Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (2024)

Table of Contents

Coca-Cola was founded in 1886 — and only cost five cents back then. The first bottles were created in 1899 and had metal stoppers. Before then, co*ke was sold exclusively at soda fountains. By 1906, Coca-Cola created a new bottle with a new logo to differentiate it from competitors. In 1915, the design became closer to the bottle we know and love today. Coca-Cola ran the first of their iconic Santa Claus ads in the 1920s, effectively changing how people see Santa. The '20s also saw co*ke bottles sold in six-packs for the first time, increasing convenience — and sales. 1928 was the first year in which more Coca-Cola sold in bottles than through soda fountains. By the '50s, the shape of the co*ke bottle evolved into the one we know today. It's called the "Contour Bottle." Coca-Cola made the switch to PET plastic bottles almost half a century later, in 1993, in order to minimize its environmental impact. The first co*ke can was introduced to the public in 1960. The design featured the outline of a co*ke bottle so customers wouldn't get confused. Diet co*ke, the very first variation on the original Coca-Cola formula, was released in 1982. And in order to compete with Pepsi Free, Caffeine Free Coca-Cola was introduced a year later. With the success of Diet co*ke and Caffeine Free, Coca-Cola decided to try out more flavors. Some were extremely popular, like Cherry co*ke (the first flavored co*ke)... ...While others were not. New co*ke has become a cautionary tale to brands: don't mess with a good thing. After the New co*ke debacle, Coca-Cola waited a long time before introducing new variations. Coca-Cola with Lemon appeared on the scene in 2001. Vanilla co*ke was introduced in 2002, but discontinued later that year. It was brought back by popular demand in 2007. In 2005, the packaging got an update. Coca-Cola announced the "M5" bottles, for which the company teamed up with five different design firms to create limited-edition aluminum bottles. These aluminum bottles were so popular that Coca-Cola decided to roll out permanent versions. The 2000s also brought us the classic co*ke can we all know and love today. co*ke Zero, an alternative to Diet co*ke, was introduced in 2005. co*ke Zero (like Diet co*ke) has no calories or sugar, but, according to the Coca-Cola Company, it tastes more like regular co*ke than Diet co*ke does. In 2009, Coca-Cola introduced the PlantBottle, the "first ever fully recyclable PET plastic beverage bottle made partially from plants." That same year, the brand also revitalized the soda machine with Coca-Cola Freestyle. These bottles are still circulating today, with even more options, such as song titles. In 2014, Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola Life, the first new co*ke since 2006. The green cans/labels had many people confused. In 2018, Coca-Cola released four new flavors of Diet co*ke to combat lagging sales, as well as a minimalist new silver can. Today, Coca-Cola is still trying to innovate the soda industry. In April 2018, Coca-Cola released their first-ever Coca-Cola slushy in Japan. FAQs

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Gabbi Shaw

2018-05-31T15:50:47Z

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (1)

In 1886, an Atlanta pharmacist created a new type of soda, and the world was never the same again:this May, Coca-Cola celebrated its 132nd birthday.

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According to NBC News, the top two most popular sodas in the US are co*ke and Diet co*ke respectively.

But the co*ke that we know and love today wasn't always like this — from the taste to the bottle, it has gone through various iterations through the years.

In honor of 132 years of Coca-Cola, take a stroll down memory lane and revisit all the iconic (or not so iconic) Coca-Cola designs, flavors, and innovations.

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Coca-Cola was founded in 1886 — and only cost five cents back then.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (2)

Coca-Cola was founded in 1886 when Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia, created a new kind of soft drink to be sold at soda fountains.

One of the most popular urban legends surrounding Coca-Cola is that it used to contain cocaine — and it's actually true. By 1905, cocaine was removed from the formula.

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The first bottles were created in 1899 and had metal stoppers. Before then, co*ke was sold exclusively at soda fountains.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (3)

Asa Candler bought a stake in Coca-Cola prior to Dr. Pemberton's death (which came only two years after he invented Coca-Cola). Once he died, Candler played an instrumental part in spreading Coca-Cola across the country.

Three entrepreneurs bought the bottling rights from Candler for just $1. They're credited with creating the Coca-Cola bottling system, ensuring that people worldwide could enjoy an ice cold co*ke.

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By 1906, Coca-Cola created a new bottle with a new logo to differentiate it from competitors.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (4)

Ten years before the iconic "Contour Bottle" that we know today was created, Coca-Cola tried to stand out with a diamond-shaped label.

