When it was first introduced, only nine servings per day were sold in Atlanta. Today, there are an estimated 1.9 billion daily servings globally of Coca Cola.
It is an incredible business story that demonstrates how to build a global organisation.
The company created a unique distribution system which meant that Coca Cola could be manufactured simply and quickly anywhere in the world.
It designed iconic bottles that added to the uniqueness of the product and the company's emphasis on marketing means that the Coca-Cola brand is worth around $80bn, the sixth most valuable in the world. In fact, it is a truly globalised business that today sells over 500 beverage brands are sold in more than 200 countries.
But the whole success of this empire is built on the original Coca Cola drink that is based on a secret formula that has remained hidden for nearly 130 years. And this intellectual property was the foundation for the early success of the company which led to its global domination in the soft drinks industry today.
So, given this, there would be no way that Coca Cola would change this winning formula?
Unfortunately, that's exactly what they did back in 1986 on the hundredth anniversary of the company's beginnings. In a radical move, executives decided to bring in a 'New Coke' to replace the original recipe. It would be a sweeter drink than the original classic formula and would come with new packaging and a new logo.
So what happened? According to Time Magazine, this became "one of the worst marketing blunders in history." Coca Cola had become an iconic brand not only in the USA but all over the world and campaigns were started to bring back their favourite drink. The press turned against the company, over 40,000 letters were received in complaints and even the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who was partial to the odd glass of Coca Cola, was allegedly outraged.
Within 79 days, the original Coca-Cola was reintroduced, this time with "Classic" on the label and, after a few years, the new brand was quietly discontinued. Despite taste tests showing that most drinkers preferred the new flavour, the company had underestimated their customers' loyalty to a brand many had grown up with.
But ironically, this experiment eventually worked out brilliantly for Coca Cola. It made the company realise that it had loyal customers globally that were prepared to stick with a product that was a century old because it represented something special to them.
As a result, most of the marketing from Coca Cola since has not emphasised the drink itself but its links with experiences, happiness and wellbeing. Another key decision was to admit they had made a mistake and, despite the results of comprehensive focus group testing which preferred the new drink, reintroduce the old Coca Cola as soon as possible.
Not surprisingly, given the uplift in the sales of Coca Cola as a result of the furore, some conspiracy theorists alleged that Coke had done this deliberately as a marketing trick to increase sales when they eventually reintroduced the old brand. But as the President of Coca Cola said at the time "We’re not that dumb, and we’re not that smart”. Certainly, in getting rid of their old formula, Coca Cola set out to change the soft drinks industry in the USA one hundred years after the start of the business and whilst they certainly did that, it was in completely unexpected way.
But perhaps the most important lesson from Coca Cola's experience is to never underestimate your customers and how much they value your business. It is certainly a lesson that all companies, large and small, should certainly not forget today.