Coca-Cola News

Coke to pay $590M for Philippine bottler

Atlanta Business Chronicle : Friday, December 29, 2006

The Coca-Cola Co. will pay San Miguel Corp. $590 million to acquire 100 percent ownership of a Philippine bottler.

Coca-Cola agreed on Dec. 22 to buy San Miguel's 65 percent stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc.

Coke disclosed the purchase price today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Coke said it entered into an agreement with San Miguel Corp. and two subsidiaries to acquire all of the shares of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. currently held by the sellers, representing 65 percent of all the issued and outstanding stock of the bottler.

Coke will pay $590 million, including $370 million at the closing, plus $100 million in escrow. Coke will pay another $20 million 18 months later, and another $100 million on the fifth anniversary of the purchase.

C.Ronaldo Coca Cola ad

Coca Cola "What Goes Around Comes Around"

Mexican soda lovers spared tax

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) -- A proposed tax on fizzy drinks has caused a stir in Mexico, which quaffs more Coca-Cola products per capita than any other nation and has adopted soda alongside tacos and chiles into the national diet.

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a 5 percent tax on all carbonated beverages, a controversial part of new President Felipe Calderon's 2007 budget plan. Opponents say it would have hurt the poor, many of whom prefer sodas because potable water is less available and sometimes more expensive.

Each Mexican gulps down an average of about 40 gallons (150 liters) of carbonated drinks a year, according to the country's producers. Year-round heat throughout much of the country helps to whet their thirst.

"Many people are so addicted that without Coke, they can't live," said street burger vendor Gonzalo Alvarez.

The Chamber of Deputies backed the soda bill this week but the Senate voted 73-55 against it. The measure will be returned to the lower house, where it is unlikely to survive given Wednesday's lopsided vote.

Mexico's soft drinks association says the poorest Mexicans spend as much on soda as they do on tortillas or beans and that the tax would hurt them disproportionately.

The country topped Coca-Cola's 2005 list of per capita consumption of company beverages with 533 servings.

But nutritionist Enrique Rios said a tax on fizzy drinks would force more Mexicans to turn to fresh fruit juice, abundant and inexpensive in a country like Mexico.

Producers counter that soft drinks are a necessity for Mexico's poor.

"There are people who drink soda starting in the morning as part of their diet. The calories they get from the drink and its sugar, although not many, keep them going," said Alfredo Paredes, spokesman for the low-cost Big Cola brand.

Mexico needs new sources of income because the government is vulnerable to a drop in revenue from crude exports due to falling world prices and a key oil well beginning to dry up.

"We have to work for fiscal reform so we aren't dependent on the price of petroleum, so that we have a broader base of contributors with less tax evasion," said Gustavo Madero, a conservative National Action Party senator and leader of the congressional finance committee.

The tax vote was an early indicator of whether Calderon, who took office on December 1, will be able to persuade Congress to pass energy and other economic reforms.

His predecessor Vicente Fox failed in his effort to put a tax on food and medicine due to opposition in Congress and from ordinary Mexicans.

Coca Cola News

Diet Coke Plus is Diet Coke, but healthier

Coca-Cola is planning to launch a new version of Diet Coke in 2007. No, this isn't going to be like the disaster that was "New Coke" in the 1980s. The drink is actually going to be similar to the current Diet Coke, but it will be fortified with vitamins and minerals, meaning that people will have even more of a reason to opt for diet than just wanting to cut down on calories: they can do it for their health. Diet Coke Plus, as the drink is called, will be "the first nutrient-enhanced carbonated soda to be offered by a major brand" and will not replace the current Diet Coke, which is the best-selling sugar-free soda in the world.

A sugar-free, but nutrient-filled, drink will certainly have a lot of appeal in an increasingly health-conscious society, but is it enough to convert people to diet Coke from other sources of vitamins? Assuming that it ends up tasting like the standard diet Coke, would you give it a try?

Coca-Cola News

Coca-Cola Promotes Kent to President, Operating Chief

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, promoted international chief Muhtar Kent to president and chief operating officer, putting him in line to succeed Chief Executive Officer E. Neville Isdell.

Kent, 54, assumes his new duties immediately, the Atlanta- based company said today in a statement. Kent has worked for Coca-Cola or its bottlers for almost 30 years, and he previously oversaw international operations that account for 80 percent of Coca-Cola's profit and $15 billion in sales.

Isdell has increasingly relied on Kent to improve Coca- Cola's relationship with Mexican bottler Coca-Cola Femsa SA, to consolidate bottlers in Germany and to negotiate to buy a majority stake in Philippines bottler San Miguel Corp. Kent becomes a likely successor to Isdell, 63, as the company tries to boost growth of healthier drinks as consumers cut back on soda.

