The Probert Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink

COCA-COLA

Coca-Cola is the trade name of a coloured, sweetened, flavoured carbonated drink, originally made with coca leaves and flavoured with cola nuts, and containing caramel and caffeine. It was invented in 1886 and sold in every state of the USA by 1895 and in 155 countries by 1987. Coca-Cola, like other carbonated, sweetened soft-drinks, has little or no nutritional value and in excess can cause dental problems, contribute towards obesity and diabetes. After initial success, Coca-Cola was imitated by numerous manufacturers who were subsequently taken to court and banned from using names similar to the trademarked 'Coca-Cola'. The only real opposition to Coca-Cola came from 'Pepsi-Cola', which in the early 1980's launched a revolutionary marketing strategy entitled 'The Pepsi Challenge'. The Pepsi Challenge was a blind tasting conducted among the public across the USA and the world in which consumers blind tasted Pepsi against Coca-Cola. The results showed that people preferred the taste of Pepsi, and in 1985 Coca-Cola changed their recipe. This was a marketing disaster for Coca-Cola which rocked the USA and within three months the original Coca-Cola recipe was reinstated and re-branded as 'Classic Coca-Cola'. The marketing war between Coca-Cola and Pepsi rages on, with both side aiming for a total monopoly of the world soft drinks market, and in the USA both companies sponsor schools and local authorities in cynical brand awareness programs that offer schools funding in return for advertising and vending machines within the school.
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