Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola, often called Coke, is a popular cola soft drink made by the Coca-Cola Company. It is enjoyed in many countries around the world.

The drink was created a long time ago by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta. It was first sold as a patent medicine. A businessman named Asa Griggs Candler helped make Coca-Cola famous. The name comes from two original ingredients: coca leaves and kola nuts, which give the drink its caffeine.

Today, the Coca-Cola Company makes a special concentrate that bottlers mix with water and sugar. These bottlers sell Coca-Cola in cans, bottles, and vending machines. The company has created many different kinds of Coke, such as Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, and Coca-Cola Cherry.

History

19th century origins

A man named John Pemberton made a special drink in 1885. He called it Pemberton's French Wine Coca. The drink had caffeine from the kola nut.

In 1886, Pemberton made a new version without alcohol, called Coca-Cola. It was first sold in Atlanta in 1886 for five cents a glass. People liked drinking carbonated water.

Company

After Pemberton passed away, a businessman named Asa Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola. He helped make Coca-Cola a well-known company.

Origins of bottling

In 1894, Coca-Cola was first put in bottles. Two men from Chattanooga, Tennessee helped start bottling the drink.

20th century

In 1894, the first big Coca-Cola sign was painted. By 1955, Coca-Cola started coming in cans. In the 1970s, Coca-Cola began using high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar.

New Coke

In 1985, Coca-Cola changed its recipe to a new version called "New Coke." But many people preferred the old taste, so Coca-Cola brought back the original formula and called it Coca-Cola Classic.

21st century

Coca-Cola returned to Iraq in 2005. In 2021, Coca-Cola planned to use more recycled plastic in its bottles. In 2025, Coca-Cola announced it would sell smaller cans of its drinks in convenience stores for the first time.

Production

Listed ingredients

Coca-Cola is made with simple ingredients. It includes carbonated water, sugar (either sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup, depending on where you are), caffeine, phosphoric acid, caramel color, and natural flavorings.

Formula of natural flavorings

The exact recipe for Coca-Cola's special flavors is kept secret. While all other ingredients are listed on the bottle or can, the special flavor recipe is protected. For many years, the original recipe was kept safe in a special vault. In 2011, it was moved to a new vault that visitors can see at the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta.

Use of stimulants in formula

When Coca-Cola was first made, it contained two special ingredients: caffeine from kola nuts and a small amount from coca leaves. Over time, Coca-Cola stopped using the coca leaf. Today, it uses a special extract made from coca leaves, but without any cocaine. The caffeine in Coca-Cola now comes from kola nuts.

Franchised production model

Coca-Cola uses a special way to make and sell its drink. The Coca-Cola Company makes a special syrup and sells it to bottlers around the world. These bottlers mix the syrup with water and sweeteners, add carbonation, and then sell the final drink in stores, restaurants, and vending machines. Some of these bottlers are partly owned by Coca-Cola, while others are independent.

Geographic spread

Coca-Cola has been sold outside the United States since the early 1900s. It was first sold in Britain on August 31, 1900. A special mix called the Cuba Libre was made in Havana after the Spanish–American War in 1898. For many years, Coca-Cola was mainly found in North and Central America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, and parts of Asia.

This changed in the 1940s when the drink spread to South America and more of Europe after World War II.

Today, Coca-Cola is available in almost every country except Cuba and North Korea. Even in these places, people sometimes find ways to get the drink. Coca-Cola stopped selling in Russia after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. There have also been interesting stories about Coca-Cola in the Middle East and China.

Brand portfolio

This section lists different kinds of Coca-Cola drinks made around the world. Besides the original drink without caffeine, many new fruit-flavored drinks have been added over time. Versions of Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar are not included here; you can find those in their own articles.

Logo design

The Coca-Cola logo was made in 1885 by John Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson. Robinson created the name and chose a special curly writing style called Spencerian script, which was popular handwriting in the United States at that time.

Robinson also helped with early advertising for Coca-Cola. He suggested giving away free drink coupons and putting up banners and streetcar signs in Atlanta.