``Kent knows the Coke system inside and out, from both the bottler side and the Coke side,'' said Keith Patriquin, an analyst at Lookis Sayles & Co. in Boston, which holds Coca-Cola shares among $70 billion in assets. ``He's as advanced as anyone on the learning curve. Coke needs more people with the experience to know what bottlers really want and need.''

Kent's promotion raised concerns from some investors over his short sale of Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. stock a decade ago, when Kent was a manager at the Australian bottler.

``Why in this post-Enron era would a company consider a candidate who has these allegations buzzing around his head like bees?'' said James Berman, CEO of JBGlobal LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that manages $28 million and has Coca-Cola among its top five holdings. ``They've not given a full explanation, they've not given all the records. I think it's inexcusable.''

Retirement Plans

The company hasn't had a president since 2004, when Isdell came out of retirement to run Coca-Cola and assumed both CEO and president duties.

Isdell hasn't said when he plans to retire. Coca-Cola spokesman Ben Deutsch said neither Isdell or Kent would be available for comment today.

Shares of Coca-Cola rose 34 cents to $48.72 at 4:02 p.m. in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They have gained 21 percent this year, while PepsiCo Inc., the second- largest soft-drink maker, has climbed 7 percent. PepsiCo in August promoted finance chief Indra Nooyi to succeed Steven Reinemund as CEO of the second-largest soda maker.

Coca-Cola's growth has lagged behind PepsiCo, which leads in noncarbonated drinks with Gatorade and Lipton tea. Sales at Coca-Cola, which depends on soda for 80 percent of its volume, have increased an average of 3 percent over the past five years, while PepsiCo's sales have gained an average of 5 percent.

Isdell said today in an internal memo that Kent is ``one of our system's most dedicated and loyal associates.''

Analyst Speculation

Analysts have speculated for months about Kent's promotion, creating the company's first succession plan since former Chairman Roberto Goizueta died suddenly of cancer in 1997.

Both John Faucher, a J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. analyst, and Mark Swartzberg, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said in notes today that the appointment makes Kent the likely successor.

The heads of all geographical regions, including J. Alexander Douglas of the North America unit, will now report directly to Kent. The leaders of other functions, including Chief Financial Officer Gary Fayard and Marketing and Innovation Chief Mary Minnick, will continue reporting directly to Isdell.

Kent began working for Coca-Cola in 1978, and has overseen several of the company's key regions such as Eastern Europe and North Asia.

Short Sale

Kent shorted 100,000 shares of Australian Coke bottler Amatil in November 1996, just hours before the company said profit would miss Wall Street's estimates, sending shares down 12 percent the next trading day. Short sellers are investors who sell borrowed shares with the hope of profiting by buying them back after a decline.

The trade was investigated by Australian regulators and Kent later resigned from Amatil. Kent, who wasn't charged, paid the equivalent of $260,000 to settle the case and cover the cost of the regulatory investigation.

Kent has said the short sale was made by his financial adviser, whom he had given authority to make trades on his behalf to diversify his investments beyond Coca-Cola and Amatil stock.

Coca-Cola's board hired an outside law firm to do an investigation before Isdell re-hired Kent in 2005 from Turkish Coke bottler Efes Beverage Group. Coca-Cola hasn't made the results of its investigation public.

`Not an Issue'

Isdell said in January that the short-selling was ``not an issue anymore'' and that he ``wouldn't have rehired him if I had any discomfort whatsoever about what happened.''

``If it didn't give the board cause for concern, it doesn't give me cause for concern,'' said Patriquin.

Kent was born in New York and received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Hull in the U.K. and a master's from London City University Business School.

Coca-Cola has been without a president since Steve Heyer left in 2004 to become CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Diet Coke Advertisement

Diet Coke

Diet Coke or Diet Coca-Cola is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in July 1982, and was the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook Tab in sales. In most non-English-speaking markets it is called Coca-Cola Light or Coke Light.

Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame as soon as it became available in the U.S., 1983; however, to save money, this was originally in a blend with saccharin. After Diet Rite cola advertised its 100 percent use of aspartame, and the manufacturer of NutraSweet (then, G.D. Searle & Company) warned that the NutraSweet trademark would not be made available to a blend of sweeteners, Coca-Cola switched the formula to 100 percent NutraSweet, later switching back and doing without the NutraSweet trademark. Diet Coke from fountain dispensers still contains some saccharin (to extend shelf life)[1].

In other countries, where cyclamates were not banned, as they were in the U.S. and the United Kingdom in 1970, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Light may be sweetened with a blend containing cyclamates, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium. Fans of the drink often express a strong preference for either the European formula or the American-British-Canadian version. Contrary to some reports, Coca-Cola Zero is not the European Coca-Cola Light formula.

