In May, 1886, Coca Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton concocted the Coca Cola formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by John Pemberton’s bookkeeper Frank Robinson.
Birth of Coca Cola
Being a bookkeeper, Frank Robinson also had excellent penmanship. It was he who first scripted “Coca Cola” into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today.
The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta on 8th May, 1886.
About nine servings of the soft drink were sold each day. Sales for that first year added up to a total of about $50. The funny thing was that it cost John Pemberton over $70 in expanses, so the first year of sales were a loss. Last year coca-cola sales reached $50 billion dollars in the international market. Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut.
Asa Candler
In 1887, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler bought the formula for Coca Cola from inventor John Pemberton for $2,300. By the late 1890s, Coca Cola was one of America’s most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candler’s aggressive marketing of the product. With Asa Candler, now at the helm, the Coca Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900.
Advertising was an important factor in John Pemberton and Asa Candler’s success and by the turn of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and Canada. Around the same time, the company began selling syrup to independent bottling companies licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized on this principle.
Beyond Atlanta 1893-1904
Asa Candler, a natural born salesman, transformed Coca-Cola from an invention into a business. He knew there were thirsty people out there, and Candler found brilliant and innovative ways to introduce them to this exciting new refreshment. He gave away coupons for complimentary first tastes of Coca-Cola, and outfitted distributing
pharmacists with clocks, urns, calendars and apothecary scales bearing the Coca-Cola brand. People saw Coca-Cola everywhere, and the aggressive promotion worked. By 1895, Candler had built syrup plants in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Inevitably, the soda’s popularity led to a demand for it to be enjoyed in new ways. In 1894, a Mississippi businessman named Joseph Biedenharn became the first to put the drink in bottles. He sent 12 of them to Candler, who responded without enthusiasm.
Despite being a brilliant and innovative businessman, he didn’t realize then that the heart of Coca-Cola would be with portable bottled beverages, customers could take anywhere.
He still didn’t realize it five years later, when, in 1899, two Chattanooga lawyers, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, secured exclusive rights from him to bottle and sell the beverage for the sum of one dollar.
Safeguarding the Brand 1905-1918
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but The Coca-Cola Company was none too pleased about the proliferation of copycat beverages taking advantage of its success.
This was a great product, and a great brand. Both needed to be protected. Advertising focused on the authenticity of Coca-Cola, urging consumers to “Demand the genuine”
and “Accept no substitute.” The Company also decided to create a distinctive bottle shape to assure people they were actually getting a real Coca-Cola. In 1916, the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, began manufacturing the famous contour bottle. The contour bottle, which remains the signature shape today, was chosen for its attractive appearance, original design and the fact that, even in the dark, you could identify the genuine article.
As the country roared into the new century, The Coca-Cola Company grew rapidly, moving into Cuba, Puerto Rico, France, and other countries and U.S. territories. In 1900, there were two bottlers of Coca-Cola, by 1920, there would be about 1,000.
The Woodruff Legacy 1919-1940
Perhaps no person had more impact on The Coca-Cola Company than Robert Woodruff. In 1923, five years after his father Ernest purchased the Company from Asa Candler, Woodruff became the Company president. While Candler had introduced the U.S. To Coca-Cola, Woodruff would spend nearly 60 years as Company leader introducing the beverage to the world beyond.
Woodruff was a marketing genius who saw opportunities for expansion everywhere. He captivated foreign markets with innovative campaigns: Coca-Cola traveled with the U.S.
Team to the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, the logo was emblazoned on racing dog sleds in Canada and the walls of bullfighting arenas in Spain. Woodruff pushed development and distribution of the six-pack, the open top cooler, and all innovations that made it easier for people to drink Coca-Cola. When it became clear to the Company that housewives would be more inclined to buy six-packs they could open easily at home, women were sent door to door, installing branded Coca-Cola openers. This is exactly the kind of “outside-the box” thinking that thrived under Woodruff’s leadership, and it made Coca-Cola not just a huge success, but a big part of people’s lives.
