ColaLife

ColaLife is an independent nonprofit organization founded in the United Kingdom around the idea that the distribution systems used to make consumer goods widely available could also help deliver essential medicines to remote communities. Its name reflects the question that motivated the initiative: if Coca-Cola products can be found in many developing-country communities, why are life-saving diarrhoea treatments often unavailable? The organization is not affiliated with The Coca-Cola Company, and cooperation with Coca-Cola or other partners does not constitute endorsement of any product or brand. The concept originated with Simon Berry while he was working in northeast Zambia in 1988. Berry observed that soft drinks were widely available while children continued to die from easily preventable causes, including dehydration caused by diarrhoea. He began exploring whether beverage distribution networks could carry oral rehydration salts and other treatments. The idea received little attention initially, but was revived in 2008 through the Business Call to Action initiative and a public campaign involving Berry's blog, BBC Radio 4, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. The campaign attracted international supporters and eventually opened a dialogue with The Coca-Cola Company, which provided advisory support from 2008 through the end of 2013 during planning and implementation of a Zambian trial. Simon Berry and Jane Berry established ColaLife as a company limited by guarantee in August 2009. In 2010 they moved from campaigning toward practical testing, evaluating several possible countries before selecting Zambia. They consulted the Zambian Ministry of Health and other local actors during visits in 2010 and 2011. ColaLife became a registered charity in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2011, after the founders stepped down as directors and governance was transferred to trustees. The organization developed the Kit Yamoyo, a compact diarrhoea-treatment kit containing oral rehydration salts and zinc. The package was designed to fit into the unused space between bottles in beverage crates, while also being suitable for sale through ordinary rural retailers. Its name means “Kit of Life” in local languages. The design was developed with input from caregivers and received the Design Museum's Product Design of the Year award in 2013. A nine-month preparation phase began in December 2011, followed by a quasi-experimental distribution trial in Zambia from August 2012 to September 2013. The trial was commissioned by UNICEF Zambia, with Dr Rohit Ramchandani as principal investigator. During the trial year, retailers in two implementation districts purchased approximately 26,000 treatment kits. Reported use of oral rehydration salts and zinc increased from below 1 percent to 46 percent, while the average distance caregivers travelled to obtain treatment fell by roughly two thirds, from 7.3 kilometres to 2.4 kilometres. The findings were later documented in a doctoral thesis and disseminated through UK development-funding channels. After ColaLife was unable to secure funding for a nationwide Zambian expansion, it adopted a subnational approach with Keepers Zambia Foundation and other partners. From 2015, the model was incorporated into Zambia's Scaling Up Nutrition programme in nutritionally challenged districts. In some districts, small retailers distributed the kits; in others, public-sector facilities supplied a free oral rehydration salts and zinc co-pack based on the Kit Yamoyo design. Additional work began in Lusaka Province in 2015, supported by a healthcare innovation award and UK aid-related funding. Shoprite began stocking Kit Yamoyo in Zambia in December 2015, initially through 26 stores and subsequently through 30. ColaLife also joined Ashoka's Globalizer programme in 2016 to explore how the approach could extend beyond Zambia. ColaLife's operating model is partnership-based. It works with local organizations and public-health actors in each country to adapt and adopt its distribution approach rather than presenting itself as a conventional pharmaceutical manufacturer or a Coca-Cola subsidiary. Its central contribution is the design and testing of an affordable, accessible supply and retail model for essential diarrhoea treatment.

