Caleb D. Bradham invented Pepsi Cola, in New Bern, North Carolina (Hoover's, 1995).
The real growth of both Coke and Pepsi, from soda fountain drinks to nationally known brands came with the development of the regional franchise bottling system. Between 1899 and 1929 Coca Cola had created over 1,000 bottlers. By World War I, Pepsi Cola had created over 300 bottlers (Hoover's, 1995).
Coca Cola continued its growth through the 30s and 40s with clever advertising slogans and expansion of its bottling plants overseas during World War II. They acquired Minute Maid in 1960, and introduced Sprite and Tab in the next three years. Sprite has become the world's number one lemon-lime soft drink, and Tab, the original diet cola, is only one of a number of popular diet drinks (Hoover's, 1995).
In the 1980s, the company acquired Columbia pictures, and several other entertainment companies. These were subsequently sold to Sony in 1989. In 1986 the company consolidated itsáU.S. bottling operations into Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) and sold 51% to the public. The 90s has seen Coca Cola forming separate operations for Moscow, Africa, and India. Coke has also purchased 30% of Femsa, Mexico's biggest soft drink company, and plans to reenter South Africa's soft drink market by buying National Beverage Service, which marketed Coke's products before (Hoover's, 1995).
Coke has kept pace at home with the introduction of Powerade, their entry in the sports drink market. Also, to counter Pepsi's purchase of Ocean Spray, Coke has launched their Fruitopia fruit drinks into the beverage market (Hoover's, 1995). Fruitopia was named by Time magazine, one of 1994s ten best products ("Coca-Cola's sweet..." 1995).
Coca Cola Classic alone, accounts for at least 20% of market share of all soft drinks purchased in the United States, from 1991 through 1994 (Market Share Reporter, 1995). The market share has been creeping at a steady rate from...