No, the ZUS Coffee Logo Isn’t Inspired by Greek God Zeus So You Don’t Have to Cancel Them

By Aqasha Nalani  •  16 Nov 2023 in Food

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The current Palestine-Israel conflict has caused Malaysians to be more selective about the products they consume.

Since the beginning of the Gaza genocide, some netizens have used social media to educate the public on pro-Israel brands, while others are debunking the accusations.

The claims against ZUS Coffee

On 13 November, an X fact page alleged that the logo of a popular Malaysian coffee chain, ZUS Coffee, is inspired by the mythological Greek god Zeus.

The page also demanded that Malaysians boycott the brand and other companies that use mythological Greek creatures in their logos.

“Did you know that apart from boycotting ZUS Coffee, we should also boycott other products that are related to the Greek Gods? If there are these items in our house, please throw them away immediately!” it wrote.

Aside from ZUS Coffee, the page also listed other brands that Malaysians should avoid.

The post quickly went viral on the social media platform, and while many users thought that the page was just trolling, some claimed that it was deceiving naive readers who were unaware that the coffee chain is a local brand.

But the X page wasn’t the only account online making the claim. On Facebook, Berita Malaysia also made the same allegations against ZUS Coffee, with their post garnering over 21,000 likes and 24,000 shares at the time of writing.

To make matters worse, the page actually wasn’t trolling and even went on to urge the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) to revise the brand’s halal certificate.

ZUS Coffee has since clarified that its brand name and logo are not related to the mythological God of the Sky

According to the chief operating officer of ZUS Coffee, Tian Zhenhui, the portrait of the elderly man in the logo of the coffee brand is actually an Ethiopian shepherd named Kaldi, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Tian explained that, according to legend, Kaldi is thought to be the first to discover the effects of coffee beans after noticing that his goats became energetic after eating berries from a specific tree.

Tian went on to say that the term “ZUS” is an abbreviation for “Zeal + US”, and it is intended to convey the company’s zealous efforts to provide the best coffee to its customers.

He added that the brand is also halal-certified and hoped that the clarification would allow customers to purchase ZUS Coffee with confidence.

With that clarification, it’s safe to say that the allegation made against ZUS Coffee isn’t true, and we should all support our local coffee chain <3