The Coca Cola Company

1886-1892 (CC is enjoyed in the United States)

Soda Fountain Magic

Coca-Cola made its debut in Atlanta, at the Jacobs' Pharmacy soda fountain, where it sold for 5 cents a glass.

Atlanta Beginnings

It was 1886, and in New York Harbor, workers were constructing the Statue of Liberty. Eight hundred miles away, another great American symbol was about to be unveiled.

Like many people who change history, John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, was inspired by simple curiosity. One afternoon, he stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid and, when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacobs' Pharmacy. Here, the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customers who all agreed -- this new drink was something special. So Jacobs' Pharmacy put it on sale for five cents a glass.

Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, named the mixture Coca-Cola®, and wrote it out in his distinct script. To this day, Coca-Cola is written the same way. In the first year, Pemberton sold just 9 glasses of

Coca-Cola a day.

A century later, The Coca-Cola Company has produced more than 10 billion gallons of syrup. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he died in 1888 without realizing the success of the beverage he had created.

Over the course of three years, 1888-1891, Atlanta businessman Asa Griggs Candler secured rights to the business for a total of about $2,300. Candler would become the Company's first president, and the first to bring real vision to the business and the brand.

1886

-in the first year, the Company sold about 9 glasses of Coca-Cola a day

-The first-ever advertisment for Coca-Cola appears in the „Atlanta Journal"

-Frank Robinson suggests the name Coca-Cola and pens the now-famous Coca-Cola trademark in Spencerian script; the script in still used today.

1887

-Free drink coupons are distributed to encourage people to try Coca-Cola

1891

-Coca-Cola first uses calendars and outside posters for advertising

1893-1904 (CC is enjoyed in the United States)

Coca-Cola hires first celebrity spokepersone

Music Hall performer Hilda Clark appears in advertisements.

Beyond Atlanta

Asa G. 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 Coca-Cola 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 future 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 Candler to bottle and sell the beverage -- for the sum of only one dollar.

1893

-The Coca-Cola trademark is registered in the U.S. Patent Office

-In Chicago, Coca-Cola makes its first appearance at a Worls's Fair

1894

-Coca-Cola is first put into bottles in Vicksburg, Mississippi, by Joseph Biedenharn

1895

-„Coca-Cola is sold and consumed in every state and territory of the United States", proclaims Asa Candler

1896

-The Coca-Cola Company distributes branded urns and clocks

1899

-Large-scale bottling begins in Chattanooga,