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in the beginning

In May 1886, Coca‑Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. He concocted a caramel coloured syrup in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard and then "distributed" the new product by carrying it in a jug down the street to Jacobs Pharmacy. For five cents, consumers could enjoy a glass of Coca‑Cola at the soda fountain.

Whether by design or accident, carbonated water was teamed with the new syrup, producing a drink that was proclaimed "Delicious and Refreshing." Dr. Pemberton's partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name and penned, in the unique flowing script that is famous worldwide today.

The soft drink was first sold to the public in Atlanta on May 8, 1886. About nine servings of the soft drink were sold each day. That first year, Dr. Pemberton sold 25 gallons of syrup, shipped in bright red wooden kegs. Red has been a distinctive colour associated with the No.1 soft drink brand ever since. Sales for that first year added up to a total of about $50. It actually cost John Pemberton over $70 in expenses, so the first year of sales were at a loss.

By the late 1890s, Coca‑Cola was one of America's most popular fountain drinks. With another Atlanta pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler, at the helm (he'd acquired it for $2,300) the Coca‑Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900. He personally oversaw the mixing of every drop of syrup. The secret formula was dubbed "7X", and was only shared with a handful of his most trusted associates.

A short three years later, thanks to some inventive advertising and promotions like souvenir fans, calendars depicting robust young women and numerous novelties, Coca‑Cola had made its way into every state in the US. The Coca‑Cola script had been splashed across roughly 2.5 million square feet of brick walls across America.

Candler figured he just had to get people to try Coca‑Cola and they'd buy it. History's proved him right and of course it helped that he branched out beyond soda fountains. It took the initiative of a Mississippi candy store operator, impressed with the raging demand for the product, to actually start bottling it in the rear of his store. His idea was that people should be able to take their refreshment with them wherever they go.

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