Birth Of A Refreshing Idea

Old Coke sign curtosey of Dominic's Pics

The Coca-Cola company started 110 years ago as a small, insignificent one man business. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest companies in the world. The first chairman of the company was Dr. John Pemberton and the current chairman is Roberto Goizueta. The demand for the product has made this company into a 50 billion dollar business.

Coca-Cola was invented by Dr. John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist. He concocted the formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard on May 8, 1886 by mixing lime, cinnamon, coca leaves, and the seeds of a Brazilian shrub. Coca-Cola as he called the beverage, made its debut in Atlanta's largest pharmacy, Jacob's Pharmacy, as a five cent-non carbonated drink. Later on, the carbonated water was added to the syrup to make the beverage that we know today.

Coca-Cola was orginally used as a nerve and brain tonic and a medical elixir.Coca-Cola was named by Frank Robinson, one of Pemberton's close friends, he also penned the famous Coca-Cola logo in unique script. Dr. Pemberton sold a portion of the Coca-Cola company to Asa Candler. He was forced to sell because he was in poor health and in debt. In time, Candler acquired the whole company for $2,300, Candler did a lot during his time as owner. On January 31, 1893, the famous Coca-Cola formula was patented. Dr. Pemberton never realized the potential of the beverage he created, he sold his business prior to his death in 1888.

In 1892 Candler incorporated a second company. The Coca-Cola Company (the current corporation), and in 1910 Candler had the earliest records of the company burned, further obscuring its legal origins. By the time of its 50th anniversary, the drink had reached the status of a national icon for the USA.

Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. The first outdoor wall advertisement was painted in the same year. The first bottling company for Coca-Cola was 1899, the site was Chattanooga, Tennessee. Coke concentrate syrup, was and is sold separately at pharmacies in small quantities, as an over the counter remedy for nausea or mildly upset stomach.

In 1985 the Coca-Cola Company made what has been known as one of the biggest marketing blunders. The company developed a new formula in efforts to produce a diet coke. They invested 4 million dollars into research to come up with a new formula. The decision to change their formula and pull the old coke off the market came about because taste tests showed a distinct preference for the new formula. The new formula was a sweeter variation with less tang, it was also slightly smoother. This was a mistake, consumers jamed the line to coke objecting to the new taste and the company was looseing millions a day. On July 10, 1985, eighty-seven days after the new Coke was introduced, the old coke was brought back in addition to the new one.

The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, Caffeine-Free-Coca-Cola, Diet Coke caffeine-free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla and special editions with lemon, lime or coffee. The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to bottlers throughout the world who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sweeteners and then carbonate it before putting it in cans and bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors

A few catch ups; After 1904, instead of using fresh leaves, Coca-Cola started using "spent" leaves-the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with cocaine trace levels left over at a molecular level, today they use a cocaine-free coca leaf extract. In January 2009, C0ca-Cola stopped printing the word "Classic" on the labels of 16 ounce bottles sold in parts of the USA. 1940's, during the war, 64 bottling plants were set up around the world to supply our troops.

Some slogan over the years; 1886 "Coca-Cola-Delicious-Refreshing, Exhilarating. 1929 "The Pause Thar Refreshes". 1943 "A Taste All It's Own". 1954 "For People On The Go". 1971 "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke". 1993 "Always Coca-Cola". The Coca-Cola bottling system grew up with roots deeply in local communities. This heritage serves the Company well today as people seek brands that honor local identity and the distinctiveness of local markets. As was true a century ago, strong locally based relationships between Coca-Cola bottlers, customers and communities are the foundation on which the entire business grows.

I really like to research this history, but like all companies it is impossible to write down everything that has gone on. I sure would like to find some of the real old memorabilia, such as coke bottle, advertising items and some of those beautiful old serving trays with those old time gals on them. Have a great summer, get out and enjoy yourselves.