There was some talk in Egypt in 1951 about the Coca-Cola logo possibly looking like certain words when seen in a mirror.

Contour bottle design

The special Coca-Cola bottle, called the "contour bottle" by the company, was designed by bottle designer Earl R. Dean and Coca-Cola's general counsel, Harold Hirsch. In 1915, Coca-Cola wanted a bottle that people could recognize even by touch and that would be easy to identify if broken.

Chapman J. Root, leader of the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, worked with his team to design the bottle. They decided to base it on one of Coca-Cola's ingredients, but they couldn't find pictures of those ingredients. Instead, Earl R. Dean was inspired by a cocoa pod he saw in a book. He made a sketch, and after some changes, the new bottle design was chosen in 1916 and went on sale that same year. By 1920, this bottle became the standard Coca-Cola bottle. A new version was patented on December 25, 1923, earning the nickname the "Christmas bottle." Today, this bottle shape is one of the most famous in the world.

Raymond Loewy updated the design in 1955 for larger bottle sizes.

Designer bottles

Karl Lagerfeld created a special set of aluminum bottles for Coca-Cola. He is one of several fashion designers who have made special edition Coca-Cola bottles. In 2009, to celebrate 100 years of the famous Coca-Cola bottle shape, Italian designers like Alberta Ferretti, Blumarine, Etro, Fendi, Marni, Missoni, Moschino, and Versace each made unique bottles for Coca-Cola Light in Italy. In 2019, Coca-Cola introduced the first beverage bottle made from plastic collected from the ocean.

Competitors

Pepsi, made by PepsiCo, is Coca-Cola's main rival. Sometimes Pepsi sells a bit less than Coke, but sometimes it sells more in certain places. RC Cola, owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, is another popular choice.

All around the world, many local drinks compete with Coca-Cola. In South and Central America, Kola Real, also called Big Cola, is a strong competitor. On the French island of Corsica, Corsica Cola, made by the same people who brew the local Pietra beer, is also popular. In the French region of Brittany, you can find Breizh Cola. In Peru, Inca Kola used to sell more than Coca-Cola, but Coca-Cola bought the brand in 1999. In Sweden, julmust is more popular than Coca-Cola during Christmas time. In Scotland, Irn-Bru was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005. In the former East Germany, Vita Cola, created during communist times, is becoming more popular again.

In India, while Coca-Cola itself isn't the biggest seller, its other drinks like Thums Up and Sprite do well. Coca-Cola bought Thums Up in 1993 when it returned to India. By 2023^[update], Coca-Cola had a 9% share of the market in India, while Thums Up and Sprite had 16% and 20% respectively.

In Cuba, Tropicola is sold instead of Coca-Cola because of a United States rule. In the Middle East, Mecca-Cola from France and Qibla Cola from Britain are also competitors.

In Turkey, Cola Turka competes with Coca-Cola. In Iran and the Middle East, Zamzam and Parsi Cola are options. In parts of China, Future Cola is available. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Kofola is a popular choice. In Slovenia, Cockta and an affordable drink called Mercator Cola, sold only in the big Mercator supermarkets, are also competitors.

Advertising

See also: Coca-Cola slogans

Coca-Cola’s first ad appeared in 1886 in a newspaper, calling the drink “Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!”

Coca-Cola’s ads have shaped many parts of culture. They helped create the modern image of Santa Claus as an old man in red and white. Coca-Cola began using this image in the 1930s, but the idea was already popular. White Rock Beverages used Santa in ads for its ginger ale in 1923, before Coca-Cola.

Before Santa, Coca-Cola used stylish young women in its ads. The first such ad was in 1895, featuring actress Hilda Clark.

In 1941, Coca-Cola started using the name “Coke.” In 1971, a song called "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" became very popular. In the 1950s, Coca-Cola and Pepsi began a rivalry called the “cola wars.”

Coca-Cola’s ads appear everywhere. One goal was to make Coca-Cola everyone’s favorite drink.

Some TV ads from 1960 to 1986 were made by Don Naylor. These ads often featured famous stars, athletes, and singers.

