Coca Cola

The Coca Cola Company is a global corporation and possibly one of the most recognizable brand name in the entire world. The soft drinks giant has been in business for over 125 years and employs in excess of 139,600 people worldwide. The 3,500 beverages produced by the company include mineral waters, coffees, energy drinks, fruit juices and sodas and are sold in more the 200 countries throughout the world. The company has come a very long way from its humble beginnings in 1886 when pharmacist John Pemberton concocted the first batch of Coke in his Atlanta pharmacy and sold it for 5 cents a glass. In that first year, John Pemberton sold around 9 glasses per day. Today over 1.7 billion servings of Coca Cola are consumed every day.

Establishing The Coca Cola Brand

Coca Cola is the company's signature beverage, the one that started it all. It still carries the distinctive brand logo created by John Pemberton's bookkeeper Frank Robinson who gave the soft drink its name and wrote it out in his own distinctive handwriting. Sadly the drink's creator John Pemberton died in 1888 without realizing what an American icon he had discovered. The business was purchased by Asa Griggs Candler for around $2,300 and he would become the corporation's first president. It was during Candler's first few years that the brand identity of Coca Cola was really established. As competing manufacturers began to imitate the soft drink, Candler advertised the original under the tag lines "Demand the genuine" and "Accept no substitute" which are still recognized today. In a further bid to set his product apart from imitations, in 1918 a contest was held to find the signature contour bottle still used today.

Landmark Achievements of Coca Cola

Over the years the soft drink manufacturer has made some significant landmarks. In 1928 the beverage was introduced to the Olympic Games for the first time. Approximately 1,000 cases of the drink accompanied the United States team to the games in Amsterdam and has since then established an 80 year relationship with the famous sporting event. The long running official partnership with the Olympics has over the years included sponsorship of live TV coverage, production of phrase books for host nations, fund raising and much more. Other landmark moments in the company's history include the company president insisting during World War II that "every man in uniform get a bottle of Coca Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it cost the company.". In 1985, the company made history again when the beverage became the first soft drink in space!

A Wide Range of Varieties

Today, Coca Cola is still the most popular, and perhaps well known, soft drink in the world. In addition to the regular version that has been beloved for over 125 years, there are also many variations including diet, zero sugar and caffeine free varieties. There have also been several flavored versions including the coffee flavored Coca Cola Blak and a wide variety of flavored versions including: