A man made a new drink. 

A man made a new drink. 


A man named John Pemberton made a new drink. 

Later, a man named Asa Candler bought the brand. He started the Coca-Cola Company in 1892. The company is now very big. It is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company makes many kinds of drinks. They make syrups and fruit juices. They even make some alcoholic drinks.
The company does not make every bottle. Instead, they make a thick syrup. They sell this syrup to bottlers. These bottlers add water and sugar. Then they sell the drinks to stores. 
The Coca-Cola Company is a famous American corporation. 

How does the company make its drinks? It does not make every single bottle itself. Instead, the company mostly makes a thick syrup concentrate. They sell this syrup to different bottlers around the world. These bottlers have their own special areas to work in. The bottlers mix the syrup with filtered water and sweeteners. Then, they put the finished drink into bottles or cans. Finally, they sell the drinks to stores and restaurants. 
The story of the drink began a long time ago. A pharmacist named John Stith Pemberton invented it in May 1886. He lived in Columbus, Georgia. At first, the drink was not bubbly. It was also called something else before it got its famous name. His bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, gave it the name Coca-Cola. Robinson also created the company's famous logo. He chose the name because of the coca leaves and kola nuts used in the recipe. 
Business leaders helped the brand grow very quickly. In 1889, the formula was sold to Asa Griggs Candler for $2,300. Candler started the Coca-Cola Company in 1892. By 1895, the drink was being sold all across the United States. The company has bought many other brands over the years. For example, they bought Minute Maid in 1960. They even bought the Columbia Pictures movie studio in 1982 for $692 million. They later sold that studio to Sony in 1989 for $3 billion.
You can find Coca-Cola products in almost every part of the world. In 2005, the company sold drinks in more than 200 countries. Every day, people drink about 1.3 billion servings of their beverages. This includes many different brands they own or license. You might recognize some of their other brands, like Odwalla juices or Costa Coffee. Some people even buy shares of the company on the New York Stock Exchange. If you bought one share in 1919, it would be worth millions today. 
The Coca-Cola Company is a massive American multinational corporation. 

To understand how the company operates, you must look at its distribution system. The company does not usually make every finished bottle itself. Instead, it primarily produces a syrup concentrate. This concentrate is sold to various bottlers located throughout the world. These bottlers hold exclusive territories where they are the only ones allowed to bottle the product. 
The history of the brand began with a pharmacist named John Stith Pemberton. In May 1886, Pemberton invented the original Coca-Cola drink in Columbus, Georgia. At that time, the product was not carbonated. It was also unnamed during his initial mixing experiments. The original recipe contained stimulants from coca leaves and caffeine from kola nuts. These two ingredients acted synergistically, meaning they worked together. Because of these ingredients, the drink was promoted as a "healthy tonic." 
Several key people helped shape the brand into a global icon. Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, is credited with naming the product. He chose "Coca-Cola" because of the alliteration and the main ingredients. Robinson also created the famous company logo. In 1889, the formula and brand were sold to Asa Griggs Candler for $2,300. Candler then incorporated the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1892. By 1895, the beverage was being sold on a nationwide scale.
Over the decades, the company has grown through many strategic acquisitions. In 1960, it acquired the Minute Maid brand. In 1982, the company entered the film industry by buying Columbia Pictures for $692 million. It later formed the Entertainment Business Sector with other companies. However, it sold Columbia to Sony in 1989 for $3 billion. The company has also expanded into juices and coffee. It purchased Odwalla in 2001 and Costa Coffee in 2019. It also holds a significant stake in Monster Beverage. 
The scale of the company's reach is truly immense. In 2005, the company sold products in more than 200 countries. Every day, people worldwide consume approximately 50 billion beverage servings. Of those, beverages owned or licensed by Coca-Cola account for more than 1.3 billion servings. The "Coca-Cola" brand specifically makes up about 55% of the company's total gallon sales. 
Investing in the company has also shown incredible long-term results. Coca-Cola has been a publicly traded company since 1919. If you had purchased one share in 1919 for $40, it would have been worth $9.8 million by 2012. This assumes all dividends were reinvested. The company has also been very consistent with its shareholders. It has paid a dividend every year since 1920. As of 2019, it had increased that dividend for 57 years in a row.
Today, the company manages a complex web of global partnerships. It uses a franchised distribution system that has existed since 1889. It often owns shares in "anchor bottlers" to help manage operations. For example, it owns a 68.3% stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Africa. It also holds significant interests in companies like Coca-Cola FEMSA in Mexico. These connections allow the company to move products efficiently across different continents. This system links local manufacturing to a massive global brand.
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