Coke is a popular soft drink, and cola with ice is an indispensable refreshing drink in summer. But did you know that Coca-Cola was invented by a pharmacist?
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Why wasn't the inventor the father of Coca-Cola? Do you know the story of the rise of Coca-Cola? What does tadpole wax nibble on and Coca-Cola have to do with it?
The birth of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola was formerly known as the Mid-19th Century, by american pharmacist John F. Kennedy. Invented by Pemberton. That era was the golden age of the U.S. economy, and many people made money by developing medicinal liquor. The pharmacist soaked coca leaves in wine, and such a popular medicinal liquor that claimed to be refreshing and curing headaches was listed.
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But the way to make money from this medicinal liquor was soon suspended with the promulgation of the government prohibition. Pemberton had to improve the recipe to remove the alcohol component, add a lot of sucrose to cover up the bitterness, and add soda by chance. At this point, the real recipe for Coca-Cola was born, but this recipe was not a bestseller at the time.
The rise of Coca-Cola
Although Pemberton invented Coke, he did not understand marketing as a pharmacist. So the well-known "father of Coca-Cola" is the pharmacist Asa Thompson, who saw the hidden business opportunities behind Pemberton's formula. Candler.
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Kandler changed Coca-Cola's positioning from "potion" to "soft drink" when he gave up his pharmacy business to focus on Coca-Cola.
Candler innovatively adopted the popular celebrity endorsement marketing model of modern business, and also launched many "Coca-Cola IPs". Kandler has a motto " Coca-Cola lost today , can never be made up for tomorrow " .
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But Kandler was only a pioneer in the history of Coca-Cola's development, and he was not the founder of the Coca-Cola Empire.
3. Founder of the Coca-Cola Empire
In 1899, Candler made a decision that he regretted, selling Coca-Le's bottle rights to Thomas and Whitehead, and it took him millions of dollars to take back the rights to the concessions.
Thomas and Whitehead continued to license bottling factories, and by 1919, there were 1,200 bottling plants in all small towns in the United States, and they had developed huge markets.
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In 1919, an American consortium headed by Ernest Woodruff bought all of Coca-Cola's shares from Kandler's children. Woodruff's son Robert, who became president in 1923, was the true founder of the Coca-Cola empire and held power for 62 years.
During Robert's tenure, he completed Coca-Cola's global expansion by deeply tying Coca-Cola to American soldiers.
4. Coca-Cola's path to global expansion
Although Robert had been planning to expand Coca-Cola's foreign markets since he came to power, it was not until 1941, when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of the Pacific War, Robert released a "big move" that could go down in the annals of marketing history.
"No matter where the U.S. military is, no matter how much the company costs, we will let American soldiers buy Coca-Cola for only five cents," Robert said in a public statement. American soldiers burst into tears, drinking Coca-Cola during the march was the equivalent of a lot of jelly.
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Due to the pursuit of soldiers, the U.S. government opened the green channel to Coca-Cola. Even during world war II, when supplies were scarce, Coca-Le's granulated sugar supply was not limited by quotas, and Coke syrup went global with strategic material passages.
Coca-Cola opened the way to global expansion, building factories in various places and selling them with Coca-Cola. Because coca-cola has established a deep emotional bond with American soldiers, during World War II, Coca-Cola built 64 factories outside the United States and sold more than 10 billion bottles.
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In China, Coca-Cola did not have such a catchy name at the beginning, its original Chinese name was "Tadpole Chewing Wax", and the Chinese name of Coca-Cola was collected at great expense, and this name also opened up the Chinese market for it.
Coca-Cola has dominated the beverage market for many years, but now with the focus on health and sugar control needs, new colas such as Diet Coke and Coke Zero have also been developed. In 2021, The Coca-Cola Company also launched its first alcoholic beverage in the Chinese market, Topak Hard Soda Sparkling Wine.
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With the increasing abundance of carbonated beverage products, consumers are paying more and more attention to the factors that are not conducive to health of carbonated beverages. How do you choose between delicious temptation and health?
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References:[1] Coca-Cola's predecessor, originally medicinal liquor, legal person, 2022.