In 2005, under pressure from retailer Wal-Mart (which was impressed with the popularity of Splenda sweetener), and despite their previous blunder with New Coke, the company released a new formulation called "Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda". Sucralose replaces aspartame in this version. Early sales reports for this version were not quite as strong as anticipated; however, Coca-Cola did little advertising for the brand, investing money and advertising in Coca-Cola Zero instead. The introduction of the Splenda sweetened version of Diet Coke saw complaints to bottlers, as store shelves would often go with very little of the normal version of Diet Coke.

Diet Coke does not utilize a modified form of the Coca-Cola recipe but is instead an entirely different formula. The controversial New Coke, introduced in 1985, used a version of the Diet Coke recipe that contained sugar and had a slightly different balance of ingredients. In 2004 Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola C2, which it claims tastes much closer to Coca-Cola but contains half the carbohydrates.

When Tab was released in 1963, the Coca-Cola Company refused to use the Coca-Cola brandname, fearing that its flagship brand might suffer by being used on another product, the long-term viability of which was uncertain. Its rival Pepsi had no such qualms, and after the long-term success of its sugar-free brand Diet Pepsi, launched in 1964, became clear, Coca-Cola decided to launch a new sugar-free brand under the Coca-Cola name to compete with Diet Pepsi. With the well-known name, it could be marketed more extensively than the more anonymously dubbed Tab.

Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have capitalized on the markets of people who require low sugar regimens, such as diabetics and people with other health conditions, athletes, and people who want to lose weight. In the UK, a 330 ml can of Diet Coke contains around 1.3 Calories (5 kilojoules) compared to 142 Calories (595 kJ) for a regular can of Coca-Cola.

According to the company's UK website as of 2004:

• Diet Coke is the #1 selling sugar-free soda in the world;
• Diet Coke is the third-largest brand at the company, and the fourth most-popular carbonated soft drink in the world;
• Diet Coke is sold in 149 countries; in 46 of them, where diet has undesirable connotations, it is known as Coca-Cola Light;
• The top five markets for the brand are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Brazil.
• Some predict that Diet Coke will soon overtake Pepsi as the #2 soft drink in the USA because, over the last decade, Pepsi has lost market share (down to 11.2% in 2005) and Diet Coke has gained market share (up to 9.8% in 2005)

In Germany and nearby countries, the drink is referred to as Cola Light, a usage the Coca-Cola Company has tried hard to discourage, as cola is a generic word that refers to any such drink; likewise, the company has fought a long battle against the use of Cola instead of Coke. Commercials refer only to Coke Light or Coca-Cola Light. In France and in the spanish-speaking-countries the term Coca Light is normally used.

Advertising slogans

• "Just for the taste of it!" USA, 1982
• "Taste it all!" USA, 1994
• "Light it up!" USA, 2006

Debate over health issues

Diet Coke (and other beverages using aritificial sweeteners) relies on Aspartame, which has been blamed by some scientists and medical professionals for possibly causing serious illnesses (such as brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma) when consumed in large quantities. Other researchers have found no such link, or believe that the quantities in sodas such as Diet Coke are much too small to cause adverse effects.

Ingredients

• Carbonated water
• Caramel Color
• Aspartame
• Phosphoric acid
• Potassium benzoate (to protect taste)
• Natural flavors
• Citric acid
• Caffeine

Trivia

• It is possible to cause a sudden high-pressure release of carbon dioxide known as a Mentos eruption by inserting multiple Mentos into a container of Diet Coke. Mythbusters found this is caused because of nucleation as well as certain catalysts in the Diet Coke and Mentos themselves. The phenomenon is described in some detail by the General Chemistry Online! FAQ, which also attributes it to nucleation.[2]

External links

• Diet Coke official website

Coca Cola Ad.

New Coke Comercial 2006

World of Coca-Cola

The World of Coca-Cola is a permanent exhibition featuring the history of Coca-Cola and its well-known advertising. It is located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, adjacent to Underground Atlanta and is run by The Coca-Cola Company, whose world headquarters is located on nearby North Avenue.

The attraction is toured from the top down; guests begin their visit on the top level. The museum is presented roughly in chronological order, with numerous examples of advertising materials and Coke-branded memorabilia. Some of the noteworthy attractions include a replica of a mid-20th century soda fountain (based on a real drugstore that was found in the city of Baxley, Georgia, in the southeastern corner of the state) and a more futuristic vision of one, where guests get a chance to try Coca-Cola products from around the world.

World of Coca-Cola Atlanta opened in August of 1990. In addition to the museum exhibit, the attraction includes a gift shop that carries a wide selection of Coca-Cola branded merchandise. The World of Coca-Cola Atlanta is scheduled to move to a new, larger facility on May 24, 2007. The attraction will be located adjacent to the new Georgia Aquarium on property owned by the Coca-Cola Company. The combined complex has been named Pemberton Place, in honor of John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola.

World of Coca-Cola Las Vegas was located on Las Vegas Boulevard South (more famously known as the Las Vegas Strip), adjacent to the MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel and casino. It was closed in 2000; however, the Everything Coca-Cola store remains open.

