Coca-Cola’s history commenced in 1886 when John Pemberton of Georgia created the Coca-Cola drink. In that year, the soft drink could be purchased from a local pharmacy. With time, the drink was placed in several other locations in the country where it retailed at five cents. It was also advertised in that same year in a federal publication; The Atlanta journal. Two other non-original versions of the drink were available to the public in 1888 so there was a need to integrate all these products. One of the businessmen – Griggs Candler – who had obtained a stake in Pemberton’s new firm found a way of getting a legal claim to the Coca-Cola formula. He was able to purchase it from the original owner at 2, 300 dollars and the other businessmen involved. In 1892, the firm was incorporated under its current name The Coca-Cola Company and it remains so until today.
The period between 1890 and 1900 saw landmark increases in Coca-Cola revenues, that is, 4000% increments were reported in that decade alone and they continued to go up subsequently. Employment of the right advertising and production technologies was crucial to these marked successes. In 1899, Candler signed an agreement (albeit half-heartedly) to bottle his drink. He was a bit uncertain about that move because most Americans had grown accustomed to taking their Coca-Cola from soda fountains. However, this decision proved to be very wise because the rapid growth in the next decade i.e. between 1900 and 1910 was due to the bottling strategy. The combined efforts of local producers and the firm saw the creation of around 400 bottling plants by the end of the year. These businessmen made use of improving technologies in the field and therefore increased efficiency of production as well as the quality of the bottling products.
With time, several imitators started flooding the market and most of them would operate under the guise of Coca Cola so the latter organization needed something to distinguish them from the fakes. An Indiana-based partner firm called Root Glass gave the idea of the contour-shaped Coca-Cola bottle in 1915. The product was patented and entered the market the next year. To date, this bottle is one of the most easily identifiable bottles in the soft drink market. Candler then sold off the company to Ernest Woodruff who then passed on the leadership mantle to his son Robert Woodruff. The latter individual would then be responsible for the steady and unrivaled growth of this firm in the next six decades. He was company president from 1923.
During the commencement of the Second World War, Woodruff decided that he would make the drink available to local troops at very affordable prices. This had the benefit of introducing the drink to overseas consumers who became enthusiastic after tasting it. Close to twenty plants were established abroad as a result of this strategy. Although it should be noted that the firm has already gone international before that; international expansion began in the late twenties and thirties with representation in France, Australia, Belgium, and many others. In 1950, the company’s advertisement appeared on Time magazine on the top page, and inside, the magazine described and analyzed the extensive franchising and distribution system within the organization. During that very decade a new drink – Fanta – was introduced under the company name.
In the 1960s, Coca-Cola added a number of different brands under its portfolio. In the next three decades, the company saw the creation of several brands that included Mello Yello, Diet Coke, Dasani, and many others. In the nineteen seventies and eighties, forces of globalization affected the company’s operations in a major way. Most of the retailers in the international chains became mega-chains through a merger of these businesses. Additionally, production plants also amalgamated their efforts so that they could focus on globally oriented retail sellers. During the mid-1980s, the company re-engineered its formula and introduced a new product called New Coke. The latter drink was reported to taste better than the previous one, however, the public was quite fond of the old Coke so the company was forced to bring it back in that same year as Coca Cola classic.
The 1990s became well known for fast and growing markets. Certain markets that had been inaccessible to the latter organization now became open to Coca-Cola. For instance, the firm used 1.5 billion to establish bottling plants in Africa during the late nineties. The fall of the Berlin wall also created new opportunities since the company could now establish manufacturing plants in the latter markets. By the end of this decade, Coca-Cola then had a presence in all parts of the world.
In this century i.e. the twentieth century, the firm introduced a Diet-based product called Diet Coke in 2005. The latter year was also pivotal to the latter organization because it began operations in Iraq which had banned Coca-Cola from 1968 following decisions by the Arab League. The word ‘Classic’ after Coca-Cola was then abandoned in 2007 and 2009 respectively in Canada and the US. The employment of holiday campaigns, great theme songs, and sports sponsorship have been responsible for taking this organization to where it is currently. The Coca-Cola logo is usually described as one of the most recognizable logos and trademarks internationally.