The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company, American corporation founded in 1892 and today engaged primarily in the manufacture and sale of syrup and concentrate for Coca-Cola, a sweetened carbonated beverage that is a cultural institution in the United States and a global symbol of American tastes. The company also produces and sells other soft drinks and citrus beverages. With more than 2,800 products available in more than 200 countries, Coca-Cola is the largest beverage manufacturer and distributor in the world and one of the largest corporations in the United States. Headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.

The drink Coca-Cola was originated in 1886 by an Atlanta pharmacist, John S. Pemberton (1831–88), at his Pemberton Chemical Company. His bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, chose the name for the drink and penned it in the flowing script that became the Coca-Cola trademark. Pemberton originally touted his drink as a tonic for most common ailments, basing it on cocaine from the coca leaf and caffeine-rich extracts of the kola nut; the cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola’s formula in about 1903. Pemberton sold his syrup to local soda fountains, and, with advertising, the drink became phenomenally successful. By 1891 another Atlanta pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler (1851–1929), had secured complete ownership of the business (for a total cash outlay of $2,300 and the exchange of some proprietary rights), and he incorporated the Coca-Cola Company the following year. The trademark “Coca-Cola” was registered in the U.S. Patent Office in 1893.
New markets opened up for Coca-Cola in the early 1990s; the company began selling products in East Germany in 1990 and in India in 1993. In 1992 the company introduced its first bottle made partially from recycled plastic—a major innovation in the industry at the time. Coca-Cola created many new beverages during the 1990s, including the Asia-marketed Qoo children’s fruit drink, Powerade sports drink, and Dasani bottled water. Coca-Cola also acquired Barq’s root beer in the United States; Inca Kola in Peru; Maaza, Thums Up, and Limca in India; and Cadbury Schweppes beverages, which were sold in more than 120 countries across the globe.
In the early 2000s Coca-Cola faced allegations of illegal soil and water pollution, as well as allegations of severe human rights violations. In 2001 the United Steelworkers of America and the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola and Bebidas y Alimentos and Panamerican Beverages, Inc. (also known as Panamco LLC; the primary bottlers of Coca-Cola’s beverages in Latin America), claiming that the defendants had openly engaged so-called “death squads” to intimidate, torture, kidnap, and even murder union officials in Latin America. The controversy gained worldwide attention and led several American universities to ban the sale of Coca-Cola products on their campuses. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
In 2005 the company introduced Coca-Cola Zero, a zero-calorie soft drink with the taste of regular Coca-Cola. In 2007 the company acquired Energy Brands, Inc., along with its variously enhanced waters. That same year Coca-Cola announced that it would join the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), a group of companies working together to develop and implement corporate responses to human rights issues that affect the business world.