It all kicked off on May 8, 1886. A curious Atlanta, Georgia, pharmacist named John Stith Pemberton stirred up a caramel-colored concoction that would go on to hijack global taste buds for generations. He sold it at Jacob’s Pharmacy for five cents a glass.
Back then, it was a fizzy tonic with a splash of cocaine and a hint of caffeine—basically a legal high with bubbles.
Coke wasn’t always about smiling Santa Claus and polar bears. The original blend was billed as a brain and nerve tonic—because 1880s marketing was wild. It was more of a pharmacy experiment than a soft drink revolution, and nobody in that soda fountain had a clue they were sipping on what would become the most iconic brand in human history.
The Coca-Cola Company is born
In 1888, just before dying, Dr. Pemberton sold most of the rights for Coca-Cola to a successful Atlanta businessman named Asa Candler. Coca-Cola sales exploded, and in 1893, the soda Coca-Cola Company as we know it today was born.
Candler believed in the importance of advertising, and although many find it hard to believe, for decades, it spent more money than any other company on ads globally, which helped make it a household name. Today, Amazon spends more than they do, but Coke is still the biggest ad spender amongst soft-drink producers.
In 1919, Candler sold the company to a new owner. Robert Woodruff, the new president of the Coca-Cola Company, believed that bottling was the company’s future. Advertising efforts focused on making the idea of taking Coca-Cola home with you attractive.
As a result, Coca-Cola created a six-pack carton to sell soda bottles and a metal cooler to sell cold drinks. It’s also the precursor to the fountain drink.
Caffeine in Coke was first concern, not cocaine
In 1909, the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed, enabling the US government to seize 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup. Oddly enough, the seizure was not because of the opioid in it, but because health authorities considered the added caffeine in the drink to be a harmful ingredient. One of the first noted criticisms of Coca-Cola was that it produced severe mental and motor deficits, and those effects were more likely to be due to the cocaine than the caffeine.
It was not until 1929 that the popular drink became fully cocaine-free due to increasing public pressure over addictive health concerns.
Fast forward nearly 139 years, and Coca-Cola is sold in over 200 countries. That’s more places than the United Nations has members.
The soda giant on its website says, “More than 1.9 billion servings of our drinks are enjoyed in more than 200 countries each day. And we have 700,000 individuals employed by The Coca‑Cola Company and 225+ bottling partners that help to deliver refreshment across the globe.”
Sure, it’s got its critics—health nuts and environmentalists have been waving red flags for decades. But whether you love it or hate it, Coke isn’t just a drink. It’s pop culture, politics, and capitalism in a bottle. From Cold War diplomacy to Super Bowl ads, the brand has fizzed its way into every crack of global life.
So next time you crack open a can, raise a toast to Pemberton—the man who accidentally invented the sugar-water empire. Cheers, Doc. You made history… and probably some cavities too.
