FOOD & DRINKS
SEPTEMBER 11, 2021
Brief Story Of Pepsi Cola Drinks
The brief story of Pepsi Cola drinks started from a carbonated soft drink created and developed in May, 1893 by Caleb Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina, United States. It was initially introduced as “Brad’s Drink” who made it at his drugstore. The beverage was crafted with a mix of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, kola nuts, nutmeg and other additives. Later on he then bought the trade name “Pep Kola” from a bankrupt competitor.
Due to advertisement campaign gimmick it was then renamed to Pepsi-Cola in August, 1898. “Pepsi” to relieve dyspepsia or upset stomach as advertised – a condition of impaired digestion where people experience abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea and feeling full earlier than expected and “Cola” referring to the cola flavor.
In 1903, Bradham moved the bottling of Pepsi-Cola to a rented warehouse where he sold 7.968 gallons of syrup and the name “Pepsi” was patented. He trademarked the name and sold the soda syrup to pharmacies and other vendors across North Carolina. The next year it was sold in six ounce bottles and increased the sale to almost 20.000 gallons.
In 1923, the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy and Bradham sold the Pepsi trademark and business for $35.000 to Roy C. Megargel. But he was also unable to revive the brand and soon sold the brand to Charles Guth, the president of Loft. Inc, a candy manufacturer in 1931. Guth bought the Pepsi trademark and other assets for about $10.000, he then had chemist to reformulate the Pepsi-Cola syrup formula.
By the year 1922 and 1933, the Coca-Cola Company was trying to purchase the Pepsi-Cola Company three times and was declined every time while Bradham died at age 67 in 1934.
In 1940, the Pepsi radio jingle “Twice As Much For A Nickel Too” was first aired and in 1941, Loft merged with Pepsi Cola and becoming the Pepsi-Cola Co. In 1965, the Pepsi-Cola Company merged with Frito-Lay, Inc, to become PepsiCo, Inc. the company it is known as at present and relocated the headquarters to Harrison, New York in the hamlet of Purchase in 1970.
In the 1970’s the rivalry between Pepsi and Coca-Cola continued to heat up the market and became known as the “Cola Wars”. Pepsi also conducted blind taste tests called the “Pepsi Challenge” and the results suggested that consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi to Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola changed its formula in 1985 and it drove up a theory that this step was invented specifically in response to the “Pepsi Challenge”. However, consumers didn’t like the new taste and Coca-Cola reintroduced the original formula and labeled it as “Coca-Cola Classic”.
The use of celebrities in Cola Wars was extensive, various musicians appeared in advertising campaigns from Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The advertising strategy used the image of musicians to boost their brand image and selling worldwide. Coca-Cola used Paula Abdul, while Pepsi had megastar, the king of pop, Michael Jackson as their icon. Both companies continued to compete to get other musicians during the 1980’s and 1990’s era.
In December 2005, PepsiCo surpassed The Coca-Cola Company for the first time in 112 years in market value since both cola companies began to compete.
PepsiCo also previously owned several other brands that it later sold so it could focus on its primary snack food and beverage lines. Brands formerly owned by PepsiCo include: Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Hot ‘n Now, East Side Mario’s, D’Angelo Sandwich Shops, Chevys Fresh Mex, California Pizza Kitchen, Stolichnaya, Wilson Sporting Goods and North American Van Lines.
source : wikipedia, companieshistory.com, pepsicares.com
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