Who Invented Coca-Cola? | Coca-Cola History FAQs

Who invented Coca‑Cola?
When did Coca‑Cola first arrive in the India?
Which drinks did Coca-Cola India acquire from Parle Bisleri?
When did the company launch Sprite in India?
Where is the secret formula for Coca‑Cola kept?
Who designed the Coca-Cola Contour Bottle?
When was the white swirl added to the Coca-Cola logo?
Did Coca-Cola originally start as a medicine?
When was The Coca-Cola Company founded?

1. Who invented Coca‑Cola?

Dr John S Pemberton. He invented Coca‑Cola on 8th May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Pemberton tried it out on customers at his local chemist, Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it proved so popular it immediately went on sale at five cents a glass.

Did you know? It was Dr Pemberton's friend and business partner, Frank M Robinson, who came up with the name Coca‑Cola. He wrote it out by hand in the Spencerian script that we still use as our logo.

2. When did Coca‑Cola first arrive in the India?

In 1950, Coca-Cola marked it entry in India with the opening of the first bottling plant by Pure Drinks, Ltd, in New Delhi. The company exited the country in 1977, due to the implementation of India’s Foreign Exchange Act. Towards the end of 1992, Coca-Cola returned to India after the opening up of the Indian economy to foreign investments in 1991.

On October 24th, 1993, The Coca-Cola Company formally began its operations in India with the opening of a production facility outside of Agra.

3. Which drinks did Coca-Cola India acquire from Parle Bisleri?

In 1993, Coca-Cola acquired brands like Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot and Maaza from Parle Bisleri.

4. When did the company launch Sprite in India?

In 1999, Coca-Cola India launched Sprite in the country along with Schweppes. Since its inception is 1999, Sprite has not only established itself as a brand which successfully boasts it's 'cut-thru' perspective with an authentic, edgy, irreverent, urban and straightforward style, but has also achieved status of an undisputed youth 'badge' brand.

Today, Sprite is the one of the most preferred and fastest-growing soft drinks in India and has become one of the top two leading sparkling brands in the country along with Thums Up.

5. Where is the secret formula for Coca‑Cola kept?

The Vault of the Secret Formula at the World of Coca-Cola in the United States.

The secret formula of Coca-Cola has been on an eventful journey over the years:

1886 – Dr. John S. Pemberton invents Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

1892 – Asa Candler buys the rights to the Coca-Cola business and the secret formula.

1919 – Ernest Woodruff and a group of investors buy the company from Candler, using the secret formula as collateral for a loan. Woodruff asks Candler's son to write the formula down and places the paper in a vault in the Guaranty Bank in New York.

1925 – Woodruff repays his loan and redeems the secret formula, bringing it back home to Atlanta and placing it in Trust Company Bank.

2011 – After 86 years, the secret formula is moved to the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. Thousands of people visit the Vault of the Secret Formula every year.

Did you know? Only a few people in the world know the secret formula of Coca-Cola.

6. Who designed the Coca-Cola Contour Bottle?

The Root Glass Company of Indiana. They created the iconic glass Coca‑Cola Contour Bottle in 1915. The Contour Bottle was designed to help Coca‑Cola stand out from other drinks at the time, and the design brief was to ensure that the bottle was recognisable even in the dark, or if it was broken.

Did you know? In 1977 the Coca‑Cola Contour Bottle received a rare distinction for packaging when it was granted registration as a trademark by the United States Patent Office.

7. When was the white swirl added to the Coca-Cola logo?

1969. The white swirl or wave – which we call the Dynamic Ribbon - was part of a graphic re-design in the late sixties. The logo design for Coca‑Cola in the 1970s was based on a bold, dramatic curve, reflecting the unique shape of the Contour Bottle.

8. Did Coca-Cola originally start as a medicine?

No. Coca‑Cola didn't start as a medicine but it was invented by a doctor and pharmacist, Dr John S Pemberton.

Did you know? Coca-Cola was invented in May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia and was first sold in Jacobs’ Pharmacy where it was on sale for five cents (about 3p) a glass.

Find out about the history of Coca-Cola.

9. When was The Coca-Cola Company founded?

1892. While Coca-Cola was invented and first sold in 1888, the secret formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Griggs Candler, who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company three years later. On 5 September, 1919, a consortium of businessmen led by Ernest Woodruff, Robert W. Woodruff's father, purchased The Coca-Cola Company for $25 million and it went on the New York stock market.

Pictured above: Asa Candler and Robert W. Woodruff