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History

Since its birth at a soda fountain in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886, Coca‑Cola has been a catalyst for social interaction and inspired innovation.

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The Origin of Coca‑Cola

On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton brought his perfected syrup to Jacobs' Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta where the first glass of Coca‑Cola was poured.  Serving about nine drinks per day in its first year, Coca‑Cola was an exciting new drink in the beginning.  See the story here of how it all began.

See the birth of Coca‑Cola
Jacob's pharmacy building

Coca‑Cola’s Sustainability History

Since 1917, our sustainability efforts have covered a wide range of topics including: water, women empowerment, community well-being, packaging, emissions, human and workplace rights, and agriculture.

Coca‑Cola’s Sustainability History
Coca-Cola female bottler

Making of ‘Hilltop’

Read the story about one of the most famous commercials that saw Coke not as it was originally designed to be—a liquid refresher—but as a tiny bit of commonality between all peoples, a universally liked formula that would help to keep them company for a few minutes. Learn about the background of “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.”

See “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”
Coca-Cola hilltop commerical close up

Coca‑Cola’s First Bottle

The contour bottle has been celebrated in art, music and advertising. Read the story of the collaboration that began in 1915 and turned into one of the most famous shapes in the world.

Explore the History of Coca‑Cola Bottle
Coca-Cola making of bottle

1886

May 8. Coca‑Cola is created and served at Jacobs’ Pharmacy. Nine drinks a day are sold during this year. 

The Coca‑Cola Company accountant names the drink “Coca‑Cola,” and thinking the two Cs would look well in advertising, pens the famous Spencerian script logo.

John S. Pemberton

1887

Coupons are first used to promote Coca‑Cola.

“Coca‑Cola Syrup and Extract” label is registered as a copyright with the U.S. Patent Office.

First Coca-Cola coupon
1890s

1892

Asa Candler, who began to acquire The Coca‑Cola Company in 1888, finalizes the purchase and incorporates The Coca‑Cola Company as a Georgia Corporation.

 

1895

Asa Candler declares in the Annual Report that Coca‑Cola is sold and drunk in every state and territory in the United States.

Asa Candler

1898

The first building is erected for the sole purpose of housing The Coca‑Cola Company. It is quickly outgrown as the Company moves to larger quarters five times in the next 12 years.

 

1899

The rights to bottle Coca‑Cola in most of the United States are sold by Asa Candler to Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for $1. Chattanooga becomes the first city to bottle Coca‑Cola under the contract.

First Coca-Cola Company building

1904

The first advertising for Coca‑Cola appears in national magazines.

Annual sales of Coca‑Cola hit the 1 million-gallon mark.

Lillian Nordica, noted opera singer, begins to endorse Coca‑Cola and appears in nationwide advertising in 1905.

Lillian Nordica in Coca-Cola ad

1906

Bottling operations begin in Canada, Cuba and Panama, becoming the first three countries outside the United States to bottle Coca‑Cola.

Panama Coca-Cola Bottling Co. building

1907

The Company begins its long association with athletes with a series of ads featuring noted baseball players.

Coca-Cola ad featuring baseball player

1911

The annual advertising budget for The Coca‑Cola Company surpasses $1 million for the first time.

 

1912

Bottling operations are started in the Philippines, the Company’s first expansion into Asia.

Restaurant in the Philippines advertising Coca-Cola

1915

Answering the call of The Coca‑Cola Company, the contour bottle prototype is designed by Alexander Samuelson and patented by the Root Glass Company. It is approved by the Bottlers’ Association and becomes the standard bottle.

Contour bottle prototype

1916

Asa Candler retires from the Company to successfully run for mayor of Atlanta.

 

1919

The first bottling plants are opened in Europe in Paris and Bordeaux.

The Coca‑Cola Company is purchased by a group of investors led by Ernest Woodruff for $25 million.

Lillian Nordica in Coca-Cola ad

1923

The introduction of the first six-bottle carton is a significant innovation for the beverage industry. The carton is patented the following year.

Robert W. Woodruff is elected President of The Coca‑Cola Company, beginning more than six decades of leadership in the business.

Robert W. Woodruff

1925

The Board of Directors passes a resolution placing the secret formula for Coca‑Cola in a bank vault at the Trust Company Bank in Atlanta.

Outdoor billboards are introduced as part of the advertising mix.

Early Coca-Cola billboards

1928

The Company begins its long-term association with the Olympic Games by supplying drinks from kiosks surrounding the venues in Amsterdam.

Coca-Cola kiosk at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam

1931

Seeking to create an advertising program that links Coca‑Cola with Christmas, artist Haddon Sundblom creates his first illustration showing Santa Claus pausing for a Coke. For the next three decades, from 1931 to 1964, Sundblom paints images of Santa that help to create the modern interpretation of St. Nick.

First Santa and Coca-Cola Illustration by Haddon Sundblom

1935

Lettie Pate Evans joins the Board of Directors of The Coca‑Cola Company. She is the first woman to serve on the board of a major corporation, a position she holds until 1953.