World of Coca-Cola Tokyo is located on the 6th floor of Mediage in Daiba.

External links

• World of Coca-Cola Atlanta website
• World of Coca-Cola Tokyo website (Japanese)

Television Coke Commercial

Criticisms of Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company has been criticized for the allegedly adverse health effects of its flagship product. However, a common criticism of Coke based on its allegedly toxic acidity levels has been found to be baseless by most researchers; lawsuits based on these criticisms have been dismissed by several American courts for this reason.

Most nutritionists advise that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young children whose soft drink consumption competes with, rather than complements, a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower intake of calcium (which can contribute to osteoporosis), magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin A.^[27] The drink has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine, an addictive substance.^[28]

Although numerous court cases have been filed against The Coca-Cola Company since the 1920s, alleging that the acidity of the drink is dangerous, no evidence corroborating this claim has been found. In some of these cases, evidence has been presented that claimed Coca-Cola is no more harmful than comparable soft drinks or acidic fruit juices like apple juice.^{[citation needed]} Under normal conditions, scientific evidence indicates Coca-Cola's acidity causes no immediate harm.^[29]

Like most other colas, Coca-Cola contains phosphoric acid. One study has shown that this hastens bone loss, contributing to illnesses such as osteoporosis.^[30]

There is also some concern regarding the usage of high fructose corn syrup in the production of Coca-Cola. Since the late-1980s in the U.S., Coke has been made with high fructose corn syrup, instead of sugar glucose or fructose, to reduce costs. This has come under criticism because of concerns that the corn used to produce corn syrup may come from genetically altered plants.^[31] Some nutritionists also caution against consumption of high fructose corn syrup because of possible links to obesity and diabetes.^[32]

In India, there exists a major controversy concerning pesticides and other harmful chemicals in bottled products including Coca-Cola. In 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization in New Delhi, said aerated waters produced by soft drinks manufacturers in India, including multinational giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, contained toxins including lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos — pesticides that can contribute to cancer and a breakdown of the immune system. Tested products included Coke, Pepsi, and several other soft drinks, many produced by The Coca-Cola Company. CSE found that the Indian produced Pepsi's soft drink products had 36 times the level of pesticide residues permitted under European Union regulations; Coca-Cola's soft drink was found to have 30 times the permitted amount. CSE said it had tested the same products sold in the US and found no such residues.^[33] After the pesticide allegations were made in 2003, Coca-Cola sales declined by 15%. In 2004, an Indian parliamentary committee backed up CSE's findings, and a government-appointed committee was tasked with developing the world's first pesticide standards for soft drinks. The Coca-Cola Company has responded that its plants filter water to remove potential contaminants and that its products are tested for pesticides and must meet minimum health standards before they are distributed.^[34] In the Indian state of Kerala, sale and production of Coca-Cola, along with other soft drinks, has been banned.^[35] Five other Indian states have announced partial bans on the drinks in schools, colleges and hospitals.^[36] On Friday, September 22, 2006, the High Court in Kerala overturned the Kerala ban ruling that only the federal government can ban food products.^[37]

In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration responded to reports that the carcinogen benzene was present in unhealthy levels in certain soft drinks by conducting a survey of more than 100 soft drinks and other beverages. Based on this limited survey, the FDA stated that it "believes that the results indicate that benzene levels are not a safety concern for consumers."[3] [4][5]

Trucks are coming !

Urban legends and unusual uses

The numerous urban legends about Coca-Cola have led the Urban Legends Reference Pages to devote a whole section of their site to "Cokelore." Coca-Cola has in particular been the target of urban legends decrying the drink for its supposedly copious amounts of acid (its pH value of 2.5 is midway between vinegar and gastric acid), or the "life-threatening" effects of its carbonated water. These urban legends usually take the form of "fun facts" — for example, "highway troopers use Coke to clean blood from highways after accidents," "somebody once died in a Coke-drinking competition," or "Coke can dissolve a tooth overnight."[1] All of these claims are false. (While highway troopers do not use Coca-Cola for this purpose, the television program MythBusters showed that Coca-Cola could be used as a blood cleaning agent, if an expensive one.) Claims of Coca-Cola's unique tooth dissolving properties have been tested on UK television show Brainiac: Science Abuse where a tooth was left overnight in a glass of Coke. It proved Cola could not dissolve a tooth. Coca-Cola was also once believed to have been a possible form of birth control due to this allegedly high acidity level being supposedly able to kill sperm. [2]

One unusual use for Coke is as a rust-control substance — the phosphoric acid in Coke converts iron oxide to iron phosphate, and as such can be used as an initial treatment for corroded iron and steel objects being renovated, etc. The acid can be used to anodize titanium according to various websites.^[24] Corroded battery terminals on cars are often corrected through the use of Coca-Cola. The MythBusters tested this and found that Coke seemed to be no more effective than any other liquid.

