Coca-Cola, a cola soft drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company, is a globally recognized product sold in over 200 countries. With consumers drinking over 1.8 billion servings daily, the brand holds a significant market presence. Coca-Cola ranked 94th in the 2024 Fortune 500 and was the world's sixth most valuable brand according to Interbrand's 2023 study.
As early as 1900, Coca-Cola was sold outside the United States. The Cuba Libre, a mix of Coca-Cola and rum, was created in Havana.
In 1903, Coca-Cola removed fresh coca leaves from its formula. Prior to this change, Coca-Cola contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass.
In 1904, Coca-Cola began using "spent" coca leaves, which were the leftovers from the cocaine-extraction process containing only trace levels of cocaine.
In 1906 Coca-Cola established it's first bottling plant outside of the US in Cuba.
In 1910, Candler had the earliest records of the "Coca-Cola Company" destroyed during a move to new corporation offices.
In 1911, the US government initiated a lawsuit against Coca-Cola, United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, to mandate the removal of caffeine from its formula.
In 1911, the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup in Chattanooga, Tennessee, alleging its caffeine content was "injurious to health".
In 1912, the US Pure Food and Drug Act was amended, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label, impacting Coca-Cola.
In 1913, the case against Coca-Cola was appealed to the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, where the ruling was affirmed.
In 1914, Fleeman's Pharmacy, the longest running commercial Coca-Cola soda fountain, first opened its doors in Atlanta.
In 1914, Margaret Dozier, as co-owner of the original Coca-Cola Company in 1888, came forward to claim that her signature on the 1888 Coca-Cola Company bill of sale had been forged.
In November 1915, a design patent was issued for the prototype Coca-Cola contour bottle.
In 1915, Coca-Cola launched a competition among its bottle suppliers to create a unique bottle design, resulting in the creation of the "contour bottle" by Earl R. Dean and Harold Hirsch.
In 1915, White Rock Beverages used Santa in advertisements for its mineral water.
The bottles used for Coca-Cola production in 1915 started to use the hobble-skirt design.
During the 1916 bottler's convention, Dean's contour bottle was chosen over other entries and was on the market the same year.
In 1916, the case against Coca-Cola was appealed to the Supreme Court, where the government effectively won as a new trial was ordered. Subsequently, the company voluntarily reduced the amount of caffeine in its product.
On September 12, 1919, Coca-Cola Co. was purchased by a group of investors led by Ernest Woodruff's Trust Company for $25 million and reincorporated under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
In 1919, The Trust Company, the predecessor of Truist Financial, underwrote the Coca-Cola Company's initial public offering.
By 1920, the contour bottle became the standard for the Coca-Cola Company.
On December 25, 1923, a revised version of the Coca-Cola contour bottle was patented and nicknamed the "Christmas bottle".
In 1923, Robert W. Woodruff was elected President of the Coca-Cola Company, expanding the company globally and introducing "Six-packs" of bottles.
In 1923, White Rock Beverages used Santa in advertisements for its ginger ale.
In 1927, Coca-Cola was introduced to China and became very popular.
In 1928, Coca-Cola became the first commercial sponsor of the Olympic Games, beginning with the games in Amsterdam, and has been a sponsor ever since.
By 1929, Coca-Cola transitioned to using a cocaine-free coca leaf extract in its production process.
By 1935, Coca-Cola settled on the Chinese name "可口可樂(可口可乐)" (Ke-kou ke-le), meaning roughly "to allow the mouth to be able to rejoice", taking into account the effects of syllable and meaning translations.
From 1936 to 1950 Don Naylor was at WGST.
In 1941, Coca-Cola officially endorsed the name "Coke" due to fears that another company may claim the trademark.
In 1941, the nickname "Coke" was first used as an official trademark for the product, with advertisements stating "Coke means Coca-Cola".
On July 12, 1944, the one-billionth gallon of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company.
In 1944, Associate Justice Roger J. Traynor articulated the doctrine of strict liability for defective products in Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., a landmark case in US law.
In 1945, "Coke" became a registered trademark of the Coca-Cola Company.
