Chapter I’m Quitting Everything and Selling Cola Chapter 13

Chapter 13. What is Marketing? (1)

Even after making Cola, it was a continuous series of busy schedules.

You couldn’t just sell Cola in glasses, could you?

First, I visited a glass factory to commission custom production of Cola bottles.

The design was already decided.

The Contour Bottle.

An innovative design that captured not only aesthetic sense but also grip with its graceful volume and vertical lines.

Characterized by originality that could distinguish its form even when grabbed in the dark, or even when looking at broken pieces.

I decided on that shape that people commonly think of when they think of Cola bottles.

Ordering such a complex shape would raise production costs, but it was necessary to prepare in advance for future marketing use.

After that, I ordered custom metal caps from a workshop and even applied for trademark and patent rights.

I succeeded in securing a total of 5,000 bottles of Cola.

It had been two weeks since I began supplying the completed Cola products to the night market ‘End of the Galley.’

The result was…

“I was here first!”

“Can’t you see I clearly had this spot reserved? Go to the back!”

“You call that talking? You need to stand in line!”

Not bad.

The general store that no one but Penelope visited was bustling from early morning.

Night market stall owners had lined up in long queues to buy the limited quantity of Cola.

“Boss, do we really need to go this far? What happened while I was away on a short trip…”

“These days business doesn’t work without that damn Cola.”

“Is it that serious? Wouldn’t lemonade or ale work?”

“Stop talking nonsense and just get in line.”

Since the mysterious beverage Cola was first supplied to the night market.

Word of mouth spread among the working class who were the night market’s main customers – porters, dock workers, factory craftsmen, and other laborers.

‘Well, I heard there’s a beverage called Cola.’

‘The color is black and it’s contained in a uniquely shaped glass bottle… They say the taste is like divine nectar?’

‘If you drink Cola with Fish and Chips, you can eat ten or twenty bowls without getting sick of it.’

‘8 pence per bottle? That’s a bit expensive… But people who actually tried it say it’s worth the money. I’m quite curious too.’

Britannia was definitely a barren land for cuisine, but you mustn’t be mistaken.

That meant they had ‘undeveloped food culture,’ not that there was no preference for cuisine itself.

Cuisine is instinct.

Even primitive people grilled meat after discovering fire.

‘Man, you still haven’t tried that? You’ve lived your life in vain. Don’t even talk. It’s the first beverage like Cola in my lifetime.’

‘Where do you think you’re comparing Cola to something like lemonade? If I could drink Cola every day, I think I could abstain from alcohol for life!’

‘I proposed to Ann by giving her 7 bottles of Cola and she accepted immediately. When I told her I bought and saved one bottle every day, she shed tears of emotion saying she could see how much I loved her.’

Workers who drank Cola out of curiosity after hearing rumors immediately became addicted to its sweet taste.

They then became walking billboards, beginning to testify about Cola’s miraculous nature.

“We’re sold out for today. Please come back tomorrow.”

“Already?”

When Jurgen handed over the last Cola box and put up the sold-out sign, sighs of mixed joy and disappointment flowed.

“Can’t we reserve quantities in advance?”

“As you can see, there are more people looking for it than the quantity we have. I’m sorry about that.”

“Won’t it work even if we pay extra?”

“That wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“Then… there’s no choice.”

A stall owner who had been smacking his lips in disappointment left promising to come back tomorrow.

Penelope, who had been pretending to be an ordinary ‘Customer A’ while holding an open newspaper, finally spoke.

“Not bad.”

“Miss Penelope’s help was significant.”

“Hmm~ That’s not what I wanted to hear. Look at this. Cola was mentioned in the newspaper too.”

“Is that really true?”

“New beverage overturning the night market, Cola. Here.”

Following her slender fingertip with my gaze, there was indeed an article.

Though it was in a corner so small you couldn’t see it unless you looked carefully.

“Well, it’s a beverage I helped make. This level of popularity is natural.”

“Mm-hmm, that’s right. Of course.”

From what I’d observed, Penelope seemed to feel strangely great joy at Cola doing well.

The reason she came to the shop from dawn these days was also to watch Cola being sold from her designated seat next to the wood-burning stove.

Though I had given her a 30% stake as compensation for partnership, even considering that, she helped quite faithfully with the work itself.

