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Coca-Cola grew from a single Atlanta pharmacy in 1886 to become the world's most recognized beverage brand.
Its success can be attributed to savvy marketing and changing consumer habits across three centuries.
Coca-Cola's sales history reveals how a local soft drink transformed into a global product that shapes cultural preferences worldwide.
In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John S. Pemberton created Coca-Cola as a medicinal tonic.
Sales started small: nine drinks per day, earning $50 in the first year.
Asa Candler bought the brand and greatly improved sales via strategic marketing and distribution.
The secret formula added mystique, while innovations like the contour bottle and memorable ads boosted sales as well.
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In 1906, Coca-Cola opened its first international bottling plants in Panama and Cuba.
Robert Woodruff became president in 1923 and led the company's global expansion after World War I.
By 1929, Coca-Cola operated in 27 countries, sales of Coke had never had such a geographic reach.
During World War II, Coca-Cola's president Robert Woodruff promised to sell 5-cent Cokes to every American service member.
The company built portable bottling plants in war zones to fulfill this pledge.
These facilities later became a springboard for Coca-Cola's international business, as the company converted wartime operations into permanent bottling plants across multiple countries.
It was the beginning of Coca-Cola becoming a global brand.
After World War II, Coca-Cola's sales jumped from 32 million cases in 1942 to 200 million cases by 1950!
CEO Robert Woodruff, who had earlier supplied Coke to U.S. soldiers during the war, led this growth via targeted marketing.
The company's "Have a Coke" campaign connected with Americans' post-war optimism and growing wealth.
Coca-Cola became a symbol of American success.
Using bottling plants established during wartime, the company expanded even further.
In rebuilding nations, particularly in Europe and Asia, Coca-Cola became associated with American progress and prosperity.
People just couldn’t get enough of Coke.
In 1985, Coca-Cola changed its signature drink's formula to compete with Pepsi.
Consumers rejected the new taste immediately.
Letters and phone calls flooded the company's headquarters.
Sales dropped.
After three months, Coca-Cola reversed course, bringing back the original recipe as "Coca-Cola Classic."
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By 2020, Coca-Cola had grown from a single beverage to a global company with 21 billion-dollar brands.
The company expanded beyond its original cola, launching Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar for health-conscious buyers, Sprite and Fanta for different taste preferences, and Dasani water, Minute Maid juices, and Honest Tea for non-carbonated drink markets.
In 2017, Coca-Cola's sales dropped for the first time in ten years as consumers turned away from sugary drinks.
So the new CEO James Quincey expanded the company's drinks beyond sodas to match changing tastes.
The 2018 purchase of Costa Coffee—a major coffee chain—showed this strategy in action.
Though still at the top in total soft drink sales, Coca-Cola will have to continue to innovate to compete an ever changing market.
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