According to popular belief, the coca leaf extract cocaine was once added to Coca-Cola. Because cocaine is naturally present in untreated coca leaves, small amounts of cocaine were also present in the beverage. Today's Coca-Cola uses "spent" coca leaves, those that have been through a cocaine extraction process, to flavor the beverage. Since this process cannot extract the cocaine alkaloids at a molecular level, the drink still contains trace amounts of the stimulant.^[25] The United States DEA oversees the importation of coca for Coca-Cola, and later sale of the extracted cocaine to the drug industry.^[26]

Pit crews in NASCAR sometimes pour coke on their pit stalls to create traction for the racecar when exiting/entering the pit.

Emory University is sometimes refered to as Coca-Cola University becuase of various Coke Exec Alumni (Candler, Woodruff, Goizueta) and the fact that a large part of Emory's 4.3 billion dollar endowment originates from donated Coke stock.

Coca Cola

Advertising

Coca-Cola's advertising has had a significant impact on American culture, and is frequently credited with the "invention" of the modern image of Santa Claus as an old man in red-and-white garments; however, while the company did in fact start promoting this image in the 1930s in its winter advertising campaigns, it was already common before that.^[22] In the 1970s, a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," produced by Billy Davis, became a popular hit single, and is widely considered one of the best advertising campaigns in history. The song and commercial is credited with helping Coca-Cola retain its market from the burgeoning Pepsi-Cola Co. and to help make Coke attractive to young people again. Coke's advertising has been rather pervasive, as one of Woodruff's stated goals was to ensure that everyone on Earth drank Coca-Cola as their preferred beverage. Advertising for Coke is now almost ubiquitous, especially in southern areas of North America, such as Atlanta, where Coke was invented.

Coca-Cola has gone through a number of different advertising slogans in its long history, including "The pause that refreshes," "Things Go Better," "(It's) The Real Thing," "Coke is it" and "Always Coca-Cola" (see Coca-Cola slogans).

As a result of extensive campaigns in the early 20th century, the Coca-Cola drink has a high degree of identification with the United States itself, being considered an "American brand" or to a small extent as representing America (compare Mickey Mouse). By 1948, it was reported that when non-Americans thought of democracy—a trait associated with the United States—they thought of Coca-Cola.^[23]

Starting in 1975, Pepsi-Cola ran a series of television advertisements showing people participating in taste tests in which they expressed a preference for Pepsi over Coke. Coca-Cola ran ads to combat Pepsi's ads in an incident sometimes referred to as the Cola Wars; one of Coke's ads compared the so-called Pepsi challenge to two chimpanzees deciding which tennis ball was furrier.

Coca-Cola has a long history of sports marketing relationships, which over the years have included several major sports leagues both in the United States and internationally. Two such notable instances are Coca-Cola's sponsorship of the Olympic games, with Coke being the first-ever sponsor of an Olympic game at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and also Coca-Cola's sponsorship of FIFA since 1978 in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, which organizes football tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup. The English Football (Soccer) division 1, (the second division behind the Barclays-sponsored FA Premier League) has now been re-named the Coca-Cola Championship. Coca-Cola owns a Japanese rugby union club, the Coca Cola West Red Sparks, who are based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū, and compete in the Top League. A number of NASCAR's most popular drivers such as Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle are part of the Coca-Cola Racing Family.

Coca-Cola frequently has rewards programs or sweepstakes' with codes or messages printed on the bottom of caps. Coca-Cola currently has a rewards program called "mycokerewards" (using a name designed to appeal to teens). Drinkers use codes found on bottles and 6/12 packs (which earn three times the points that bottles do) and redeem them on the mycokerewards Website. The codes have also been sold on auction sites such as eBay for significantly cheaper prices and redeemed on mycokerewards for prizes, which are resold on the auction Website. This has caused eBay to limit the amount of caps sold per auction to 20 caps and Coca-Cola to limit 10 caps per day to be redeemed.

Production

Bottle and logo design

The first version of the famous bottle went into production in 1916.

Coca-Cola formula

Main article: Coca-Cola formula

As a publicity marketing strategy started by Ernest Woodruff, the company presents the formula of Coca-Cola as one of the most closely-held trade secrets in modern business, to which only a few employees have access.^[18] In particular, the secret ingredient "7X" has long been touted an integral component of Coca Cola's formula though it has never been established what, if anything, the "X" refers to. It has been stated that Coca-Cola had employees mix the drink by numbers assigned to specific ingredients rather than by name, to avoid the possibility of employees reverse-engineering the recipe. However, experienced perfumers and food scientists — today aided by modern analytical methods — can easily identify the composition of food products, a fact that is further supported by the many cola flavorings and competing soft drinks like Pepsi.^[19]

In his book For God, Country and Coca-Cola, author Mark Pendergrast claims to have discovered a recipe for the drink in the company's archives. It includes: Citrate caffein, ext. vanilla, F.E. Coco (fluid extract of coca), citric acid, lime juice, sugar, water, and caramel sufficient, and "X": oils of orange, lemon, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander, and neroli.^[4]

Franchised production model

The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to various bottlers throughout the world who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sugar (or artificial sweeteners) and fill it into cans and bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. The bottlers are normally also responsible for all advertisement and other sales initiatives within their areas.

