Words by Joseph Beattie
It was hot, very hot. Not only this, but sojourning through our forth country in as many weeks brought about a weariness that something had to fix. Well, we found the fix –
Cofix.
Found only in Israel, Cofix was formed simply because there was a gap in the market – a gap that needed filling by a simple solution of providing each and every product it sells at a fixed price of 5 Israeli Shekel’s. In South African language this equates to about 16 Rand for an iced coffee. Not bad at all – even for us budget backpackers!
According to its founder, Father Katz: “It all started on one of my trips to the country when a fellow traveller and I entered the store of a gas station. I took 50 Shekel’s with me from the car and ordered coffee and a sandwich and he ordered an iced coffee and a packet of chewing gum, the payment of which came to over 50 Shekel’s. This required me to return to the car and get some more money. At that moment I thought to myself why should a coffee and a sandwich cost so much money? A person who travels a lot and wants to drink more than one coffee a day and eat a little something would spend 2,500 Shekel’s a month and which could result in him choosing not to drink or eat.”
The iced coffee was a hit for Lisa – bringing some relief at the bus stations in-between moving about the country on its extremely efficient transport system, all at a temperature of about 35 degrees.
Not only does Cofix appeal and is a hit for its locals as an alternative to high priced caffeine options in competing café’s, but it certainly plays well into the needs of weary travellers. Well done and thank you Cofix!