She helped without complaint with washing recovered empty bottles, mixing Cola syrup with water, adding carbonation with the Soda Fountain, and even manufacturing by sealing with caps.

So her attire these days had reduced flashiness and consisted of clothing with good mobility.

From the perspective of someone who had accepted her cooperation as just a rich young lady’s whim, thinking it would quickly cool off, it was quite unexpected.

“At this rate, your wish for a culinary revolution or whatever will be just a matter of time. Everyone loves Cola, don’t they?”

“Hmm…”

“Why is your reaction lukewarm?”

“I wish it were like that.”

Penelope spoke as if Cola would conquer Britannia at this rate, but…

The reality wasn’t such a simple matter.

Currently, Cola was definitely showing signs of being a hit.

However, there was also a clear limitation.

Those seeking Cola were the working class who frequented the End of the Galley night market.

Up to here was Jurgen’s chosen strategy.

Wasn’t it a known fact to everyone that Cola goes well with greasy food?

Rather than distributing Cola alone, I expected it would blend in without resistance by providing it as a set menu with the already established Fish and Chips.

“We succeeded up to that point, but…”

The problem was that an unexpected phenomenon was occurring as the working class became associated with Cola.

‘Do you know? I heard Cola is trendy these days.’

‘Cola? Ah, that beverage that lowly workers like?’

‘It’s an expensive drink only for the lower classes. It’s just 8 pence. It doesn’t even cost as much as a decent glass of wine.’

‘A carbonated drink… If you haven’t tried champagne, you might cheer for it.’

‘And it’s a beverage made by a commoner shop owner? Do you know what they put in it before drinking?’

Refusal to accept due to prejudice.

Not only the originally snobbish noble class and wealthy merchant class, but even the well-off middle class rejected Cola.

Like white people who treated watermelon and fried chicken as slave food during the era of slavery.

You could dismiss it as a temporary disturbance or something of no great concern, but…

This incident wasn’t that simple.

Let’s think about it.

Did Cola become the world’s best-selling beverage because it was the most delicious beverage in the world?

Did luxury bags come to cost hundreds of thousands because they contained that much value?

Jurgen thought not.

The masses don’t just consume products.

They consume the brand’s image together.

Jurgen didn’t particularly look down on the working class.

But if the ‘masses’ began to perceive it that way and Cola’s consumer base became limited, the culinary revolution business would have to take a long detour.

“Miss Penelope, I’ll be out for a bit. Could you look after the shop?”

“I’ve been feeling this for a while, but aren’t you using high-quality personnel like me too carelessly?”

After giving the grumbling Penelope a bottle of Cola, Jurgen set out.

“Now, what should we do…”

How could we wash away the prejudice attached to Cola?

Two things came to mind immediately.

The first strategy was ‘just staying as is.’

I was confident in Cola’s taste and quality.

Then I just needed to wait for time to pass and the public’s prejudice to dull.

Quality products eventually overcome prejudice.

Didn’t even the much-despised fried chicken establish a global position led by KFC?

However, adopting this endurance meta had fundamental disadvantages.

Not knowing how much time it would take.

And even if I endured, there was a possibility that Cola could end up as just a temporary fad if luck was bad.

Even chicken took decades to become popular throughout America, and some foods would have disappeared into the back alleys of history after being despised all their lives.

For Jurgen, who wanted to quickly bring about a culinary revolution, it was practically a worse choice than having none.

The second strategy?

[Official Certification ‘Austin & Wills’ Imperial Pharmacists – The Empire’s Recognized Best Medicine!]

[The world is changing. Your investments should change too. Financial investment consultation at Devben Trust Bank]

[To become the protagonist of social circles, the last line is fragrance. Latest trendy perfumes, exclusive supply from Bernua Perfumers Association]

Flyers rolling around on the streets, large advertisements fluttering while hanging on outdoor billboards and ad balloons.

As you could guess from seeing these, it was the use of marketing.

The effect of advertising is powerful.

The ultimate commercial technique that targets the human unconscious?

Well-made advertisements could be considered mass hypnosis in some sense.

No matter how you looked at it, this seemed like the best method, but…

“This would be difficult through direct methods…”

The problem was no money.

