Dr. John Stith Pemberton

The product / icon that gave the world its distinctive flavor was first created on May 8th 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton. He was a pharmacist that sold his product for five cents a glass in Atlanta, Georgia to patrons of Jacobs’ Pharmacy. Coca-Cola is a household name in American and in the world. It started off simply as a popular carbonated soft drink colored with caramel and flavored with kola nut extract and other sweeteners. Dr. Pemberton had no idea how this product was going to involve into a sensationalized product that has span to every corner of the globe. Over the past one hundred and twenty three years this fountain soda drink has evolved and changed to accommodate the changing needs of its customers. It has developed at some
It was also used as a popular headache remedy and was sold in the majority of the pharmacies in Atlanta, Georgia. It wasn’t until 1886 that it was reformulated, renamed and packaged as a soda fountain drink for a nickel a glass. However, it was still full of the pick-me-up properties of the coca plant and kola nuts it was just sweetened with sugar as an alternative to the wine. It was marketed with push advertising that appealed to anyone that needed a "delicious, exhilarating, refreshing and invigorating soda-fountain beverage”(2) experience. It was produced in a syrup form and then added to Carbonated water right before it was consumed. It was Frank M. Robinson his accountant the renamed Coca- Cola is eternally iconic trademark name. The Atlanta Journal unveiled the first ads for Coca-Cola. There were some oil painted clothes placed in the pharmacy windows were it was sold to inform the public of the new soda fountain drink and its
Pemberton sold off portions of the business to various partners. In 1888 Asa G. Candler purchased the remaining shares of Coca-Cola from Pemberton shortly before he died. Mr. Chandler began the process of buying back the shares of the company from the other share holders to insure he had complete control of its affairs. On May 1, 1889 he pronounced his sole proprietorship of Coca-Cola in a full page ad placed in The Atlanta Journal. However, Mr. Candler would not become the sole proprietor of Coca-Cola until 1891. The company cost him two thousand and three hundred dollars to completely acquire.

In 1892 the sales of Coca-Cola Syrup had hit it growth period. Its had grown by tenfold. Mr. Chandler along with Robinson and three others incorporated The Coca-Cola Company. These men invested one hundred thousand dollars for start up capital in order to launch nation wide. However, it wasn’t until January 31, 1893 that Coca-Cola was a registered trademark with United States Patent Office. This was also the first year that Dividends were paid to the stock holders at a rate of twenty percent of the original stocks