BY DR TONY M MONDA
Pemberton’s new elixir was marketed and sold at the time as a patent medicine; the invento claiming it a cure for many ailments, including morphine addiction, indigestion, nerve disorders, headaches, and impotence.
Today research attributes many health conditions /risks to the regular consumption of sugary drinks, including Coca-Cola. The risks include high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, tooth decay and obesity, as well as lower sperm count.
However, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola says that the beverage is “perfectly safe to drink and can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle.” The key is moderation!
On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton brought his perfected syrup to Jacobs' Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, where the first glass of CocaCola was poured. Initially serving about nine drinks per day in its first year, CocaCola was an exciting new drink which sold for five cents a glass. From 1886 to 1959, the price of Coca-Cola was fixed at five cents, due in part to an advertising campaign.
The drink’s name refers to two of its original ingredients: coca leaves and kola nuts which act as a flavouring and the original source of caffeine in Coca-Cola. It contains about 2.0 to 3.5% caffeine, and has a bitter flavour.
A druggist, who became an American business tycoon and politician, Asa Griggs Candler met John Stith Pemberton and was intrigued by the sweet, carbonated drink he had developed. In 1888 Candler purchased ‘a one-third interest in the formula of an almost completely unknown proprietary elixir known as Coca-Cola’ from the chemist Pemberton, for an amount believed to be $50 down and $500 in 30 days. In a deal day later Candler acquired one-half interest in shares for an additional $750.
In 1892 Candler founded the Coca-Cola Company and developed it as a major business concern. The following year, he trademarked the brand and distributed the first dividends to the company’s shareholders.
By 1895, the company was distributing Coca-Cola nationwide in the United States. It first started exporting in 1899, to Cuba. Exports to Europe started two years later. He also developed the famous “$1 contract”; where he sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola in the US for only one dollar. At first, the company advertised Coca-Cola as a drink that relieved mental and physical fatigue, and cured headaches.
In 1903, Candler decided to remove the cocaine component from the coca leaves before mixing them with the drink, and to sell the extracted cocaine to pharmaceutical companies. In 1911, the company reached an annual advertising budget of $1 million. In 1915, Root Glass Co. created the iconic Coca-Cola bottle.
Profoundly American Coca-Cola has entrenched itself globally, into everyday life. Asa Griggs Candler’s marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the global soft-drink market throughout the 20th and 21st century.
“What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the president drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too.
A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the president knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.” Andy Warhol-Pop Artist.
The Coca-Cola formula remains a closely guarded trade secret. The secrecy around the formula has been used by Coca-Cola in its marketing as only a handful of anonymous employees know the formula.
Traces of the addictive drug in Coke were removed from the formula in 1903. The original copy of the formula was held for 86 years in a vault in Atlanta. At the end of 2011, the original secret formula was moved to a new vault containing the formula which will be on display for visitors to the World of John Pemberton in downtown Atlanta.
Today the Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate of the formula, which it sells to bottlers who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas, throughout the world.
The bottlers, who hold exclusive territory contracts with the company, produce the finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate, in combination with filtered water and sweeteners before carbonating it. Independent bottlers are allowed to sweeten the drink according to local tastes.
In Zimbabwe Delta Beverages are the bottlers of Coca-Cola and other soft beverages, which they sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants, and food service distributors.
The drink has inspired imitators and created a whole classification of soft drinks. Some of Coke Variants include: Diet Coke, Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Vanilla, Coca-Cola Citra, Coca-Cola Lime, and Coca-Cola Mango.
In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries worldwide including Zimbabwe, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion beverages each day. 3.1% of all beverages consumed around the world are Coca-Cola products.
Coca-Cola has a product portfolio of more than 3,500 beverages (and 500 brands). The famous red and white Coca-Cola logo is recognised by 94% of the world’s population.
Prominent among civic leaders of Atlanta, Candler was elected and served as the 41st mayor of the city, from 1916 to 1919. John Pemberton died suddenly on August 16, 1888. Asa Candler moved swiftly to attain full control of the entire Coca-Cola operation.
Dr. Tony Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA in Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. E- mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
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