Thread by @tycoonmindset05

From selling 25 bottles in the first year to making the world consume 10,000 bottles per second.

Here is the story of Coca-Cola.

@dmuthuk @hvgoenka @FI_InvestIndia @darshanvmehta1 @drprashantmish6 @Prashanth_Krish @insharebazaar @stockifi_Invest @Geetu_Moza

A thread🧵👇

1/ In 1886, May 8, John Pemberton used coca leaves, sugar, and cola nuts to prepare his syrup. The product was first sold as a medicinal beverage in Jacob's pharmacy in Atlanta for 5 cents a glass for diseases including nerve disorders, headaches, indigestion & morphine addiction

2/ It was John Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, who gave the syrup the official name as Coca-Cola, including the logo too. Pemberton had left it to Robinson to promote the product of his own.

3/ In1889, Asa Griggs Candler bought Coca-Cola from Pemberton. Both brand and formula was advertised and sold to customers as a beverage, not as medicine.

In 1892, Candler became founder of Coca-Cola. The brand spread beyond soda fountains in the drugstores of Atlanta, Georgia.

4/ In 1895, Coca-Cola beverages were selling in every state union. Its first advertisement was 'Coca Cola. Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!'. Coca-Cola believed that Coke should be available for everyone.

It even survived two world wars and a Great Depression.

5/ From 1894, Candler had also started using free sample coupons to give people the taste of Coca-Cola. By the next 20 years, 8.5 million coupons were redeemed to have the taste of beverage. Every one out of nine Americans had now tasted the soft drink.

6/ The beverage industry had gone to immense change in the 1800s. With that, Candler focused on expansion of the brand. In 1899, Candler sold the bottling rights of Coca-Cola for just $1 to three businessmen in Chattanooga, Tennessee to spread the brand nationwide.

7/ The businessmen were Benjamin F. Thomas, Joseph B. Whitehead and John Lupton.

This was the start of what was known as the Coca-Cola system.

8/ The launch of Coca-Cola nationwide was faced with many similar products during 1915. To face the competition, Coca-Cola challenged many glass companies to create a distinct bottle.

9/ A company called Glass Root had created a bottle modeled after a cocoa pod now called the contour bottle — a distinct USP celebrated around that world. The bottle is more than 100 years old and is immediately recognized all around the world.

10/ During World War 2, the CEO of Coca-Cola company that time Robert Woodruff believed that every soldier should have a Coke at their disposal. The cost didn't matter, only the service.

11/ Technical Observers were sent to distribute Coke to U.S Troops abroad. They would supervise, set up & monitor the bottling units.
Coca-Cola got introduced to different markets. It resulted in brand loyalty among U.S troops and families and a lasting support for the product.

12/ In 1956, the Coca-Cola company entered the Indian market, opening the first plant in New Delhi by Pure Drinks Ltd. Coca-Cola kept growing under Nehruvian government’s extensive regulations.

13/ In 1958, Pepsi also entered after two years. But politicians were more concerned about Coca-Cola being omnipresent in cities as well as in rural villages.

14/ Coca-Cola's first advertisement was very different in India. They had targeted the youth, the young couples by saying 'friends'. The romance places that time were outdoor gardens, benches & educational campuses. They had placed themselves having a good time drinking beverages

15/ In 1960, Coca-Cola diversified by purchasing The Minute Maid Corporation, a non-carbonated beverage. The sales coming from Minute Maid constituted a third of the sales from the juice category in the US.

16/ Over the span of a few years, the company had also diversified its portfolio by introducing Sprite, their first lemon-lime drink. TaB, their first diet drink. And Fresca, a sugar-free citrus drink.

17/ In 1970s, Coca-Cola started working for a new drink to satisfy low-calorie drinks customers. In 1982, Coca-Cola launched its first extension of the trademark - Diet Coke. This new beverage became the top sugar-free drink. It allowed the company to change with consumer needs

18/ In 1977, Coca-Cola faced political turbulence. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act,1973 required multinational companies to give over 60% of the equity in their local subsidiaries to Indian Partners. Coca-Cola had to give up their top secret ingredient. In the end, they left.

19/ George Fernandes, the future industry minister, wanted to chuck the Coca-Cola company out of the country. The reason was that 90% of the villages didn’t have safe drinking water whereas Coke had made its presence everywhere.

20/ Mumbai based company called Parle started producing local sodas. They introduced Thums Up and RimZim as replacements. Limca, and Citra filled for Sprite. The expansive distribution of Pure Drinks Ltd brought Campa Cola too. It was deemed as “The Great Indian Taste.”

21/ In 1985, Coca-Cola decided to change the company's flagship product. This was the birth of New Coke. This was a major change in 99 years. This was looked as blunder. People filled their fridge with the previous Coke. But the company revived the original coke after 3 months

22/ When the original Coke came back, the president at that time Don Keough stated at a press conference: "The passion for original Coke was something that caught the company by surprise.” With the relaunch, 'Coca-Cola Classic' became the top beverage in the nation again.

23/ In 1993, Coca-Cola entered the Indian market again due to liberalization. It bought Thums Up from Parle who had beaten Pepsi in a brand war. Coca-Cola quickly demolished Citra, Gold Spot, and RimZim to make room for its own Sprite, Fanta and Coke.

24/ To establish the Coca-Cola brand again in India just before its entering, the company did a sponsorship in 1998. It was with the Sharjah Tri-Nation Cricket Cup. This was very strategic as the tournament came to be known as the Coca Cola 1998 Cup.

25/ The other advertisement that became popular in India was 'Jo Chaaho Ho Jaaye, Coca Cola Enjoy'. It included celebs like Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, and Aamir Khan. The tagline in this campaign was targeted to youth. It appealed at an emotional level and at a product level.

26/ In 2003, Coca-Cola launched its most successful campaign. The tagline was 'Thanda Matlab Coca Cola.' by Prasoon Joshi, a renowned advertiser. The campaign was divided into different series enacted by Aamir Khan.

27/ When guests come to Indian houses, we ask “Kuch thanda lenge yaa garam?” Joshi used this familiar world 'thanda' to link it to Coca Cola. To keep the Coca-Cola brand relevant in India, the company has done many advertisements.

28/ By this time Coca-Cola had become a total beverage company. In 1999, Coca-Cola launched its water brand called Dasani. Simply Juices was launched in 2001. Smartwater and Gold Peak was launched in 2006 as well. These brands generate more than $1 billion.

29/ Currently, the company is acquiring new brands through Venturing & Emerging brands (VEB) unit to add diversification to its portfolio. This acts as a part venture capitalist/ part branding incubator to beverage choices that are now available to different consumers worldwide.

30/ Today, Coca-Cola has a product portfolio of more than 3500 beverages. It includes 500 brands under the company. It spans from sodas to soy-based drinks to energy drinks.

31/ In 2020, the Coca-Cola brand is worth over $83.3 billion; more than KFC, Budweiser, and Subway combined.

32/ Whenever people go outside and decide to drink any soft drink, they most of the time stumble upon this giant that sells 1.8 billion bottles per day. Before any software or online marketing, the Coca-Cola company was a dominant force, still is.

Ref:
drive.google.com/file/d/1OYAsm6…

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