In 1949, after the Chinese Civil War, Coca-Cola was no longer imported into China due to its perceived association with Western culture and capitalism.
Charles Howard Candler authored a book in 1950 published by Emory University. In this biography about his father, Candler specifically states: "on April 14, 1888, the young druggist Asa Griggs Candler purchased a one-third interest in the formula of an almost completely unknown proprietary elixir known as Coca-Cola."
From 1936 to 1950 Don Naylor was at WGST.
In Charles Howard Candler's 1950 book about his father, he stated: "On August 30 [1888], he [Asa Candler] became the sole proprietor of Coca-Cola, a fact which was stated on letterheads, invoice blanks and advertising copy."
From 1951 to 1959 Don Naylor was at WAGA.
In 1951, Coca-Cola came under scrutiny in Egypt due to a conspiracy theory that the Coca-Cola logo, when reflected in a mirror, spells out "No Mohammed no Mecca" in Arabic.
In 1953, Coca-Cola bought the rights for the Spanish drink called "Kola Coca", which was presented at a contest in Philadelphia in 1885.
In 1955, Raymond Loewy updated the design of the Coca-Cola bottle to accommodate larger formats.
In 1955, cans of Coke first appeared.
From 1886 to 1959, the price of Coca-Cola was fixed at five cents, in part due to an advertising campaign, but it came to an end in 1959.
From 1951 to 1959 Don Naylor was at WAGA.
In 1959, the fixed price of Coca-Cola, which had been at 5¢ since 1886, came to an end due to a problematic bottling contract with no fixed duration.
Coca-Cola officially stopped being available in Cuba in 1960. Ironically, Coca-Cola's first bottling plant outside the United States was established there in 1906.
From 1960 through 1986, Don Naylor wrote and produced Coca-Cola television commercials for the McCann Erickson advertising agency.
In 1964, The Beach Boys referenced Coca-Cola in their song "All Summer Long", singing "Member when you spilled Coke all over your blouse?"
In 1971, a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", produced by Billy Davis, became a hit single.
In 1974, Coca-Cola switched over to high-fructose corn syrup due to spiked sugar prices caused by Soviet demand and possible futures contracts market manipulation.
During his last tour of 1977, Elvis Presley promoted Coca-Cola, and The Coca-Cola Company used Presley's image to promote the product, also a song performed by Presley, "A Little Less Conversation", was used in a Japanese Coca-Cola commercial.
From the FIFA World Youth Championship from Tunisia in 1977 to Malaysia in 1997, was called "FIFA – Coca-Cola Cup".
Since 1978, Coca-Cola has sponsored the FIFA World Cup and other FIFA competitions.
On February 28, 1979, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reproduced a recipe from "Everett Beal's Recipe Book" which some believed to be Pemberton's original formula for Coca-Cola.
In 1979, Coca-Cola's famous television commercial featuring "Mean Joe" Greene was released, strengthening their relationship with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 1979, after diplomatic relations were restored between the United States and China, Coca-Cola resumed importation and sales in China. The agreement was reached during Deng Xiaoping's visit to the US.
In 1982, The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures and began inserting Coke-product images into many of its films.
In 1982, political cartoonist Michel Kichka satirized a famous Coca-Cola billboard in his poster "And I Love New York", replacing "Enjoy Coke" with "Enjoy Cocaine."
On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola changed the formula of the drink with "New Coke", leading to a public backlash.
On July 10, 1985, Coca-Cola returned to the old formula under the name Coca-Cola Classic due to public protests against "New Coke".
From July 1985, Coca-Cola was called "Coca-Cola Classic" to distinguish it from "New Coke".
From 1960 through 1986, Don Naylor wrote and produced Coca-Cola television commercials for the McCann Erickson advertising agency.
In 1986, the Coca-Cola Company merged with two of their bottling operators (owned by JTL Corporation and BCI Holding Corporation) to form Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CCE).
In 1989, Selena became a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, filming three commercials for the company until her death.
In 1989, The Coca-Cola Company sold Columbia Pictures to Sony after a period of underperformance.