In 1915, the design became closer to the bottle we know and love today.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (5)

This design is more similar to the one used today, but still not quite there. It was created to be both recognizable and to discourage competitors from selling imitations. It waspatented by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1915, who wanted people to be able to recognize it simply by touch.

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Coca-Cola ran the first of their iconic Santa Claus ads in the 1920s, effectively changing how people see Santa.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (6)

According to Coca-Cola, the brand is credited with helping shape the image of Santa Claus that is commonly used today. They wrote that "Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf."

This wholesome version of Santa was the first time Santa was truly depicted as "jolly." The artwork was done by illustratorHaddon Sundblom, whose original oil paintings of this version of Santa were used by Coca-Cola in ads all over the country. Santa has been an integral part of Coca-Cola ever since.

The '20s also saw co*ke bottles sold in six-packs for the first time, increasing convenience — and sales.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (7)

Coca-Cola is the inventor of the six pack. They created it so consumers could bring bottles home with them to store in their fridge, and thus drink more co*ke.

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1928 was the first year in which more Coca-Cola sold in bottles than through soda fountains.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (8)

Source: The Coca-Cola Company.

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By the '50s, the shape of the co*ke bottle evolved into the one we know today. It's called the "Contour Bottle."

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (9)

The co*ke Contour Bottle appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in 1950, becoming the firstproduct to do so, and thus establishing the brand's dominance.

The Contour Bottle wastrademarked in 1977 — a rare thing for packaging at the time.

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Coca-Cola made the switch to PET plastic bottles almost half a century later, in 1993, in order to minimize its environmental impact.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (10)

PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a non-toxic, recyclable form of plastic. At the time, Coca-Cola claimed that PET bottles were the most environmentally friendly option — but now we know that plastic is actually terrible for the environment.

Today thecompany claims to be trying to "make the PET plastic bottle more environmentally sustainable by improving efficiency, increasing recycling, and advancing recycled material use."

The first coke can was introduced to the public in 1960. The design featured the outline of a coke bottle so customers wouldn't get confused.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (11)

The first co*ke can looks pretty similar to the ones in use today — it was just more flat.

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Diet co*ke, the very first variation on the original Coca-Cola formula, was released in 1982.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (12)

Diet co*ke is an entirely different recipe than classic co*ke — something that Coca-Cola wanted to get across. "We wanted to make it clear that Diet co*ke was a new product no one had ever seen before," saidSteve Norcia. Norcia was part of the team that created the first ad for Diet co*ke.

According to the Coca-Cola Company, within two years Diet co*ke had "displaced 7UP as the No. 3 soft drink in the US behindCoca-Colaand Pepsi — a position it held until the end of 2010 when it overtook Pepsi."

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And in order to compete with Pepsi Free, Caffeine Free Coca-Cola was introduced a year later.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (13)

Even though a can of co*ke contains less caffeine than the average cup of coffee or tea, Coca-Cola knew they needed to appeal to the part of the population that'scaffeine-averse.

PepsiCo, Coca-Cola's biggest competitor, beat them to the punch by offering Pepsi Free (caffeine-free Pepsi) in 1982. Coca-Cola's answer came just a year later, in 1983.

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With the success of Diet coke and Caffeine Free, Coca-Cola decided to try out more flavors. Some were extremely popular, like Cherry coke (the first flavored co*ke)...

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (14)

Cherry co*ke was first officially introduced in 1985, though people had been consuming homemade versions for years, splashing cherry syrup into their fountain co*ke.

Though it's been re-branded as Coca-Cola Cherry, the drink lives on and is still available in 36 countries.

...While others were not. New co*ke has become a cautionary tale to brands: don't mess with a good thing.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (15)

New co*ke, seen by many as an over-correction to Pepsi's rise in popularity, is one of the most famous corporate disasters in history. Coca-Cola announced they would be discontinuing the original co*ke, and replacing it with "New co*ke" in April 1985.

By August, by extreme popular demand, Coca-Cola announced the return of what they began calling "Classic co*ke." The reversal was spurred by protests and letters from dedicated co*ke fans.

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After the New co*ke debacle, Coca-Cola waited a long time before introducing new variations. Coca-Cola with Lemon appeared on the scene in 2001.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (16)

Coca-Cola with Lemon was introduced to the US in 2001, after the introduction of Pepsi Twist (a similarly lemon-flavored variant on the classic Pepsi).

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Vanilla co*ke was introduced in 2002, but discontinued later that year. It was brought back by popular demand in 2007.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (17)

Vanilla co*ke was rolled out in 2002: like Cherry co*ke, people had been making their own versions for years.

The flavor briefly disappeared and was replaced by Black Cherry Vanilla co*ke (to mixed results), but made a triumphant return in 2007.

