The Coca-Cola Company
A global beverage company whose portfolio includes Coca-Cola and hundreds of other drink brands.
Last updated October 22, 2026
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Overview
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It owns, licenses, markets, and distributes a large portfolio of non-alcoholic and, in selected markets, alcoholic beverages. Its best-known trademark is Coca-Cola, the cola drink developed in Atlanta in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton. The corporate company was organized by businessman Asa Griggs Candler in 1892 after he acquired the formula and brand rights. The company’s portfolio has expanded far beyond its original cola. Major categories include carbonated soft drinks, water, sports drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea, juice, juice drinks, dairy and plant-based beverages, and functional drinks. Important brands associated with the company include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Dasani, Powerade, smartwater, Simply, Georgia Coffee, Costa Coffee, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Monster Beverage through a strategic equity investment, and regional brands such as Thums Up, Inca Kola, Moxie, and Chi products. Brand ownership, licensing, bottling rights, and distribution arrangements vary by market. Coca-Cola generally operates an asset-light concentrate and brand-management model. The company produces or sources concentrates, beverage bases, syrups, and other inputs, then sells them to independent or partly owned bottlers. Those bottlers combine the concentrates with water and sweeteners, package the beverages, and sell and distribute them to retailers, restaurants, vending operators, and food-service customers. The company has periodically owned or invested in bottling operations through its Bottling Investments Group, while also encouraging consolidation and refranchising to reduce exposure to the capital-intensive bottling business. The company’s growth has depended on global marketing, extensive distribution, packaging innovation, acquisitions, and adaptation to local tastes. Coca-Cola advertising helped establish the contour bottle, the red-and-white visual identity, and the association of the brand with refreshment, optimism, sport, music, and major cultural events. International expansion made the trademark one of the most recognizable consumer brands in the world, while local acquisitions allowed the company to compete in markets where domestic soft-drink brands were already strong. Its history also includes strategic diversions outside beverages. In the 1980s, Coca-Cola acquired Columbia Pictures and other entertainment assets before selling the studio to Sony in 1989. In later decades, the company concentrated more heavily on beverages, adding juice, coffee, coconut water, tea, sports nutrition, energy drinks, and premium sparkling water through acquisitions and minority investments. The company faces continuing pressure from changing consumer preferences, public-health debates over added sugar, packaging waste, water use, competition from PepsiCo and numerous regional beverage producers, and the need to manage a complex bottling network. In response, it has expanded no- and low-sugar products, smaller packages, recycling and packaging initiatives, digital marketing, and a broader portfolio of non-carbonated beverages. It remains a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under KO and is included in major U.S. stock-market indexes.
History
The origins of The Coca-Cola Company lie in a beverage created in Atlanta in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton. Pemberton developed the drink as a flavored patent beverage and initially sold it through drugstores and soda fountains. His bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, is credited with naming the product and designing its early script logo. The name referred to the drink’s original coca-leaf and kola-nut ingredients. Early promotion presented Coca-Cola as refreshing and, in the language of the period, as a tonic. Pemberton’s business interests were divided, and the formula and brand were eventually acquired by Asa Griggs Candler. Candler organized The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1892 and built demand through aggressive merchandising, coupons, branded serving equipment, and advertising. By the mid-1890s, Coca-Cola was available throughout the United States. The company’s franchised bottling system, which began in the late nineteenth century, allowed local bottlers to manufacture and distribute finished beverages while Coca-Cola focused on the concentrate, trademark, and marketing system. In 1919, the company was sold to a group led by Ernest Woodruff and was reincorporated under Delaware law. During the twentieth century, Coca-Cola developed a distinctive global brand identity through standardized trademarks and packaging combined with local bottling and sales organizations. Its contour bottle, introduced in the early twentieth century, helped distinguish Coca-Cola from competitors. Advertising associated the brand with refreshment, sociability, travel, music, sport, and later major international events. The company became one of the most visible symbols of U.S. consumer culture. Coca-Cola’s competitive position changed as rival colas, especially Pepsi-Cola, expanded and as consumers gained access to a wider range of drinks. The company responded with new products, including Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, juice drinks, water, sports drinks, and coffee. It also entered and exited businesses outside beverages. The 1960 acquisition of Minute Maid strengthened its juice operations. In 1982, the company bought Columbia Pictures and subsequently built an entertainment division through additional acquisitions. The entertainment strategy was ultimately reversed when Columbia was sold to Sony in 1989. From the 1990s onward, acquisitions and partnerships broadened the portfolio geographically and by category. Coca-Cola bought or invested in brands such as Thums Up, Barq’s, Inca Kola, Odwalla, Fuze, Honest Tea, ZICO, Monster Beverage, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, and Costa Coffee. These transactions reflected a shift from dependence on carbonated cola toward a wider beverage architecture. Some brands were later discontinued or closed, including Odwalla and Mojo Kombucha, as the company reviewed the productivity of its portfolio. The bottling system also evolved. Coca-Cola encouraged consolidation among bottlers and established the Bottling Investments Group in 2006 to manage selected company-owned or acquired bottling operations. It later pursued refranchising, transferring many bottling territories to independent or partly affiliated bottlers while retaining control over trademarks, concentrate sales, standards, and commercial strategy. Large bottling partners now manufacture and distribute Coca-Cola products across broad regional territories. In the twenty-first century, the company has emphasized a total-beverage strategy. It has expanded zero-sugar and reduced-sugar products, premium waters, sports and energy beverages, coffee, tea, and functional drinks. At the same time, it has faced criticism and regulatory scrutiny relating to added sugar, public health, plastic packaging, water stewardship, labor practices in parts of its supply chain, and the environmental consequences of single-use containers. The company has responded with packaging, recycling, reformulation, and sustainability programs, although the effectiveness and pace of those efforts remain subjects of public debate. The Coca-Cola Company is now a publicly traded global beverage enterprise. Its economic model combines intellectual property, brand investment, concentrate and beverage-base production, strategic equity holdings, and a worldwide network of bottlers, retailers, restaurants, vending operators, and food-service partners.