The origins of ColaLife lie in Simon Berry's experience in northeast Zambia in 1988. While working on the British Aid Programme, Berry noticed that Coca-Cola bottles could be purchased in places where basic medical products were difficult to obtain. He connected this contrast with the high number of childhood deaths associated with diarrhoea and dehydration and began considering whether established consumer-goods logistics could help move oral rehydration treatment into remote areas. The idea did not initially gain a significant institutional response. The concept was revived in 2008 when Coca-Cola's participation in the Business Call to Action brought renewed attention to the relationship between commercial distribution and development challenges. Berry promoted the proposal through a personal blog and sought discussion through BBC Radio 4's iPM programme. Social-media support helped turn the idea into an international campaign. In 2008, Coca-Cola representatives agreed to discuss the proposal, and The Coca-Cola Company subsequently provided advisory support during the planning and implementation of a Zambian trial. ColaLife remained organizationally independent and was never a Coca-Cola affiliate. Simon Berry and Jane Berry founded ColaLife as a company limited by guarantee in August 2009. In 2010, they decided to work full-time on moving the campaign toward a field trial. After assessing five potential countries, they selected Zambia and consulted the Ministry of Health and other local stakeholders during visits in October 2010, January 2011, and May 2011. ColaLife was registered as a UK charity on 21 June 2011. At that point, the founders resigned as directors and responsibility passed to a trustee board. During the development phase, the founders participated in Johnson & Johnson's internal Innovation Boot Camp. Mentoring from Johnson & Johnson and the Antwerp Management School led to an award from the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust toward the proposed trial. In October 2011, the founders moved to Zambia, and in November the UK's Department for International Development agreed to provide additional funding. The trial's nine-month setup period began in December 2011. The principal physical product developed through the project was Kit Yamoyo, a compact package containing oral rehydration salts and zinc for diarrhoea treatment. The design was developed with caregivers and intended to exploit the unused space between bottles in soft-drink crates while remaining practical for local retailers and consumers. The name means “Kit of Life” in local languages. In 2013, the design received the Design Museum's Product Design of the Year award. The Zambian trial ran from August 2012 through September 2013. UNICEF Zambia commissioned the work, and Dr Rohit Ramchandani served as principal investigator. The project tested whether a commercially oriented, retailer-based distribution model could improve access to treatment in remote rural communities. During the twelve-month trial period, retailers in two implementation districts purchased about 26,000 kits. Reported treatment coverage using oral rehydration salts and zinc rose from below 1 percent to 46 percent, and the distance caregivers travelled to obtain treatment fell from 7.3 kilometres to 2.4 kilometres. The main findings were later published through UK development channels and documented in Ramchandani's doctoral research, defended in December 2015. After the trial ended, transitional support continued into 2014 while ColaLife sought resources for expansion. A nationwide scale-up in Zambia could not be funded, so the organization and its local partner, Keepers Zambia Foundation, shifted to subnational programmes. In February 2015, work began in 14 of Zambia's most nutritionally challenged districts under the Scaling Up Nutrition programme. The programme used two channels: small retailers in five districts and public-sector health facilities in eleven districts, where a free oral rehydration salts and zinc co-pack based on Kit Yamoyo was supplied. Further implementation began in Lusaka Province in October 2015, supported by a healthcare innovation award from GSK and Save the Children and matched through a UK aid programme. In December 2015, Shoprite began stocking Kit Yamoyo in its Zambian stores, creating a major supermarket channel alongside rural retail and public-health delivery. In 2016, ColaLife joined the Ashoka Globalizer programme to examine how its approach could produce social impact beyond Zambia. ColaLife's historical significance lies less in operating a conventional branded-medicine business than in demonstrating how packaging, retail incentives, local partnerships, and existing distribution infrastructure can be combined to address last-mile health access. Its work has focused on adaptation by local organizations and health systems, with the organization explicitly maintaining independence from Coca-Cola and other commercial partners.

• 2016

  Ashoka Globalizer participation

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  ColaLife joined Ashoka's Globalizer programme to consider broader international application of its model.

• 2015

  Subnational scale-up and supermarket distribution

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  ColaLife expanded into Zambian nutrition programmes and Shoprite began stocking Kit Yamoyo.

• 2013

  Trial concludes and Kit Yamoyo receives design recognition

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  The trial ended in September, and Kit Yamoyo won the Design Museum's Product Design of the Year award.

