COCA-COLA * 125 YEARS *

1886 – What’s in a name?
When John S. Pemberton created the formula for his new drink in 1886, his partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name Coca-Cola, thinking that ‘the two Cs would look well in advertising’. He wanted to create a unique logo to go with it, and experimented writing the company’s name in elaborate Spencerian script, a form of penmanship characteristic of the time.

Dr John S Pemberton invented Coca-Cola on 8 May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. He tried it out on customers at his local chemist, Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it proved so popular it immediately went on sale at five cents a glass. It was Dr Pemberton's friend and business partner, Frank M Robinson, who came up with the name Coca-Cola and wrote it out by hand in the Spencerian script that we still use as our logo. Learn more about the history of our company.

The Root Glass Company of Indiana created the famous Coca-Cola contoured bottle in 1915. It was designed to help Coca-Cola stand out from other drinks at the time, and the design brief was to ensure that the bottle was recognisable even in the dark, or if it was broken. Some people think the shape was inspired by a woman's body.

Whatever the inspiration for its shape, the Coca-Cola bottle later received a rare distinction for packaging when, in 1977, it was granted registration as a trademark by the United States Patent Office. It's a classic piece of packaging design that has stood the test of time. Learn more about the history of our company.

The white swirl - known as the Dynamic Ribbon - was part of a graphic re-design that we brought in at the end of 1969. The design for Coca-Cola in the 1970s was based on a bold, dramatic curve, reflecting the unique contour of the bottle. Learn more about the history of our company.

The contour bottle design was inspired by the curves and grooves of a cocoa bean.

Today, it's one of the most recognised icons in the world - even in the dark.

Blues players have been known to use necks from Coca-Cola's contour bottles to play slide guitar, coining the term 'bottleneck slide'.

There are 1.6 billion servings of Coca-Cola sold every day