Origin & Evolution Of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Factory

It takes a super-factory to provide a beverage with a famously secret formula consumed in over 99 percent of the populated world.

Timeline: The Evolution of the Coca-Cola Bottle

Trace the journey of the Coca-Cola contour bottle, from 1915 to 2015.

1899 

Coca-Cola first bottled under contract in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Coca-Cola President Asa Candler sells the bottling rights for $1. Bottles used at this time are straight-sided Hutchinson bottles with a metal stopper.

1906 

Amber-colored and clear straight-sided bottles with an embossed logo are used by bottlers across the U.S. In 1906, a diamond shaped label is added to make the bottle stand out from competitors.

1915 

The tremendous success and growth of Coca-Cola encourages competitors to try to imitate Coke by offering bottles with slight variations on the trademarked name and distinctive script logo. The now famous Coca-Cola contour bottle is patented in 1915 by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. The creative brief given to Root called for a bottle that could be recognized when broken on the ground or by touch in the dark.

1950 

Coca-Cola becomes the first commercial product to appear on the cover of Time magazine. The appearance solidifies Coca-Cola as an international brand. The magazine originally asks to place long-time Company leader Robert Woodruff’s image on the cover, but he refuses, saying the brand is the important thing and Coca-Cola itself should be featured.

1957 

Coca-Cola contour bottles are printed with a white label featuring both trademarks, Coca-Cola and Coke. Previously the trademark Coca-Cola had been blown in glass lettering on the bottle.

1960 

12-ounce aluminum Coca-Cola cans are introduced in the U.S. Early can graphics include an image of the Coca-Cola bottle so customers wil recognize it as the same beverage they enjoy from a bottle.

1977

 The Coca-Cola bottle is granted registration as a trademark, a designation  awarded to few other packages. A previous study showed that less than 1% of  Americans could not identifiy a bottle of Coke by shape alone.

2009 

Coca-Cola introduces the “plant bottle” —100% recyclable and made with up to 30% renewable, plant-based material.

2015 The Coca-Cola bottle turns 100.  “The perfect liquid wrapper.” - Raymond Loewy

Why We Took Cocaine Out of Soda — The Atlantic

“Original Coca-Cola had a very small amount of cocaine” — Salon

theKONGBLOG™'s Favorite — Classic Coca-Cola can!