![]() The Search for an AlternativeĮver since ditching Coke, Guth is bleeding money. Thanks to his ingenious coolers, Coca-Cola bottle sales smash syrup sales, with no competitor in sight-for now. Pushing Woodruff's profits to $41 million in sales. The coolers are a smash and spread from gas stations to hotels and department stores. Woodruff launches 30,000 of these branded coolers at gas stations, and Coca-Cola becomes the first cold drink available to motorists on the road. They paint it red and green and adorn it with the Coca-Cola logo. In 1928, his team comes up with a cooler, modeled off the icebox concept. Woodruff tasks his team with finding a way to keep Coca-Cola bottles cold. The one way to keep things cold is the icebox, essentially a cooler that you put ice in every few days to keep things cold. There are only 100,000 soda fountains, but 1.5 million gas stations. They were just places you went to get gas. He sees gas stations as the next big thing.Īt the time, service stations didn't offer snacks, drinks, or cold remedies. Robert Woodruff recognizes the importance of the automobile and how every single motorist needs to fill up. It also connects them to new markets and products. The automobile gives people an opportunity to travel in a way that's affordable and accessible. ![]() The Automobile Births a Novel Idea By 1929, 23+ million cars are on America's roads. This sends him looking for an alternative syrup and gives birth to one of the biggest business rivalries in history. Known for his fiery rage and unpredictable temper, Guth cancels his order. He's annoyed he can't get a discount because he felt Loft Inc. Guth has been trying to get a better deal on Coca-Cola syrup for the last two years. accounted for 1% of all Coca-Cola syrup sales. They generate $3 million in sales a year and use 31,000 gallons of Coca-Cola syrup. has a chain of over 200 soda fountain shops. Guth claims self-defense, and as is often the case then (and today), walks away scot-free. He was accused of murdering his African American chauffeur. The company's president, Charles Guth, is a former candy manufacturer with a shady mythology. One of Coca-Cola's biggest customers is a soda fountain chain called Loft Inc. Those that don't have their shipments delayed. Woodruff rolls out quality control guidelines and offers a 10% discount to bottlers who comply. The problem: their facilities are filthy. They buy syrup from brands like Coca-Cola and take care of the packaging and shipping. In the 20s, bottling is handled by third-party contractors. The European bottling fiasco cost Coca-Cola the modern equivalent of $46 million. Unfortunately, European bottlers hadn't sterilized corks, so the bottles were ripe with bacteria-borderline poisonous. But, instead of triumph, cafes turned into Problem Child 2's infamous vomit scene. The company invested $3 million and advertised heavily. Coca-Cola had already tried bottling in Europe. ![]() He has a lightbulb moment and realizes he can control the quality of his product by bottling Coca-Cola.īut his moment in the sun is cut short. Woodruff recognizes the importance of consistency in building a beloved brand. As a result, there is little quality control. Coca-Cola's reputation depends on teenagers working at soda fountain shops making their final product. But one day, he'll turn his father's $25 million investment into a multi-billion dollar empire. He's green and has massive shoes to fill. He's a 33-year-old college dropout with no experience running a corporation. In 1923, Robert Woodruff becomes president of Coca-Cola. Because Asa Candler, an American businessman (and eventual mayor of Atlanta) snatched up his stake in 1888. But he doesn't get to see Coke become a money-making empire. Coke's Origin StoryĬoke was created in 1886 by a pharmacist named John Stith Pemberton. In Post WWI, Coca-Cola reigns supreme, selling 17 million dollars of its syrup each year. They take a syrup concentrate, mix it with water, and carbonate it. It's mixed by someone called a soda jerk. Soda at the time isn't available like it is today. By 1922, there are 100,000 soda fountains in operation. One vice whack-a-moles into another: Sugar. ![]() Thousands of bars and saloons close, but Americans are hungry for places to gather and socialize. It's positioned as a way to uplift the nation, curtail abuse, and discourage laziness. Prohibition makes all sales of alcohol illegal with the passing of the 18th Amendment. ![]()
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