From hot sauce to Pepsi, U.S. products seeping in
TEHRAN — At a trendy restaurant in Iran’s capital, customers sip CocaCola through bending straws as waiters bring caddies to their tables full of Heinz ketchup and two types of Tabasco sauce.
Welcome to dining in the Islamic Republic, brought to you by America.
Whether at upscale restaurants or corner stores, American brands like CocaCola and Pepsi can be seen throughout Iran despite the heightened tensions between the two countries.
U.S. sanctions have taken a heavy toll on oil and other major industries in the country of 80 million people, but Western food, movies, music and clothing are still widely available. And 40 years after the Islamic Revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy, despite billboards and rallies declaring “Death to America,” Iranians — particularly the young — embrace U.S. products.
“The American lifestyle is very attractive,” said Ahmad Rezaee, a 21yearold student at Tehran University who drained two bottles of Coke while out with a friend. CocaCola “portrays that lifestyle for us.”
Drinking a “Coca” or a Pepsi after eating kebab in Iran comes as second nature, though the soft drinks don’t taste quite as syrupy or sweet as their American counterparts. Both brands are bottled by local firms, Khoshgovar Mashhad Co. for CocaCola and Sasan Co. and Neysun Shargh Co. for Pepsi, which are affiliated with the Imam Reza Foundation, an economic conglomerate tied to the country’s Shiite theocracy.
CocaCola held a 28% market share in Iran, according to a 2016 report by research firm Euromonitor International, while Pepsi had around 20%.
As far as American films, Rezaee acknowledged finding a pirated copy of “Avengers: Endgame” online as it never played in Iran. Others without a strong internet connection can find recently released films like “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” for under 40 cents apiece on Tehran’s busy Enghelab Street.