In December 1991, Coca-Cola Enterprises merged with the Johnston Coca-Cola Bottling Group, Inc.
In 1992, Coca-Cola became the title sponsor of the Football League Cup, renaming it the Coca-Cola Cup.
In 1993, The Coca-Cola Company purchased Thums Up when they re-entered the Indian market.
In 1994, Coca-Cola became the title sponsor of the Scottish League Cup, renaming it to the Coca-Cola Cup.
In 1994, Coca-Cola issued special Selena coke bottles to commemorate her five years with the company.
In 1995, Coca-Cola debuted the "Holidays are coming!" advertisement featuring a train of red delivery trucks with Christmas lights driving through a snowy landscape, causing everything to light up as they pass.
In 1995, Fleeman's Pharmacy closed after 81 years of operation in Atlanta.
In 1995, a Coca-Cola fountain dispenser (FGBA-1) was flown on Space Shuttle STS-63 to test the production of carbonated beverages in space and dispensed pre-mixed beverages.
In 1996, Coca-Cola spotlighted its hometown of Atlanta during the Summer Olympics, which were hosted in the city, as part of its corporate sponsorship.
In 1996, Coca-Cola was one of the official sponsors of the Cricket World Cup held on the Indian subcontinent.
From the FIFA World Youth Championship from Tunisia in 1977 to Malaysia in 1997, was called "FIFA – Coca-Cola Cup".
In 1997, Coca-Cola ended their sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup.
In 1998, Coca-Cola became the title sponsor of the Irish League Cup in Northern Ireland, where it was named the Coca-Cola League Cup.
In 1999, the Coca-Cola Company introduced the Coke Card, a loyalty program offering deals on items with the purchase of Coca-Cola Classic, which was cancelled after three years.
In 1999, the Coca-Cola Company purchased Inca Kola, a brand that outsells Coca-Cola in Peru.
Coca-Cola started by selling 2000 paper bottles to see if they held up due to the risk of safety and of changing the taste of the drink.
In July 2001, The Coca-Cola Company was sued in a US federal court in Miami by the Colombian food and drink union Sinaltrainal over its alleged use of far-right death squads (the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) to kidnap, torture, and kill Colombian bottler workers, sparking boycott campaigns.
In 2001, Coca-Cola ended their sponsorship of the Irish League Cup.
In 2001, The Coca-Cola Company restructured its advertising campaigns so that advertising around the world was produced locally in each country.
In 2001, The Coca-Cola Great Hall at Heinz Field opened, resulting from a long-time relationship with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 2002, Coke II was discontinued.
On July 5, 2005, Coca-Cola resumed operations in Iraq for the first time since the Arab League boycotted the company in 1968.
In 2005, Coca-Cola expanded its advertising campaign to radio, using several variations of the jingle.
In 2005, Coca-Cola launched the "Win a Player" competition for the 72 clubs of The Football League, allowing fans to vote for their favorite club to win £250,000.
Until 2005, Irn-Bru was more popular than Coca-Cola in Scotland, when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales.
In 2006, Coca-Cola introduced My Coke Rewards, a loyalty campaign allowing consumers to earn points by entering codes from packages of Coca-Cola products.
In 2006, The Coca-Cola "Win a Player" competition was repeated.
In 2007, Coca-Cola brought back the "Holidays are coming!" campaign after consumers requested it, as they considered it to mark the beginning of Christmas.
In 2007, Coca-Cola changed its competition to "Buy a Player", allowing fans to buy Coca-Cola products and submit codes to earn money for their chosen club.
In 2007, Keith Law criticized Coca-Cola's reintroduction of the "Holidays are coming!" advertisement, calling it too generic and not Christmassy.
In January 2009, Coca-Cola stopped printing the word "Classic" on the labels of 16-US-fluid-ounce (470 ml) bottles sold in parts of the southeastern United States.
In November 2009, due to a dispute over wholesale prices of Coca-Cola products, Costco stopped restocking its shelves with Coke and Diet Coke for two months.
In 2009, Coca-Cola Light in Italy celebrated 100 years of the contour bottle with a "Tribute to Fashion", featuring limited edition bottles designed by Italian designers.