• 2012

  Zambian Kit Yamoyo trial begins

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  The quasi-experimental trial of ColaLife's diarrhoea-treatment distribution model began in August 2012.

• 2011

  UK charity registration

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  ColaLife became a registered UK charity on 21 June 2011.

• 2009

  ColaLife established as a company limited by guarantee

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  Simon Berry and Jane Berry formally established ColaLife as an independent organization.

• 2008

  ColaLife campaign gains public momentum

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  The concept was revived through the Business Call to Action and promoted through blogging, BBC Radio 4, and social media.

• 1988

  Initial distribution insight in Zambia

  [1]ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org

  While working in northeast Zambia, Simon Berry developed the idea of using beverage-distribution networks to improve access to oral rehydration treatment.

A nonprofit social-innovation organization applying fast-moving consumer goods distribution techniques to last-mile access to essential medicines, particularly oral rehydration salts and zinc for childhood diarrhoea.

• Diarrhoea-treatment kit · 2012

  Kit Yamoyo

  Kit Yamoyo is ColaLife's compact diarrhoea-treatment package, designed around oral rehydration salts and zinc. Its packaging was developed to fit into the unused space between bottles in beverage crates, linking the product to established fast-moving consumer goods logistics while allowing distribution through small retailers and other local channels. The kit was developed with caregiver input during the Zambian trial preparation period and means “Kit of Life” in local languages.

• Public-sector health product · 2015

  ORS/Zinc co-pack based on Kit Yamoyo

  ColaLife's distribution work also supported a public-sector oral rehydration salts and zinc co-pack based on the Kit Yamoyo design. In Zambia's Scaling Up Nutrition programme, the co-pack was supplied free through hospitals and clinics in districts using a public-health delivery channel rather than the small-retailer model.

• 2015Zambia Scaling Up Nutrition implementation

  Zambia

  ColaLife and Keepers Zambia Foundation adapted the model for 14 nutritionally challenged districts, combining retailer distribution with public-sector supply.

  Outcome. The approach moved from a controlled trial into subnational programme implementation.

  Source
• 2012Zambia Kit Yamoyo distribution trial

  Zambia

  ColaLife tested a retailer-oriented distribution approach for oral rehydration salts and zinc in two Zambian implementation districts.

  Outcome. Approximately 26,000 kits were purchased by retailers during the trial year, reported treatment coverage increased to 46 percent, and travel distance for caregivers fell by about two thirds.

  Source
• 2008ColaLife public campaign

  United Kingdom · International

  Simon Berry used blogging, BBC Radio 4's iPM programme, and social media to build public support for applying Coca-Cola-style distribution methods to essential medicines.

  Outcome. The campaign helped establish a dialogue with The Coca-Cola Company and attracted international supporters for a field trial.

  Source

• 2014

  Shift from nationwide expansion to subnational programmesStrategy

  Background

  ColaLife was unable to raise sufficient funding for a nationwide scale-up in Zambia after the initial trial.

  Action taken

  The organization and Keepers Zambia Foundation pursued funding through targeted provincial and district programmes instead.

  Aftermath

  Implementation began in 14 districts under Zambia's Scaling Up Nutrition programme in 2015.

  Source

• 2011

  Transition to trustee-led charity governanceStrategy

  Background

  ColaLife was formalized as a UK charity while preparing for implementation in Zambia.

  Action taken

  The co-founders resigned as directors after charity registration and transferred organizational control to trustees.

  Aftermath

  ColaLife continued as an independent charitable organization while the founders focused on implementation and field work.

  Source

• 2010

  Move from advocacy campaign to field trialStrategy

  Background

  After building public and institutional interest, ColaLife's co-founders assessed several countries where the distribution concept could be tested.

  Action taken

  The organization selected Zambia and began formal consultations with local health authorities and potential implementation partners.

  Aftermath

  The planning process led to the Kit Yamoyo trial, which began in 2012.

  Source

1. 1ColaLifeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ColaLife official websitecolalife.org