For advertising to be effective, you need to encounter it consistently, frequently, and often.

It meant spending enormous amounts of money or doing advertising that might as well not exist.

But when there’s no direct route, you use a detour, and when there’s no money, you use connections.

Click.

The first floor of Nortaris Telephone Exchange, which I had arrived at before I knew it.

Jurgen, who entered the public telephone booth, took out a phone card.

“Good thing I brought this.”

It looked like an ordinary phone card at first glance, but it was different in reality.

Britannia’s telephone calls were made through exchanges, and this card was an emergency call card issued for special agents of the Cabinet Secret Intelligence Service.

The main privileges were getting the highest priority connection even when other call requests were stacked up.

Call records were immediately deleted and not subject to operator surveillance.

Ace operators within the exchange mediated contacts.

Being able to contact higher numbers without separate requests, among others.

Actually, using such an item privately was a bit concerning, but…

“Well, this much should be fine…”

Click.

The phone card smoothly sucked into the machine.

As soon as information was recognized through the holes punched in the card, the operator’s voice was heard.

[Special code 000 identified. Where shall I connect you?]

“To number 1121, please.”

[Please wait a moment. I’ll connect you right away.]

The person I was trying to contact now was ‘Bellaby Blancville.’

Quite an old connection.

In the past, I had made suppressants and treatments for her who suffered from asthma attacks.

Thanks to that, Bellaby was able to continue her singing career without retiring.

As payment for treating her, she wrote a blank check promising to fulfill any one request, then stepped onto the stage where brilliant lights shone.

Now, three years later, I was trying to write ‘Please promote Cola…’ on that blank check.

“……”

Even while making contact, I wasn’t confident.

Honestly, my feelings were ‘it would be good if it works, but can’t be helped if it doesn’t.’

Too much time had passed since then.

Bellaby, who had been a singer with about the highest recognition in the city, had become an actress at some point.

If she had been just an adequate actress, there would have been less burden, but she had become an icon of the era representing Britannia.

Moreover, we hadn’t even exchanged contact during that time, so it wouldn’t be strange for her feelings to have changed.

Originally, people gradually forget their gratitude as time passes, even if they were thankful.

Besides, asking her to come all the way to the northern end to promote some mysterious beverage, rather than making a formal request as Minister of Internal Affairs…

To use an analogy, it would be like putting a top star’s face on a thousand won item sold at Daiso.

[Yes, this is Ms. Blancville’s manager. What business did you call for?]

“Manager?”

[That’s correct.]

I was momentarily flustered.

On a matter where I was unsure whether I could even speak directly with Bellaby, suddenly a manager intervened.

Originally, she wouldn’t have had something like a manager.

“I’d like to contact Miss Bellaby directly. Wouldn’t that be possible?”

[Ms. Blancville is currently on vacation. If you don’t have a prior appointment, contact would be difficult. Shall I put you on the waiting list? If you get on the waiting list now, it would be possible around March next year.]

“March next year is too late. Wouldn’t right now be possible somehow? The business won’t be long.”

A moment of silence flowed.

[Sigh—]

An unabashedly displeased sigh burst through the receiver.

[Listen here, mister, your identity isn’t being confirmed because the exchange isn’t telling us? Don’t think of meeting Ms. Blancville this way. Either make an appointment or properly reveal your identity – you need to do one of the two.]

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

[Not what you mean, my foot. Do you think you’re the only one who contacts us hiding your identity like this? If it’s a proper request, please tell us your name confidently. If not, I’ll hang up.]

Desperately holding onto the phone that seemed about to be disconnected any moment, I spoke urgently.

“Tell her Albuterol.”

[…What?]

“If you tell Miss Bellaby ‘Albuterol,’ she’ll understand.”

[Albuterol? What kind of nonsense is that… Kyaa! Ms. Blancville?]

Clatter crash commotion arose from beyond the receiver.

Conversations like ‘Ms. Bellaby! Why suddenly…! This person is a pervert!’ ‘Just give it to me for now!’ ‘But we don’t even know who it is…’ ‘It’s fine, so give it to me! And step out for a moment!’ could be heard through the muffled audio quality.

And shortly after.

[Hanbin. Hanbin, is it really you?]

A pure voice like lily of the valley wet with dew asked with a slightly excited tone.