In 2009, the name Coca-Cola Classic was discontinued, marking the end of its use to differentiate it from New Coke.
On February 28, 2010, Coca-Cola released localized commercials for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. A Canadian commercial, modified after Canada won the gold medal game, changed the ending line to "Now they know whose game they're playing".
On March 1, 2010, Coca-Cola introduced gold colored cans in Canada to celebrate the 2010 Winter Olympics. They were sold in packs of 12 in select stores.
On February 11, 2011, Ira Glass said on his PRI radio show, This American Life, that his staffers had found a recipe in Everett Beal's Recipe Book that they believed was either Pemberton's original formula for Coca-Cola or a version that he made either before or after the product hit the market in 1886.
On September 22, 2011, Coca-Cola announced price reductions, asking retailers to sell eight-packs of 7.5-ounce mini-cans for $2.99 and introducing a 12.5-ounce bottle to sell for 89 cents.
On December 8, 2011, the original secret formula for Coca-Cola was moved from the vault at SunTrust Banks into a new vault on display for visitors at the World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta.
By 2011, the word "Classic" was removed from all Coca-Cola products.
In 2011, Coca-Cola began the "share a Coke" campaign in Australia, replacing the Coca-Cola logo with first names on bottles.
In 2011, Coca-Cola launched a campaign for the Indian holiday Diwali. The campaign included commercials, a song, and an integration with Shah Rukh Khan's film Ra.One.
In June 2012, Coca-Cola announced its intention to begin distribution in Myanmar, making it officially available in almost every country in the world.
In 2012, Coca-Cola resumed business in Myanmar after 60 years of absence due to US-imposed investment sanctions against the country.
In 2013, Coca-Cola products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day.
In 2013, a separate pouring rights deal saw Coke products removed from Costco food courts in favor of Pepsi.
In 2013, the "share a Coke" campaign was introduced to Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero bottles and cans in the UK.
In 2019, BreakFreeFromPlastic named Coca-Cola the single biggest plastic polluter in the world after 11,732 pieces labeled with a Coca-Cola brand were found in 37 countries.
In 2019, Coca-Cola agreed to its biggest UK sponsorship deal, becoming the Premier League's seventh and final commercial partner for the UK and Ireland, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Egyptian and the West African markets.
In 2019, Coca-Cola shared the first beverage bottle made with ocean plastic.
At the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Coca-Cola's head of sustainability, Bea Perez, addressed concerns about plastic pollution, stating that consumers like their packaging because they are resealable and lightweight.
Coca-Cola, with its partners, is to invest US$5 billion in its operations in India by 2020.
Since 2020, Coca-Cola has served as a premier partner of the NASCAR Cup Series, which includes holding the naming rights to the series' regular season championship trophy.
In February 2021, Coca-Cola announced plans to start selling its sodas in bottles made from 100% recycled plastic material in the United States.
In February 2021, Coca-Cola received criticism after a video of a training session, which told employees to "try to be less white", was leaked by an employee. The session also said in order to be "less white" employees had to be less "arrogant" and "defensive".
In 2021, Coca-Cola petitioned to cancel registrations for the marks Thums Up and Limca issued to Meenaxi Enterprise, Inc. based on misrepresentation of source.
In February 2022, Coca-Cola announced it would aim to make 25 percent of its packaging reusable by 2030.
As of 2023, Coca-Cola held a 9% market-share in India while Thums Up and Sprite had a 16% and 20% market share respectively.
Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.
In June 2024, amidst the Gaza war, Coca-Cola's Bangladesh distributor ran an ad in Bangladesh—where it faced a heavy boycott—attempting to distance the company from Israel, due to the company's ties with Israel.
In November 2024, Coca-Cola released three short AI-generated videos as its Christmas ads, reviving the original 1995 "Holidays are Coming" ads. The commercials drew backlash on social media.
In 2024, Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.
By 2030, Coca-Cola aims to make 25 percent of its packaging reusable.
By 2030, Coca-Cola planned to recycle one bottle or can for each one it sold.
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