There are a lot of things we do not know about so many business and Coca-Cola is one of them. It is believed that the 2nd most understandable word after “OK” is “Coca-Cola”. A lot of people have been asked which drink they prefer the most, is it Coca-Cola or Pepsi. To be candid a lot of people have their preferences when it comes to the two drinks but when it come to the soft drink industry, Coca-Cola takes the lead.
There is a difference between the Coca-Cola drink and the Coca-Cola business empire, you might be able to choose between the Coca-Cola soft drink and Pepsi but when it comes to dominating the world market, Coca-Cola take the lead with over 500 brands owning over 4300 products (this is the time you say what!!!). For a company to be the second most popular word in the world, it most have be selling in so many countries and on that note, Coca-Cola is sold in 200 countries except for North Korea and Cuba.
Being the Sixth most valuable company in the world with the brand value of $59.2 Billion, the company has shown growth on a yearly basis with new products in the market and continuous sales. In 2018, Coca-Cola lunched over 600 products and make about 1.9 billion Coca-Cola product units being sold to consumers daily.
In the Beginning
Dr Pemberton served the first Coca-Cola on May 8, 1886 made from Cacao leaf and kola nut and mixed with carbonated water. The drink was said to cure headache, hangovers and other related diseases. His friend Frank Robinson was the person who design the Coca-Cola trademark since he write in calligraphy.
The Business and the early Marketing
Dr Pemberton died two years after creating Coca-Cola but placed his recipe in the hands of Asa Griggs Candler who purchased the recipe of Coca-Cola for about $2300. He took Coca-Cola to another level and made it a real business but while Asa Griggs Candler owned the Recipe, Charlie Pemberton (Pemberton’s son) owned the right to the trademark. He tried to sell the product under different name but didn’t work so he resulted to buying the trademark from Pemberton’s wife for the sum of $300 which she accepted.
Before Pemberton passed away, he had decided that he would give away free Coca-Cola drinks to people through coupons. This was a great marketing idea as he wanted everyone to have a taste of the drink. He sent free drink ticket via mails to prominent people in the city and when he died, Candler continued it and made it more popular. Free drink was what drove the popularity of Coca-Cola in the early years. Candler started using branded clocks, and other merchandise to sell Coca-Cola so as to make sure that people see the brand anywhere they were are, this was expensive but worth it. In 1911, Coca-Cola was spending $1 million on advertising alone yearly.
Conclusion
The Coca-Cola Company have been really emphasising on marketing and product sales while utilising Innovations just like when it came about bottling soda and this technique has cemented their distribution for the past 100 years. Coca-Cola has been very aggressive with new products and they were meant to lunch the Coca-Cola Energy, which is a shift from sugar to energy drink. Coca-Cola has been the lead in the soft drink industry and their business strategy and marketing strategy seems to be their strength.