The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest franchisees, like Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC) and Coca-Cola FEMSA, but fully independent bottlers produce almost half of the volume sold in the world.

As the bottler adds sugar and sweeteners, the sweetness of the drink is said to differ in various parts of the world, in order to cater for local taste.

The famous Coca-Cola logotype is said to have largely been created by John Pemberton's business partner, Frank Mason Robinson, in 1885. It was Robinson who came up with the name, and he also chose the logo’s distinctive cursive script. The typeface used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid 19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period.

The equally famous Coca-Cola bottle, called the "Contour bottle" within the company, but known to some as the "hobble skirt" bottle, was created in 1915 by a Swedish former glassblower, Alexander Samuelson, who had emigrated to the U.S. in the 1880's and was employed as a manager at The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, one of Coca-Cola's bottle suppliers. According to the Coca-Cola Company, Samuelson took time to ponder a possible new design for the bottle after production at his plant was shut down due to a heat wave. Inspired, he considered the possibility of basing a new design on the kola nut or coca leaf, two of the drink's flagship ingredients. He sent an employee to research the shape of the two objects in question, but a misunderstanding led to the man returning with sketches of the cacao pod—a crucial ingredient in chocolate, but not Coca-Cola. According to the company, it was this mistaken design that was accepted and put into production.^[20]

Although endorsed by the company, this version of events is not considered authoritative by many who cite its implausibility as difficult to believe. One alternative depiction has Raymond Loewy as the inventor of the unique design, but although Loewy did serve as a designer of Coke cans and bottles in later years, he was in the French Army in the year the bottle was invented and did not migrate to the United States until 1919. Others have attributed inspiration for the design not to the cacao pod, but to a Victorian hooped dress.^[20]

^[21]

Coca Cola - 1971 The Hilltop Campaign

History

1985 to the Present

New Coke original logo from 1985-1988.

Early years

Columbus, Georgia druggist John Stith Pemberton invented a cocawine called Pemberton's French Wine Cola in 1885, although it was originally meant to be a headache medicine. He was inspired by the formidable success of French Angelo Mariani's cocawine, Vin Mariani.

The same year, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed Prohibition legislation, Pemberton began to develop a non-alcoholic version of the French Wine Coca. His bookkeeper (and later lead marketeer), Frank Robinson, coined the name Coca-Cola, because it included the stimulant cocaine and was flavored using kola nuts, a source of caffeine. Pemberton called for five ounces (140 grams) of coca leaf per gallon of syrup. The first sales were made at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 7, 1886, and for the first eight months only an average of nine drinks were sold each day. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 that year in the Atlanta Journal.

Coca-Cola was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass. Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured myriad diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence.

In 1887, Pemberton sold a stake in his company to Asa Griggs Candler, who incorporated it as the Coca Cola Corporation in 1888.^[3] In the same year, Pemberton sold the rights a second time to three more businessmen: J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey, and E.H. Bloodworth. Meanwhile, Pemberton's son Charley Pemberton began selling his own version of the product. Three versions of Coca-Cola — sold by three separate businesses — were on the market.^[4]

Under Candler and Woodruff

In an attempt to clarify the situation, John Pemberton declared that the name Coca-Cola belonged to Charley, but the other two manufacturers could continue to use the formula. In the summer of 1888, Candler sold his beverage under the names Yum Yum and Koke. After both failed to catch on, Candler set out to establish a legal claim to Coca-Cola in late 1888, in order to force his two competitors out of the business. Candler apparently purchased exclusive rights to the formula from John Pemberton, Margaret Dozier, and Woolfolk Walker. However, in 1914, Dozier came forward to claim her signature on the bill of sale had been forged, and subsequent analysis has indicated John Pemberton's signature was most likely a forgery as well.^[5]

Coca Cola came in numerous sizes over 30 years of business, including:

• 275ml (mainly released in the Middle East)
• 300ml (USA, Australia, Britain, France)
• 330ml (the most common size used for the entire 30 years in USA, Canada, Australia, France, Britain, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore)
• 355ml (Latin America and the Caribbean)
• 375ml (most commonly seen today, available in all of the above countries)