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In 2005, the packaging got an update. Coca-Cola announced the "M5" bottles, for which the company teamed up with five different design firms to create limited-edition aluminum bottles.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (18)

M5 stands for "Magnificent Five." These five aluminum bottles represented a clear pivot in Coca-Cola's marketing strategy. Each bottle was designed by a top design firm, and their releases were accompanied by music videos and targeted at nightclubs — they even had UV-sensitive ink.

The limited-edition branding also led drinkers to believe the bottles were exclusive — which they were. One of the designs sold on eBay for $99.

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These aluminum bottles were so popular that Coca-Cola decided to roll out permanent versions.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (19)

Since the M5 bottles were so successful, Coca-Cola decided to roll out the aluminum bottles on a more permanent basis. Aluminum bottles entered the US market in 2007, two years after the first one launched.

"The first-ever fully shaped aluminum bottle was considered by many to be the biggest packaging breakthrough at co*ke since the launch of the contour PET bottle in the 1980s," said Jay Moye, editor-in-chief of Coca-Cola Journey.

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The 2000s also brought us the classic co*ke can we all know and love today.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (20)

Overall though, the co*ke can hasn't changed much since its introduction in 1960.

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coke Zero, an alternative to Diet coke, was introduced in 2005. coke Zero (like Diet coke) has no calories or sugar, but, according to the Coca-Cola Company, it tastes more like regular coke than Diet coke does.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (21)

You might think that co*ke Zero and Diet co*ke are the same — but you'd be mistaken. While they both report no calories or sugar, Diet co*ke has always tried to be its own beverage. co*ke Zero, on the other hand, is striving to taste more like classic co*ke.

In 2016, co*ke Zero was turned into co*ke Zero Sugar, triggering horrible memories of New co*ke in many loyal co*ke Zero drinkers.

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In 2009, Coca-Cola introduced the PlantBottle, the "first ever fully recyclable PET plastic beverage bottle made partially from plants."

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (22)

PlantBottle, a new type of PET bottle made from plant material, was first introduced by Coca-Cola in 2009, with the bottle being made up of 30% plants.

In 2015, Coca-Cola unveiled the new and improved PlantBottle, which was made up entirely of plant material. The "plant material" is sugarcane plastic. They announced that their goal was to completely switch over to the PlantBottle by 2020.

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That same year, the brand also revitalized the soda machine with Coca-Cola Freestyle.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (23)

Coca-Cola Freestyle changed the game. The touchscreensoda fountainfeatures100+different Coca-Cola products— from co*ke to Fuze to Minutemaid, as well ashard-to-get ones like Diet Raspberry co*ke.

Most importantly, it gives users the freedom to mix and match flavors.

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These bottles are still circulating today, with even more options, such as song titles.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (24)

Coca-Cola has since rolled out bottles with 1,000 different names, nicknames, titles like Mom and Grandma, and phrases such as #1 Dad.

In 2016, they added popular song lyrics to bottles, calling it "Share a co*ke and a Song". The lyrics ranged from Taylor Swift to Queen (to name a few).

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In 2014, Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola Life, the first new co*ke since 2006. The green cans/labels had many people confused.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (25)

Coca-Cola Life is another low-calorie version of classic co*ke, except that this one is based on a mixture of sugar and stevia — as opposed to Diet co*ke, which is sweetened with aspartame (a controversial artificial sweetener).

Coca-Cola Life is still available in the US and worldwide, but it did so poorly in the UK that it was yanked from shelves relatively quickly.

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In 2018, Coca-Cola released four new flavors of Diet co*ke to combat lagging sales, as well as a minimalist new silver can.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (26)

The four new flavors are Ginger Lime, Twisted Mango, Zesty Blood Orange, and Feisty Cherry. However,Business Insider found that only two flavors are worth drinking: Feisty Cherry and Ginger Lime.

Why would Coca-Cola drastically revamp Diet co*ke? Because sales have been steadily decreasing across the board for diet soda. Since 2005, sales for all diet sodas have been down 34%. Diet co*ke sales specifically decreased 1.9% in 2016.

Apparently, the new Diet co*ke design and flavors were a hit with the general public though — Coca-Cola reported in April 2018 that the soda had "returned to volume growth in North America."

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Today, Coca-Cola is still trying to innovate the soda industry. In April 2018, Coca-Cola released their first-ever Coca-Cola slushy in Japan.

Here's how Coca-Cola has changed over the past 132 years (27)

In addition to two Fanta slushy options, Coca-Cola released a Lemon co*ke slushy in Japan.