Robert W. Woodruff

1942

The first in a series of posters depicting American fighter planes is issued for use in schools, restaurants and retail stores. Additional series are issued in 1943, 1944 and 1945.

WWII Coca-Cola poster

1943

The U.S. government requests that Coca‑Cola be made available to the troops. Robert Woodruff pledges to provide Coke to the military for a nickel regardless of what it costs the Company to produce the product. During the war, 64 portable bottling plants are sent to Asia, Europe and North Africa. More than 5 billion bottles of Coca‑Cola are distributed.

Black and white image of 2 WWII solders opening a bottle of coke

1945

“Coke” becomes a registered trademark of The Coca‑Cola Company.

 

1946

The “Yes” poster with artwork by Haddon Sundblom is released. The poster wins multiple design awards. 

First Santa and Coca-Cola Illustration by Haddon Sundblom

1950

Coca‑Cola becomes the first product to appear on the cover of Time magazine. The magazine wants to have a photo of Robert Woodruff on the cover, but he refuses stating that the product is the only important element in the Company. 

The first television commercial for Coca‑Cola is broadcast on Thanksgiving Day on a CBS half-hour special featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

1951 Coca-Cola Times cover

1955

The Coca‑Cola Company begins featuring African-Americans in marketing with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1951 and Olympic Games athletes Jesse Owens and Alice Coachman in 1953. Clark University student Mary Alexander becomes one of the first African-American women to appear in print advertising when she is featured in 1955.

Fanta Orange is introduced in Naples, Italy, the first new product to be distributed by the Company. The Fanta line of flavored beverages comes to the United States in 1960.

Coca-Cola ad featuring Mary Alexander

1960

Steel 12-ounce cans are introduced to help make Coca‑Cola more portable.

The Coca‑Cola Company acquires The Minute Maid Corporation, adding a line of juice products to its portfolio.

1960s Minute Maid orange juice can

1963

TaB, the first diet drink produced by the Company, is launched. Its name is selected from a computer-generated search that yields more than 300,000 options.

1960s Tab ad

1969

A new graphic look for the Coca‑Cola system is introduced, featuring a red-and-white color scheme and logo.

1960s Coca-Cola truck with new graphic look

1970

Coca‑Cola introduces its first sports drink when Olympade is test marketed in the United States. The packaging features a logo for the U.S. Olympic Committee.

1970s Olympade can

1971

First introduced as a radio ad and later produced as a television commercial, “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” becomes an international hit and remains one of the most popular ads for Coca‑Cola.

1970s "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" ad

1976

The Coca‑Cola Company and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) agree to the first-ever sponsorship between a company and an international sports governing body.

1970s Coca-Cola and FIFA sponsorship logo

1978

The 2-liter polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle is introduced, beginning the Company’s use of PET packaging.

 

1979

The North Avenue Tower headquarters building is first occupied.

Coca‑Cola begins worldwide sponsorship of Special Olympics.

1970s Coca-Cola PET bottle ad

1982

Diet Coke is introduced in a celebrity-filled ceremony in New York, becoming the first extension of the trademarks Coca‑Cola and Coke.

1980s Diet Coke ad

1985

The formula for Coca‑Cola is changed for the first time in 99 years. The product, popularly dubbed “New Coke,” generated consumer protest nationwide. Product made with the original formula, renamed “Coca‑Cola Classic,” is returned to the market 79 days later.

Coca‑Cola becomes the first soft drink consumed in space when the astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger tested the space can on a mission.

1980s New Coke ad

1986

May 8. Coca‑Cola marks its hundredth anniversary with a worldwide celebration in Atlanta.

The Coca‑Cola Scholars Foundation is created as a joint program between the Company and The Coca‑Cola Bottlers’ Association.

Company-owned bottlers and several independent bottler groups combine to form Coca‑Cola Enterprises (CCE) as an independent bottler and publicly traded company.

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation logo

1990

The World of Coca‑Cola museum opens at Underground Atlanta, greeting an average of 1 million guests a year until 2007.

 

1993

The popular Coca‑Cola polar bears are introduced in the commercial “Northern Lights.”

1990s ad featuring the Coca-Cola polar bear

1996

The Centennial Olympic Games are held in Atlanta. The Coca‑Cola Company creates Coca‑Cola Olympic City as a way to entertain fans.

 

1998

The Coca‑Cola Company announces a 100-year partnership with the National Basketball Association.

1996 Coca-Cola Olympic City

2001

The Coca‑Cola Company joins the fight against AIDS in Africa with the joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS.

The Coca‑Cola Foundation and Coca‑Cola bottlers contribute $12 million in disaster relief following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

UNAIDS worker helping patient

2005

Coca‑Cola Zero, a zero-calorie cola, makes its debut.

 

2006

The Bottling Investments Group is established. This organization manages the operations of Company-owned bottling plants around the world.

20oz botles of Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Classic, and Diet Coke

2009

Coca‑Cola Freestyle, an innovative fountain dispenser that allows consumers to select from more than 100 beverages, is unveiled.

Coca-Cola Freestyle machine
1990s

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