colas have not contaminated Quebec. For it is indeed a craze for alternative colas around the world in recent years. In France, each region is proud to have its own sparkling beverage.
1642 Cola is entirely produced in Quebec
We are in March 2013. At first turning to crowdfunding, he raised $ 7,000 on Indiegogo.com platform. “It allowed us to introduce the product,” he said. Three years later, Bastien Poulain can boast that he is the first one to popularize a typical Quebec regional cola: 1642 Cola. “I had since long the idea of starting my own business, he says, but I do not only want to start a business. I wanted to go there only if I was holding an innovation, which had potential.”
1642 Cola is a cola, sweetened with maple syrup, produced entirely in Quebec, bottle and label included. “We had to be consistent with the message, he said. We present the product here, made with ingredients from here. “
