Coca-Cola is a cola (a type of carbonated soft drink) sold in stores, restaurants and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which is often referred to as simply Coca-Cola or Coke. Coke is the world's most recognizable brand, according to BusinessWeek.[1]
Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft drink market throughout the 20th century. Although faced with criticisms of its health effects and various allegations of wrongdoing by the company, Coca-Cola has remained a popular soft drink to the present day.
The company actually produces concentrate for Coca-Cola, which is then sold to various Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola in cans and bottles to retail stores and vending machines. Such bottlers include Coca-Cola Enterprises, which is the single largest Coca-Cola bottler in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for fountain sales to major restaurants and food service distributors.
The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, which has become a major diet cola but others exist, including Diet Coke Caffeine-Free , Cherry Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Vanilla Coke and special editions with lemon and with lime, and even with coffee. The Coca-Cola Company owns and markets other soft drinks that do not carry the large Coca-Cola brand marking, such as Sprite, Fanta, Pibb, and others, but the Coca-Cola Company's trademark name can usually be found somewhere on the bottle.
