The Coke side of life (2)

Even Olajumoke reps Coca-Cola in this modern time....Thumbs Up!

Candler had a vision for the brand ,to turn the now popular drink from a beverage into a business.

He disbanded the pharmaceutical arm of the company and partnered with his brothers john Candler and Permberton’s bookkeeper,Frank Robinson.

Together, they raised 100,000usd, then a very substantial sum ,to kick-start the business.



Candler had full control of the business in 1891, and within a year, he had increased the sale of Coca-Cola syrup tenfold in 1892. The company was incorporated and the Coca-Cola company was officially born!

They began a huge marketing campaign, using new advertising techniques.

To spread the word, he gave away coupons for free Coca-Cola  tasters in newspapers, and offered pharmacists two gallons of the syrup if they would agree to give away one gallon’s worth as free samples when people produced his coupon. He supplied the pharmacists with clocks, calendars, and scales all bearing the brand name.

The combination of this strongly branded approach and a drink which almost everybody loved, worked wonders and sales grew fast

Four years later, Candler had grown demand enough that he needed to build plants in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles, and declared to his shareholders that Coca-Cola is now consumed in every state and territory in the united states

Today, it is sufficiently easy to launch a product nationally that it is easy to miss just what a major achievement this is. This was an era when it took days to travel across the country ,when there was no radio or television ,and so to be available in every state so quickly is quite phenomenal

Up until 1894, Coca-Cola was only sold by the glassful, until a Mississippi business man named Joseph Biederharn bottled Coca-Cola at his factory and sent a dozen to Candler.

Candler hated it and quickly dismissed it

In 1899, he overlooked this crucial development again when two lawyers approached him to secure the exclusive rights to bottle and sell the beverage in nearly all of USA for just one dollar. He didn’t bother to collect the one dollar because he was so sure the idea wouldn’t sell.

But this was the start of the unusual corporate structure which continues to this day.

The Coca-Cola company supplies syrup called concentrate to customers all over the world ,some of these customers are restaurants and bars which sell the drink by the glass, like the original  pharmacy retailers, while the other group of customers are bottling companies ,who add  carbonated water to the syrup in a factory and bottle it for sales in shops.

The lawyers began by opening bottling plants in Chattanooga and Atlanta, but soon realised that there was a better way for them to roll out bottled Coca-Cola across the country. They were joined by another ,and the trio split the USA into three territories, and began selling the bottling rights to local entrepreneurs; not only did this reduce the amount of capital the lawyers needed, as each local entrepreneur used his own money. The first sub licensed bottler began in 1900,and by 1909,there were 400 Coca-Cola bottling plants in the country.

By the turn of the century, Candler had increased Coca-Cola’s sales to 40 times their 1890 level ,and his continuing advertising campaign and his free samples had spread the name Coca-Cola across America.

The drink was first taken overseas by Candler’s son, Charles, and was first sold in England in 1900.

After seeing the success of the bottled drinks in the USA, the company decided to license out bottling rights to overseas territories itself.

The first international bottling plants began in 1908 in Canada, Cuba and Panama etc…Candler supported the new supplies of drinks with a thorough campaign to ensure the bright red logo was seen in shops and cafes everywhere.

Most of the companies granted the rights to bottle Coca-Cola in different countries were brewers. This worked well, as the brewers already had bottling plants and expertise, so it was relatively easy and quick for them to add the new drink to their range. The brewers also already had distribution through their own existing customer base ,which meant that Coca-Cola got access to shops ,bars and restaurants far faster than it would have done had it set up a brand-new business from scratch in a new country.

What a strategy!!!

The drink had become very well known, and was clearly successful, so inevitably a number of competitors appeared, though of course none knew the precise recipe for the drink, which was kept utterly secret.

The Coca-Cola company started to get concerned that it was too easy for customers to be given a different drink and mistakenly think that it was ‘The Real Thing’ which not only meant that Coca-Cola lost out on the sale, but also potentially that customers would not enjoy the rival drink as much and might not buy Coca-Cola the next time. Something needed to be done. They decided to come up with a distinctive bottle to ensure their product stood out.

It was in 1916,following a design contest, that the now-famous bottle was first used, designed by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. The winning design was chosen for its attractive appearance, original design and because even in the dark, people could easily identify it as the genuine article.

After nearly three decades of turning the drink into a substantial and successful business,Candler eventually sold the business in 1919 to Ernest Woodruff. The company was reincorporated and grew so much in different countries. Woodruff’s mission was to go global, and his vision was to create a brand that was ‘in arms reach of desire’.

In all countries where Coca-Cola had sprung up, a creative, vibrant and culturally relevant advertising campaign followed.

A significant international move occurred in 1928,when Woodruff began the partnership with the Olympic games in Amsterdam. A thousand bottles of Coca-Cola accompanied the US team, and the drink was on sale in the Olympic stadium .vendors were adorned   with caps and coats emblazoned with the Coca-Cola logo, and the drink was also sold at surrounding cafes, restaurants, and shops

By the start of the Second World War, Coca-Cola was present in 44 countries. A marketing genius, Woodruff developed the company’s successful, but limited line, introducing the six-pack (making the drinks more transportable and encouraging people to buy in bulk)and the open –top cooler .Coca-Cola was available in vending machines from 1929 a

nd was advertised on the radio from 1990.in 1905,bottlers hired women to act  as door –to-door sales people for the drink ,with a target of 125 calls per day.

In a marketing scheme that was to have repercussions for little children everywhere, during Christmas 1931,Coca-Cola’s famous red Santa Claus made its debut, banishing the long –established and previously unchallenged green Santa into the mists of time.



Wow! Wow!!Wow!!!

This story simply inspires me .

How simple ideas knocked off existing ones and became top notch!

Every time I drink a bottle of coke, I just can’t get enough of it..And I keep wondering how it was made and how it keeps leading in the market, even at this time.

There’s still more to uncover…….

I just cant wait
To bring you the concluding part of this amazing story…

Take care and make sure to work your mind right.

You can be anything you want to be. Dont ever give up

Lovely day ahead.