In the 1980s, Pepsi ran ads showing taste tests where people said they liked Pepsi better. Coca-Cola responded with funny ads. After this, Coca-Cola became more popular again.

Selena was a spokesperson for Coca-Cola from 1989 until her passing. She made three commercials for the company.

Coca-Cola has used many famous slogans over the years.

In 1999, Coca-Cola introduced the Coke Card, which let people earn deals by buying Coca-Cola. The program ended after three years.

In 2006, Coca-Cola started My Coke Rewards, where people could enter codes from bottles to earn points for prizes.

In 2011 in Australia, Coca-Cola put popular first names on bottles instead of the logo. This later spread to the UK.

Coca-Cola has also advertised its product as a morning drink.

5 cents

Main article: Fixed price of Coca-Cola from 1886 to 1959

From 1886 to 1959, Coca-Cola was sold for five cents, partly because of ads.

Holiday campaigns

Coca-Cola has made special holiday bottles for Christmas.

In 1995, Coca-Cola debuted an ad showing red delivery trucks with Coca-Cola logos and Christmas lights driving through snowy landscapes. This ad was used until 2001 but brought back in 2007. It has been part of Coca-Cola’s global ads ever since.

In 2001, singer Melanie Thornton recorded a jingle for the campaign, which became popular in Germany.

In 2011, Coca-Cola made a campaign for Diwali in India, including commercials and a song.

In November 2024, Coca-Cola released three short Christmas ads made with AI, bringing back the 1995 style. The ads drew some criticism on social media but Coca-Cola said they mix human creativity with technology.

Sports sponsorship

Coca-Cola was the first commercial sponsor of the Olympic Games, starting with the 1928 games in Amsterdam. Coca-Cola has sponsored the Olympics ever since, including the 1996 games in Atlanta. Coca-Cola also made special ads for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Coca-Cola has sponsored the FIFA World Cup and other FIFA events. Coca-Cola also sponsors NASCAR events like the Coca-Cola 600 and the Coke Zero Sugar 400, as well as the NASCAR Cup Series.

Coca-Cola supports many sports teams and leagues, including Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League.

Coca-Cola is the official soft drink for many college football teams.

In mass media

Coca-Cola has appeared in many films and TV shows.

In music, the Beatles mentioned Coca-Cola in a song, and the Beach Boys referenced it in another. Elvis Presley promoted Coca-Cola during his last tour in 1977.

Other artists who have promoted Coca-Cola include David Bowie, George Michael, Elton John, and Whitney Houston.

Use as political and corporate symbol

Coca-Cola is often seen as a symbol of the United States. After World War II, a special version called White Coke was made for Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov. The bottles looked like vodka bottles to avoid suspicion.

Coca-Cola came to China in 1927 and was very popular until 1949. After the Chinese Civil War, it was not sold in China because it was seen as a symbol of Western culture. Sales started again in 1979 when relations between the United States and China improved.

In some Arab countries, people have chosen not to buy Coca-Cola because of its history in Israel. Alternatives like Mecca-Cola and Pepsi are popular there.

Coca-Cola was tested for use in space. A special dispenser was made for the Space Shuttle to see if fizzy drinks could be made from stored ingredients. It was used on flights in 1995 and 1996.

The drink is sometimes used to represent the Coca-Cola Company.

Medicinal application

Coca-Cola can sometimes help treat a condition called gastric phytobezoars. Studies show it worked well in many cases. But there is a small chance this might cause problems that could need surgery.

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has faced many criticisms over the years. People have raised concerns about its health effects, how it affects the environment, and its business practices. Some worry that Coca-Cola contains ingredients that might not be good for health.

Some critics say that Coca-Cola’s drinks contain a lot of sugar, which can be bad for teeth. The company has also been criticized for creating a lot of plastic waste. The company has said it wants to use more reusable packaging in the future.

Other uses

Coca-Cola can help clean grease and oil stains from concrete, metal, and clothes. It can also help slow down the drying time of concrete.