In 1892, Candler incorporated a second company, The Coca-Cola Company — the current corporation. In 1910, Candler had the earliest records of the company burned, further obscuring its legal origins. Regardless, Candler began aggressively marketing the product — the efficiency of this concerted advertising campaign would not be realized until much later. Candler pioneered several promotional techniques, such as the distribution of vouchers for free glasses of Coca-Cola, and advertising through media varying from soda fountain urns to wall murals (a possible ancestor of the billboard).^[6]

Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. Its proprietor was Joseph A. Biedenharn. The original bottles were six-ounce (170-gram) Hutchinson bottles manufactured by Biedenharn and sealed with a rubber gasket. Reportedly leaky, they were soon replaced with "crown top" bottles with straight sides, and sealed with a metal cap; variants of this design remain in use today. The distinctive "hobble-skirt" bottle design now associated with Coca-Cola was introduced in 1915.^[7]

Initially, Candler was tentative about bottling the drink, but the two entrepreneurs who proposed the idea were so persuasive that Candler signed a contract giving them control of the procedure. However, the loosely termed contract proved to be problematic for the company for decades to come. Legal matters were not helped by the decision of the bottlers to subcontract to other companies — in effect, becoming parent bottlers. This meant that Coca-Cola was originally sold in a wide variety of bottles, until the introduction of the iconic, standardized "hobble-skirt" bottle in 1916.^[8]

After the advent of bottling, the company began taking advertising even more seriously than it had before, hiring William D'Arcy, whose creations set the tone for Coca-Cola advertising that his successors would follow. D'Arcy associated Coca-Cola with typical everyday scenes of people going about their daily business; his personal view was that "Coca-Cola advertising should create scenes that drew people in and made them part of the pleasant interludes of everyday life." Instead of targeting particular population segments, D'Arcy attempted to appeal to as broad a class of people as possible, with advertising copy such as "All classes, ages and sexes drink Coca-Cola."^[6]

After Candler, the next executive to have a major impact on Coke's future was Robert Woodruff, who focused on expanding the scope of the business to the rest of the U.S. A noted workaholic, Woodruff would continue to have a major influence on the business long after his retirement, until his death in the 1980s. Woodruff inherited leadership of the company from his father, Ernest Woodruff, who had successfully led a campaign to take over the company from Candler in 1919. Woodruff became President of the Coca-Cola Company four years later. Emphasizing quality in the production of Coca-Cola, he initiated a "Quality Drink" campaign aimed at properly training those who served Coca-Cola at soda fountain outlets. Woodruff was also influential in establishing quality standards for the bottled version of Coca-Cola, which he thought had great potential. Looking beyond the United States, he set up a foreign department of the company in 1926, and began opening manufacturing plants in various European and Central American countries. It was Woodruff who assumed responsibility for designing Coca-Cola's foreign advertising campaigns, affixing the company logo to racing dog sleds in Canada and Spanish bullfighting arenas. He also introduced some new forms of distributing Coca-Cola, such as the six-pack carton, which made bulk purchases of Coca-Cola substantially easier.^[9]

In 1929, the onset of the Great Depression led to fears that sales might be depressed for the year. However, an advertising campaign spearheaded with the slogan "The pause that refreshes" led per capita consumption of Coca-Cola to actually double. That same year, sales of bottled Coca-Cola overtook those of Coca-Cola sold at soda fountains for the first time. Throughout the Great Depression, Coca-Cola advertising continued to be upbeat, despite the bleak economic outlook; a 1935 advertisement depicted a man nonchalantly smiling on his way to work, presenting an idealized view of American life at the time.^[6][9] The proliferation of Coca-Cola, and a newcomer to the soft drink market, Pepsi, during this period led to a decline in the sales of Moxie, which had outsold Coca-Cola as recently as 1920, and continued to rival Coca-Cola's dominance of the American market. The decision of its manufacturer to cut back on advertising expenditure led to Moxie's eventual marginalization in the United States.^[10]

The Great Depression, however, also saw a setback for Coca-Cola with the arrival of new competitor Pepsi; by offering twelve-ounce bottles for the same price (five cents) as Coca-Cola's six-ounce bottles, as well as a musical jingle in its advertising campaign, PepsiCo succeeded in becoming a challenger to Coca-Cola's dominance of the American market, with its profits doubling from 1936 to 1938.^[6]

World War II to the 1970s

When the United States entered World War II, sugar rationing in the United States meant Coca-Cola was unable to produce drinks at full capacity. However, a deal was struck between the U.S. government and Coca-Cola whereby the company was exempted from sugar rationing, while Coca-Cola supplied free drinks to the United States Army. The U.S. Army permitted Coca-Cola employees to enter the front lines as "Technical Officers" where they operated Coke's system of providing refreshments for soldiers, who welcomed the beverage as a reminder of home. After the war, the soldiers brought home their newfound taste for Coca-Cola, further popularizing the drink. A survey of soldiers after the war indicated that veterans preferred Coca-Cola to Pepsi by an 8 to 1 ratio.^[6]

Coca-Cola was criticized for its decision to continue trading in Nazi Germany. Eventually, the difficulty of shipping Coca-Cola concentrate to Germany and its occupied states, due to the Allied blockades, led to the creation of a new drink (Fanta) by the Coca-Cola Company. Fanta is still sold worldwide to this day.

