Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines throughout the world.

It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores and vending machines. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food service distributors. The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon, lime or coffee. Based on Interbrand's best global brand 2011, Coca-Cola was the world's most valuable brand.
Contents
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1 History

1.1 19th century historical origins

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1.1.1 The Coca-Cola Company

1.2 Origins of bottling 1.3 20th century landmarks 1.4 New Coke 1.5 21st century

2 Production

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2.1 Ingredients 2.2 Formula of natural flavorings 2.3 Use of stimulants in formula

2.3.1 Coca cocaine 2.3.2 Kola nuts caffeine

2.4 Franchised production model

3 Geographic spread 4 Brand portfolio

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4.1 Logo design 4.2 Contour bottle design 4.3 Designer bottles

5 Competitors 6 Advertising

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6.1 Holiday campaigns 6.2 Sports sponsorship 6.3 In mass media

7 Criticism

7.1 Health effects

8 Use as political and corporate symbol 9 Social causes 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

History
19th century historical origins

Eagle Drug and Chemical House, Columbus, Georgia

John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola

Old German Coca-Cola bottle opener.

Believed to be the first coupon ever, this ticket for a free glass of Coca-Cola was first distributed in 1888 to help promote the drink. By 1913, the company had redeemed 8.5 million tickets.[3]

This Coca-Cola advertisement from 1943 is still displayed in the small city of Minden, Louisiana.

Colonel John Pemberton was wounded in the Civil War, became addicted to morphine, and began a quest to find a [4] substitute to the dangerous opiate. The prototype Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at Pemberton's Eagle Drug and [5] [6][7] Chemical House, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, originally as a coca wine. He may have been inspired by [8] the formidable success of Vin Mariani, a European coca wine. In 1885, Pemberton registered his French Wine Coca nerve tonic. In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passedprohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a nonalcoholic [10] [11] version of French Wine Coca. The first sales were at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886. It [12] was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United [13] States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health. Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence. Pemberton [14] ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the Atlanta Journal.
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By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola sold by three separate businesses were on the market. A copartnership had been formed on January 14, 1888 between Pemberton and four Atlanta businessmen: J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey; C.O. Mullahy and E.H. Bloodworth. Not codified by any signed document, a verbal statement given by Asa Candler years later asserted under testimony that he had acquired a stake in Pemberton's company as early as [15] 1887. John Pemberton declared that the name "Coca-Cola" belonged to his son, Charley, but the other two [16] manufacturers could continue to use the formula. Charley Pemberton's record of control over the "Coca-Cola" name was the underlying factor that allowed for him to participate as a major shareholder in the March 1888 Coca-Cola Company incorporation filing made in his father's [17] place. More so for Candler especially, Charley's position holding exclusive control over the "Coca Cola" name continued to be a thorn in his side. Asa Candler's oldest son, Charles Howard Candler, authored a book in 1950 published by Emory University. In this definitive 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 [18] known as Coca-Cola." The deal was actually between John Pemberton's son Charley and Walker, Candler & Co. - with John Pemberton acting as cosigner for his son. For $50 down and $500 in 30 days, Walker, Candler & Co. obtained all of the one-third interest in the Coca-Cola Company that Charley held, all while Charley still held on to the name. After the April 14th deal, on April 17, 1888, one-half of the Walker/Dozier interest shares were acquired by Candler for an additional [19] $750.

The Coca-Cola Company

In 1892, Candler set out to incorporate a second company; "The Coca-Cola Company" (the current corporation). When Candler had the earliest records of the "Coca-Cola Company" burned in 1910, the action was claimed to have [20] been made during a move to new corporation offices around this time. After Candler had gained a better foothold of Coca-Cola in April 1888, he nevertheless was forced to sell the beverage he produced with the recipe he had under the names "Yum Yum" and "Koke". This was while Charley Pemberton was selling the elixir, although a cruder mixture, under the name "Coca-Cola", all with his father's blessing. After both names failed to catch on for Candler, by the summer of 1888, the Atlanta pharmacist was quite anxious to establish a firmer legal claim to Coca-Cola, and hoped he could force his two competitors, Walker and [21] Dozier, completely out of the business, as well. When Dr. John Stith Pemberton suddenly died on August 16, 1888, Asa G. Candler now sought to move swiftly forward to attain his vision of taking full control of the whole Coca-Cola operation. Charley Pemberton, an alcoholic, was the one obstacle who unnerved Asa Candler more than anyone else. Candler is said to have quickly maneuvered to purchase the exclusive rights to the name "Coca-Cola" from Pemberton's son Charley right after Dr. Pemberton's death. One of several stories was that Candler bought the title to the name from Charley's mother for $300; approaching her at Dr. Pemberton's funeral. Eventually, Charley Pemberton was found on June 23, 1894, unconscious, with a stick of opium by his side. Ten days later, Charley died at Atlanta's Grady [22] Hospital at the age of 40. In Charles Howard Candler's 1950 book about his father, he stated: "On August 30th {1888}, he {Asa Candler} [23] became sole proprietor of Coca-Cola, a fact which was stated on letterheads, invoice blanks and advertising copy." With this action on August 30, 1888, Candler's sole control became technically all true. Candler had negotiated with Margaret Dozier and her brother Woolfolk Walker a full payment amounting to $1,000, which all agreed Candler could pay off with a series of notes over a specified time span. By May 1, 1889, Candler was now claiming full ownership of the Coca-Cola beverage, with a total investment outlay by Candler for the drink enterprise over the years amounting [24] to $2,300.