The War and Its Legacy 1941-1959
In 1941, America entered World War II. Thousands of men and women were sent
overseas. The country, and Coca-Cola, rallied behind them. Woodruff ordered that “every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is, and whatever it costs the Company.” In 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower sent an urgent cablegram to Coca-Cola, requesting shipment of materials for 10 bottling plants. During the war, many Europeans enjoyed their first taste of the beverage, and when peace finally came,
Coca-Cola was doing a lot of business overseas. Woodruff’s vision that Coca-Cola be placed within “arm’s reach of desire,” was coming true from the mid-’40s until 1960, the number of countries with bottling operations nearly doubled.
Post-war America was alive with optimism and prosperity. Coca-Cola was part of a fun, carefree American lifestyle, and the imagery of its advertising — happy couples at the drive-in, carefree moms driving big yellow convertibles — is a wonderful reflection of the spirit of the times.
A World of Customers 1960-1981
After 75 years of amazing success with brand Coca-Cola, the Company decided to expand with new flavors: Sprite, in 1961, Tab in 1963 and Fresca in 1966.
The Company’s presence worldwide was growing rapidly, and year after year, Coca-Cola found a home in more and more places: Cambodia, Montserrat, Paraguay, Macau, Turkey and more. Advertising for Coca-Cola, always an important and exciting part of its business, really came into its own in the ’70s, and reflects a brand totally in tune with fun, playfulness and freedom. The international appeal of Coca-Cola was embodied by a 1971 commercial, where a group of young people from all over the world gathered on a hilltop in Italy to sing “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” In 1978, The Coca-Cola Company was selected as the only company allowed to sell packaged cold drinks in the People’s
Republic of China.
Diet Coke and New Coke 1982-1989
The ’80s the era of legwarmers, headbands and the fitness craze, and a time of much change and innovation at The Coca-Cola Company. In 1981, Roberto C. Goizueta became chairman of The Board of Directors and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
Goizueta, who fled Castro’s Cuba in 1961, completely overhauled the Company with a strategy he called “intelligent risk taking.” Among his bold moves was organizing the numerous U.S. bottling operations into a new public company, Coca-Cola Enterprises,
Inc. He also released diet Coke®, the very first extension of the Coca-Cola trademark – within two years, it had become the top low-calorie drink in the world, second in success only to Coca-Cola. One of Goizueta’s other initiatives, in 1985, was the release of a new taste for Coca-Cola, the first change in formulation in 99 years. In taste tests, people loved the new formula.
In the real world, they had a deep emotional attachment to the original, and they begged and pleaded to get it back. Critics called it the biggest marketing blunder ever. But Goizueta, as Warren Buffett once said, had a knack for turning “lemons into lemonade.”
The original formula was returned to the market as Coca-Cola classic, and the product began to increase its lead over the competition — a lead that continues to this day.
Coca-Cola 1990 – Now
In 1886, Coca-Cola brought thrilling refreshment to patrons of a small Atlanta pharmacy.
Now well into its second century, the Company’s goal is to provide that magic every time, in 200 countries, with each of its 230+ and ever-growing brands. Coca-Cola has customers from Boston to Budapest to Bahrain, drinking brands like Ambasa, Vegitabeta and Frescolita. In the remotest corners of the globe, you can still find Coca-Cola.
In February 2000, Doug Daft was named Company chairman. Coca-Cola is a huge international company, but Daft’s vision is to have the Company operate as a collection of smaller, locally run businesses. “No one,” Daft points out, “decides to enjoy one of our
products globally.” That’s why Coca-Cola is committed to local markets, to paying attention to what people from different cultures and backgrounds like to drink, and where and how they want to drink it. Every 10 seconds, 126,000 people choose to reach for one of The Coca-Cola Company brands, and it is the Company’s mission to make that choice exciting and satisfying, every single time.
ANNOUCING FREE BUSSINESS GUIDE TO ALL OUR READERS: 10 RULES TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS EMPIRE.
To receive this free e-manual via your email please send your full name, email address and mobile number. First 50 only. John F Fowler .MCIM, is an International marketing and business consultant, Motivational/Empowerment speaker and Author. He is currently the founder and president of Trinity Empowerment Center a non governmental organization with a vision to empower youths in starting and sustaining small businesses in developing countries. for comments or questions send email to [email protected], or [email protected]
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