It comes in a reusable pouch, which is reported to be a first for frozen beverages. Hopefully it will make its way to the US sooner rather than later.

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FAQs

How has Coca-Cola changed over the years? ›

Up until the mid-1950s, Coca-Cola was sold in a 6.5-ounce glass contour bottle. This finally changed when Coca-Cola began producing bigger sizes in 1955 and eventually metal cans in 1960. By 1977, the company began producing its first plastic 2-liter bottles.

Tell Me More ›

What changes have been made to Coca-Cola? ›

Coca Cola has switched bottles for its product to one that is made from 100% recycled plastic. The company expects it will reduce the amount of plastic it uses each year by 83 million pounds.

Read On ›

How long was a 1950s co*ke bottle? ›

The 'most recognisable item of product packaging in the World' celebrates its 100th birthday this year. Measuring 12 inches tall and 3½ inches wide (at the base) These bottles were sold in stores throughout the 1950's and 60's.

What did the first Coca-Cola can look like? ›

The first co*ke can was introduced to the public in 1960. The design featured the outline of a co*ke bottle so customers wouldn't get confused. The first co*ke can looks pretty similar to the ones in use today — it was just more flat.

What was the difference between old and New co*ke? ›

Goizueta, Coca-Cola's CEO, described the new flavor as "bolder", "rounder", and "more harmonious", and defended the change by saying that the drink's secret formula was not sacrosanct and inviolable.

Learn More Now ›

When did co*ke change its flavor? ›

Coca-Cola was known for its famous fabled recipe. Tweaks to the recipe had been made a few times, but they never compromised the flavor until 1985, when New co*ke was introduced. New co*ke was the bold decision to reformulate the recipe that, instead, showed the company just how attached people were to the famous recipe.

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Has co*ke changed recently? ›

But its latest flavor, Coca-Cola Spiced, is its first permanent addition in a while. It's part of co*ke's attempt to cater to tastes changing along with America's demographics. Coca-Cola announced the new Spiced flavor Wednesday, saying it blends the traditional co*ke flavor with raspberry and spiced flavors.

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What is the new flavor of co*ke 2024? ›

"Coca-Cola Spiced features "a unique alchemy of our iconic cola, raspberry and spiced flavors," the Coca-Cola company said in a release. Coca-Cola said despite being called "spiced," the new beverage doesn't pack any heat. Drinkers will taste a "burst of refreshing raspberry flavors and spiced notes."

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Has co*ke can changed? ›

Coca-Cola bottler makes major change to aluminum can packaging: '75,000 pounds of plastic each year' A Philadelphia-based bottling company has ditched the so-called “six-pack” plastic rings featured in most packs of soda cans.

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Is 7up a co*ke product? ›

7 Up (stylized as 7up outside the United States) or Seven Up is an American brand of lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed by PepsiCo.

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How much did a bottle of co*ke cost in 1955? ›

Between 1886 and 1959, the price of a 6.5 US fl oz (190 mL) glass or bottle of Coca-Cola was set at five cents, or one nickel, and remained fixed with very little local fluctuation.

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How much did a Coca-Cola cost in 1950? ›

1920 - a nickel, 1930 - a nickel, 1940 - a nickel, 1950 - a nickel. As late as 1959, you could buy a 6-and-a-half-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola for one nickel.

Why are co*ke bottles green? ›

Today, the "Coca-Cola bottle green" color is nearly as synonymous with the drink as the bottle shape itself. This color was a natural result of the copper and minerals found in the sand that Root used to make his bottles (including the Coca-Cola bottle that his company patented).

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What was Coca-Cola previous name? ›

After Candler had gained a better foothold on Coca-Cola in April 1888, he nevertheless was forced to sell the beverage he produced with the recipe he had under the names "Yum Yum" and "Koke".

When did co*ke stop using glass bottles? ›

While glass bottles have been available on a limited basis, the embossed bottle has not been used since the late 1950s.

Keep Reading ›

How was Coca-Cola developed? ›

John S. Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup and took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those who sampled it. Dr.

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When did co*ke change from drink to enjoy? ›

1993 – Always Coca-Cola. 1995 – Always and Only Coca-Cola (test marketed, secondary radio jingle). 1999 – Coca-Cola. Enjoy.

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How has Coca-Cola made a difference in the world? ›

Through skillful advertising efforts, Coca-Cola is widely recognized as a symbol of American culture through its influence on politics, pop culture, and music around the globe. Key statistics and facts about The Coca-Cola Company: Owns 43.7% of the US carbonated soft drinks market.

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