Another wartime innovation was the trademarking of "Coke" by the Coca-Cola Company, validating it as a way of referring to Coca-Cola. Although widely prevalent in vernacular usage, the company had initially fought against this practice with the reasoning that "nicknames encourage substitution." Advertising campaigns encouraged people to "ask for 'Coca-Cola' by its full name," but people persisted in asking simply for "Coke." In 1941, the company resignedly began advertising Coca-Cola jointly as Coca-Cola and Coke. In 1945, the "Coke" name was trademarked.

After World War II, Coke began expanding worldwide. Initially having been restricted only to North America and Western Europe, Coke was soon being distributed in numerous other countries, especially those, such as the Philippines, which had been occupied by the Americans during World War II. The process was aided by the company assuming control of a number of Coca-Cola manufacturing plants which had been established during the war by the army, with help from the company, in order to spur distribution of the drink to soldiers.^[6]

Internationally, sales of Coke vary from country to country, although it is the dominant soft drink in virtually every country it is sold. Coke is considered to be one of the most widely distributed products in the world, and can be obtained in nearly everywhere, from rural Nepal, to Africa, to Beijing.

Coca-Cola and local competitors

Pepsi is often second to Coke in terms of sales, but outsells Coca-Cola in some localities. Around the world, some local brands do compete with Coke.

Big Cola is a fast growing mark in South and Central America.

In Peru, Inca Kola outsells Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Corporation purchased the producer in 1999.^[12]

In Sweden, Julmust outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season.^[13]

In Scotland, the locally-produced Irn-Bru was more popular until 2005 when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales.^[14]

In India, Coca-Cola ranks third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink Thums Up. The Coca-Cola Company purchased Thumbs Up in 1993.^[15]

In the Middle East, Mecca Cola is seen as a competitor to Coca-Cola.

In Turkey, Cola Turka is a major competitor to Coca-Cola.

In Iran and also many countries of Middle East, Zam Zam Cola and Parsi Cola are major competitors to Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola and Islam

Due to its symbolic association with the United States, Coca-Cola has been a target of anti-Americanism in the Middle East. One such instance in 2000 saw a claim that the Coca-Cola label contained hidden anti-Islamic phrases in Arabic. The Coca-Cola Company claimed sales dropped 10 to 15% in Egypt after the rumor began spreading in 2000. The controversy became so widespread that the Grand Mufti of Egypt—who has proudly admitted in related interviews that he himself indulges in at least one Coke daily—publicly addressed it, declaring that the logo "does not injure Islam or Muslims."^[16]

Mecca Cola was launched in France in 2002 and has since proliferated in Europe and the Middle East. Some purchasers may see buying Mecca Cola as a way to combat "America's imperialism … by providing a substitute for American goods and increasing the blockade of countries boycotting American goods."^[17]

Call Me A Coke...

Type	Cola
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Country of Origin	United States
Introduced	1886
Variants	Coca-Cola Classic
Related products	Pepsi-Cola, RC Cola, Mecca Cola, OpenCola

Coca-Cola (often "Coke") is a carbonated cola and the world's most popular soft drink.^[1] The Coca-Cola Company's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, where the drink was first concocted around 1886. Coke's inventor John Pemberton was not a shrewd marketer of his drink, and the ownership of Coke eventually passed to Asa Candler, whose company remains the producer of Coke today. Candler's successful marketing, continued by his successors such as Robert Woodruff, established Coke as a major soft drink first in the United States and later around the world.

Originally designed to be sold at soda fountains, Coca-Cola was later sold in bottles whose distinctive shape has become a part of the drink's branding. Major advertising campaigns have established Coca-Cola slogans such as "The pause that refreshes" and "Always the Real Thing" as part of popular culture. The formula for Coke, whose status as a trade secret has been embellished by company lore, originally contained an uncertain amount of cocaine, though this was reduced over time (falling to 1/400th of a grain, or 0.16 milligrams, per ounce of syrup by 1902),^[2] and eliminated around 1906 as health regulations were tightened. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola has been criticized for its possible negative health effects, spawning many urban myths. In addition, the commercial success of the drink has been periodically challenged, particularly by its main rival Pepsi-Cola. This tension reached its peak during the 1980s, at the height of the Cola Wars, which eventually resulted in the heavily publicized introduction of "New Coke." The widely unpopular decision was eventually rescinded in the face of public opposition.

The Coca-Cola Company has on occasion introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most famous of these is Diet Coke, which has become a major diet cola but others exist, such as Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke. There are also some drinks marketed by the company but which remain unaffiliated with Coca-Cola the