History Of Coke

Coca-Cola

What started out being a nerve and brain tonic and a medical elixir with the help of society over the last one hundred and ten years has turned into over 50 billion dollar business. Now as one of the largest companies in the world the company is operated by Robert Goizueta. The companies' first operator was Dr. John Pemberton who was an Atlanta pharmacist, who mixed the formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard on May 8, 1886. Pemberton mixed a combination of lime, cinnamon coca leaves, and the seeds of a Brazilian shrub to make the drink. Coca-Cola was seen first in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, as a non-carbonated beverage which cost people five cent. Later on, carbonated water was added to the syrup to make the beverage that we know today as Coca-Cola. The name Coca-Cola was given to the beverage by one of Pemberton's close friends Frank Robinson; he is also the same person who made the famous Coca-Cola logo.

In 1887 to 1888 Pemberton was not in good health, not to mention he was addicted to morphine and also he was spending more money on advertising then what he was making in gross sales. So Pemberton sold his portion of the Coca-Cola Company to Asa Griggs Candler, an ambitious Atlanta druggist. After exactly two months after Pemberton's death due to bad health Candler bought the remaining shares of the company. Candler achieved a lot during his time as owner of the cola company, on January 1893, the famous Coca-Cola formula was registered in the U.S. Patent office. He also opened the first syrup manufacturing plant in 1884. Candler's great achievement was large scale bottling of Coca-Cola in 1899. In 1915, The Root Glass Company made the curve bottle for the Coca-Cola Company. Candler advertised Coca- Cola in newspapers and on billboards. In the newspapers, he would give away coupons for a free Coke at any fountain. Coca-Cola was sold after the Prohibition Era to Ernest Woodruff for 25 million dollars. He gave Coca-Cola to his son, Robert Woodruff, who would be president for six decades. Robert Woodruff was an influential man in Atlanta because of his contributions to area colleges, universities, businesses and organizations. Woodruff introduced the six bottle carton in 1923. By 1925 Coca-Cola was selling six million Coke's per day. He also made Coca-Cola available through vending machines in 1929. He started advertising on the radio in the 1930s and on the television in 1950. Currently Coca-Cola is advertised on over five hundred TV channels around the world. Candler also introduced the twelve ounce Coke can in 1960. The Coca-Cola bottle was patented in 1977. The two liter bottle was introduced in 1978, the same year the company also introduced plastic bottles. Woodruff did have one doubtful distinction; he raised the syrup prices for distributors. But he improved efficiency at every step of the

manufacturing process. Woodruff also increased productivity by improving the sales department, emphasizing quality control, and beginning large-scale advertising and promotional campaigns.

In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company made what has been known as one of the biggest marketing mistake. The Coca-Cola Company stumbled onto the new formula in efforts to produce diet Coke. They pushed 4 million dollars into research to come up with the 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 but had less tang, it was also slightly smoother.

Robert Woodruff's death was a large contributor to the change because he stated that he would never change Coca-Cola's formula. Another factor that influenced the change was that Coke's market share fell 2.5 percent in four years. Each percentage point lost or gain meant 200 million dollars. A financial analyst said, "Coke's market share fell from 24.3 percent in 1980 to 21.8 percent in 1984." This was the first flavor change since the survival of the Coca-Cola Company. The change was announced April 23, 1985. Some two hundred TV and newspaper reporters attended this very showy announcement. It included a question and answer session, a history of Coca-Cola, and many other elements. The debut was accompanied by an advertising campaign that revived the

Coca-Cola theme song of the early 1970s, "I'd like to buy the World a Coke." The change to the world's best selling soft drink was heard by 81 percent of the United States population within twenty-four hours of the announcement. Within a week of the change, one thousand calls a day were flooding the company's one eight hundred number and the company fielded over forty thousand letters. Most of the callers were shocked or outraged, many said that they were considering switching to Pepsi. Many American consumers of Coca-Cola asked if they would have the final say. When Pepsi heard that the Coca-Cola Company was changing its secret formula they said that it was a decision that Pepsi tastes better. Roger Enrico, the president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola wrote a letter to every major newspaper in the U.S. to declare the victory. But Coca-Cola officials said, "The new formula will boost Coke's share by 1 percent. That is worth 200 million dollars a year." Coca-Cola management had to decide: Do nothing or "buy the world a new Coke." They decided to develop the new formula. Roberto Goizueta, the president of the Coca-Cola Company stated, "The old Coke formula, with its secret flavoring ingredient, called Merchandise 7X, will stay locked in the Trust Company of Georgia bank vault in Atlanta, never to be used again." This is what many Coke officials said, "This is the most significant soft drink development in the company's history." The change back to the old Coke was known as the Second Coming. Roberto Goizueta said, "Today, we have two messages