COCA-COLA - WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW

In 1886 in Atlanta a pharmacist named John Pemberton devised new syrup in his kitchen by mixing lime, cinnamon, coca leaves and the seeds of a Brazilian shrub. This syrup was eventually mixed with carbonated water and eventually became known as Coca Cola. Whilst it was originally marketed as a brain and nerve tonic due to its extracts of coca and the caffeine rich kola nut, it is now the most popular selling soft drink and is valued at more than 58 billion dollars on the stock market. However, despite its current value, when Coca Cola was first launched only nine servings of the drink were sold per day. In its first year Coca Cola even made a loss. It had annual sales figures of $50 but $70 of expenses due to advertising. By 1887 due to financial and health reasons, Mr. Pemberton sold the formula for Coca Cola for $2,300 to Asa Candler, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman. By the end of the 1890s Coca Cola had become one of America’s most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candler’s aggressive marketing of the drink. Between 1890 and 1900 Coca Cola sales increased rapidly by over 4000%. Coca Cola was eventually re-sold in the 1900s to Ernest Woodruff for over 25 million dollars. Today Coca Cola is sold in more than one hundred and forty countries around the world to over 5.8 billion people and is the most popular selling soft drink. It is currently advertised on over five hundred TV channels around the world.