The launch of Palm Lahar soft drink could have gone unnoticed as just another cola launch, had it not been for the owner of the brand. Unbelievable as it may sound, it's the tourism-minded government of Kerala. The drink is made of palm sugar, cane sugar and carbonated water, based on a formula developed by the Central Food and Technological Research Institute, Mysore. Launched recently by the state's industries minister P.K. Kunhalikuty with great fanfare, it is manufactured and marketed by Kelpalm, the state organisation promoting palm products. At present, the product is shipped out of the lone manufacturing facility in Thiruvananthapuram, (fl^f set up at an investment of Rs 1 crore put in by the state government. "It'll take us just six months to have a plant each for all the 14 districts, provided there are required government sanctions," says Y. Shahul Hameed, managing director of Kelpalm. i Forays into other states are likely x to follow. The state wants to take the multinational cola makers head-on. The deep-brown beverage, packaged in 300-ml, 250-ml and 200-ml bottles, is priced at par with Coke and Pepsi. And like its competitors, Palm Lahar is aimed at the youth. "We are advertising on cable TV channels and Doordarshan," says Hameed. It's not the first time the state is trying v5V to launch a cola. Its first effort in 1996 came a cropper "because of the dumping tactics employed by Coke and Pepsi", says Hameed. But things are different this time around. "These brands have lost their popularity here and you know why," says Hameed, while reading out from a list of laboratory tests Palm Lahar has passed. Are the cola giants listening? ?