SINGAPORE — Coca-Cola may have started as an American brand but it’s a lot more local than many of us might think, said Gill McLaren, the company’s general manager for Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia.

“The brand has been around for a long time here — it’s been in Singapore since 1936. Wherever we operate, we like to localise what we do,” she said. For its current campaign, Share A Coke, where you can get a Coke with a name on it, they’ve incorporated Singlish words such as “Ah Boy” or “chio bu”.

“We may have run Share A Coke previously in 80 other countries but we wanted to make it different for Singapore,” said McLaren. “Normally, we take the top 50 names in each country and put them on the can. But we couldn’t do that in Singapore, because there are so many different cultures and different types of names ... so we’ve used Singlish terms, which we’ve obviously never done before.

“The biggest challenge was coming up with the names and the words,” she added. “But we like to let the consumers run away with their imagination.”

For McLaren, the importance of local connection can’t be understated. “We may be a global business, but you’ve to go have that local connectedness. You could say we’re a local brand, really. In fact, the Heaven & Earth tea brand was actually pioneered in Singapore. It was made based on the Singaporean palate. It has since gone to Malaysia, but it was created here.”

Q: Since you’re working for the company, does this mean you can only drink Coke?

A: Sometimes people don’t realise that there are more than 40 beverages under the Coke umbrella: Sprite, Heaven & Earth Tea, Qoo, Minute Maid, glaceau vitaminwater ... so I’m allowed to drink lots of different drinks! People think it’s just Coca-Cola the drink, but Coca-Cola is also a brand.

Q: What are the biggest misconceptions about Coca-Cola?

A: People think everything is run out of America. But actually, in our company in Singapore, we’re super-local. There are many Singaporeans in the team. I’m not from Singapore, of course, but most of the team are local.

Q: What is your pick-me-up drink to start the day?

A: A cup of tea! I am English and I need to have my cup of tea. Straightforward English Breakfast tea for me. Maybe Earl Grey in the afternoon. I need that cup of tea.

Q: What is your favourite drink to pair with local food?

A: I like chilli crab and, to be really honest — and I’m not saying this because I work for the company — I really like to have a Coke Zero with that. I find it takes away some of the spiciness.

Q: What do you drink to reward yourself?

A: I can really drink four of five cans of Coke Zero a day. Really, this is my favourite!

Q: What’s the weirdest story you’ve heard about Coca-Cola?

A: The brand itself is 129 years old, so there have been many stories about Coke in its long history and they get more creative as the years go by. There was talk one time about how the contour bottle came about — and we’re celebrating 100 years of the contour bottle — but it was really designed after the cocoa — or chocolate — pod. That’s where the curves in the bottle came from.

Some people think Coke was started in a pharmaceutical company; there are loads of rumours about its secret formula. I don’t know what it is, but basically, I would say it’s made from ingredients that you can find in 1886 — it’s a recipe, really, made from natural ingredients. And that recipe is locked in a vault.

Q: Have you seen the recipe?

A: I’ve not seen the recipe — but I’ve seen the vault! Very few people are allowed to see the recipe — I’m not one of those!

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, we reported that the Coca-Cola recipe was made in 1866. This is incorrect. It was made in 1886. We also misspelled the name, Glaceau Vitamin. We apologise for the errors.