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. Subsequent analysis of certain similar transfer documents had also indicated John Pemberton's signature was most likely a forgery, as well, which some [25] accounts claim was precipitated by his son Charley.

Origins of bottling
The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. The proprietor of the bottling works was Joseph A. Biedenharn. The original bottles were Biedenharn bottles, very different from the much later hobble-skirt design of 1915 now so familiar. It was then a few years later that two entrepreneurs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, namely; Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, proposed the idea of bottling and were so persuasive that Candler signed a contract giving them control of the procedure for only one dollar. Candler never collected his dollar, but in 1899, Chattanooga became the site of the first Coca-Cola bottling company. Candler remained very content just selling his company's [26] syrup. The loosely termed contract proved to be problematic for The Coca-Cola Company for decades to come. Legal matters were not helped by the decision of the bottlers to subcontract to other companies, effectively becoming [27] parent bottlers. The first outdoor wall advertisement that promoted the Coca-Cola drink was painted in 1894 in Cartersville, [28] Georgia. Cola syrup is sold as an over-the-counter dietary supplement for upset stomach.
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20th century landmarks

By the time of its 50th anniversary, the soft drink had reached the status of a national icon in the USA. In 1935, it was certified kosher by Atlanta Rabbi Tobias Geffen, after the company made minor changes in the sourcing of some [31] ingredients.

Original framed Coca-Cola artist's drawn graphic presented by The Coca-Cola Company on July 12, 1944 to Charles Howard Candler on the occasion of Coca-Cola's "1 Billionth Gallon of Coca-Cola Syrup."

Claimed to be the first installation anywhere of the 1948 model "Boat Motor" styled Coca-Cola soda dispenser, Fleeman's Pharmacy, Atlanta, Georgia. The "Boat Motor" soda dispenser was introduced in the late 1930s and manufactured till the late 1950s. Photograph circa 1948.

The longest running commercial Coca-Cola soda fountain anywhere was Atlanta's Fleeman's Pharmacy, which first [32] opened its doors in 1914. Jack Fleeman took over the pharmacy from his father and ran it till 1995; closing it after [33] 81 years. On July 12, 1944, the one-billionth gallon of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company. Cans of Coke first appeared in 1955.
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New Coke
Main article: New Coke On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink with "New Coke". Follow-up taste tests revealed most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi, but CocaCola management was unprepared for the public's nostalgia for the old drink, leading to a backlash. The company gave in to protests and returned to a variation of the old formula using high fructose corn syrup instead of cane sugar as the main sweetener, under the name Coca-Cola Classic, on July 10, 1985.

21st century
On July 5, 2005, it was revealed that Coca-Cola would resume operations in Iraq for the first time since the Arab [35] League boycotted the company in 1968. In April 2007, in Canada, the name "Coca-Cola Classic" was changed back to "Coca-Cola". The word "Classic" was removed because "New Coke" was no longer in production, eliminating the need to differentiate between the [36] two. The formula remained unchanged. In January 2009, Coca-Cola stopped printing the word "Classic" on the labels of 16-US-fluid-ounce (470 ml) bottles [37] sold in parts of the southeastern United States. The change is part of a larger strategy to rejuvenate the product's [37] image. The word "Classic" was removed from all Coca-Cola products by 2011. In November 2009, due to a dispute over wholesale prices of Coca-Cola products, Costco stopped restocking its shelves with Coke and Diet Coke. However, some Costco locations (such as the ones in Tucson, Arizona), sell [38] imported Coca-Cola from Mexico. Coca-Cola introduced the 7.5-ounce mini-can in 2009, and on September 22, 2011, the company announced price reductions, asking retailers to sell eight-packs for $2.99. That same day, Coca-Cola announced the 12.5-ounce bottle, to sell for 89 cents. A 16-ounce bottle has sold well at 99 cents since being re-introduced, but the price was [39] going up to $1.19. In 2012, Coca-Cola would resume busines