Coca-Cola Company

The journey of The Coca-Cola Company began on a spring day in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886. Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist with a penchant for chemistry, concocted a fragrant, caramel-colored syrup in a three-legged brass pot in his backyard. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, he carried a jug of this new creation down the street to Jacobs' Pharmacy. Here, it was mixed with carbonated water and sold for five cents a glass. It was Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, who suggested the name 'Coca-Cola,' believing that the two 'C's would look well in advertising. He also penned the now-famous flowing script of the Coca-Cola logo. In its first year, sales averaged a modest nine servings per day. Little did Pemberton know that his simple invention would one day become one of the world's most recognizable symbols.

Sadly, Pemberton passed away in 1888 without realizing the full potential of his creation. The rights to his business were gradually acquired by an Atlanta businessman named Asa Griggs Candler. A marketing genius, Candler incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and laid the groundwork for its global expansion. Through innovative advertising and distribution strategies, such as couponing for free samples and branding everyday items like clocks and calendars, Candler propelled Coca-Cola's popularity. By 1895, the beverage was being sold in every state in the union. The company's trajectory was further revolutionized in 1899 when two lawyers, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, secured the exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola for the nominal sum of one dollar. This bottling system, which allowed independent bottlers to produce and distribute the drink, became a cornerstone of the company's business model, enabling it to scale at an unprecedented rate and quench the thirst of a growing global population. From these humble beginnings, The Coca-Cola Company has evolved into a total beverage company, offering hundreds of brands to people in more than 200 countries and territories, truly refreshing the world and making a difference.