- 2020
Portfolio rationalization is announced
[7]Coca-Cola announces plans to eliminate or reduce a large number of brands during a portfolio review accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2019
Costa Coffee acquisition closes
[7]The company completes its acquisition of Costa Coffee, expanding into coffee shops and packaged coffee.
- 2018
Costa Coffee acquisition is announced
[7]Coca-Cola agrees to purchase Costa Coffee from Whitbread for £3.9 billion.
- 2014
Monster Beverage partnership is established
[7]Coca-Cola acquires a minority stake in Monster Beverage and forms a strategic marketing and distribution relationship.
- 2009
Huiyuan Juice transaction is blocked
[1]Chinese regulators reject Coca-Cola’s proposed acquisition of Huiyuan Juice on competition grounds.
- 2006
Bottling Investments Group is formed
[1]The company establishes a platform to manage selected bottling operations and support later consolidation and refranchising.
- 1989
Columbia Pictures is sold to Sony
[1]Coca-Cola exits the film-studio investment by selling Columbia Pictures to Sony.
- 1982
Coca-Cola acquires Columbia Pictures
[1]The beverage company enters the film and entertainment business through the purchase of Columbia Pictures.
- 1980
One Coca-Cola Plaza headquarters is completed
[1]The company’s 29-story Atlanta headquarters building is completed.
- 1960
Minute Maid is acquired
[1]The acquisition expands Coca-Cola’s presence in juice and fruit beverages.
Products and positioning
A global total-beverage company built around mass-market refreshment, iconic brands, extensive bottling partnerships, and localized distribution. Its positioning combines heritage and cultural familiarity with portfolio expansion into lower-sugar, premium, functional, coffee, water, sports, and energy categories.
Carbonated soft drink · 1886
Coca-Cola
The company’s signature cola and principal global trademark. It is sold in multiple package sizes and formulations, including regular, caffeine-free, and market-specific variants. Coca-Cola’s distribution, advertising, and licensing system forms the commercial center of the wider company portfolio.
No-sugar carbonated soft drink · 1982
Diet Coke
A zero-calorie cola introduced to serve consumers seeking a reduced-calorie alternative to Coca-Cola. Diet Coke became a major standalone brand with its own visual identity, packaging, advertising, and flavor extensions.
No-sugar carbonated soft drink · 2005
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
A no-sugar cola designed to provide a taste profile closer to the original Coca-Cola than earlier diet formulations. It is a central part of the company’s strategy for responding to consumer demand for lower-sugar beverages.
Carbonated soft drink · 1961
Sprite
A lemon-lime flavored carbonated soft drink marketed as a caffeine-free alternative within the company’s sparkling-beverage portfolio. The brand has strong international distribution and has been associated with youth culture, music, sports, and street-oriented marketing.
Flavored carbonated soft drink · 1940
Fanta
A broad family of fruit-flavored sparkling beverages. Fanta is highly localized, with flavors, sweetener systems, packaging, and marketing adapted to regional preferences. Orange is its most widely recognized expression.
Juice and juice drinks
Minute Maid
A juice-focused brand acquired by Coca-Cola in 1960. Its range includes orange juice, fruit drinks, and other juice products, giving the company a major platform outside carbonated beverages.
Bottled water · 1999
Dasani
A packaged-water brand sold primarily in North America and selected other markets. Dasani represents Coca-Cola’s participation in bottled water, a category shaped by convenience, portability, purification claims, and growing scrutiny of plastic packaging.
Sports drink · 1988
Powerade
A sports and hydration beverage positioned for physical activity and electrolyte replenishment. It competes mainly with PepsiCo’s Gatorade and is distributed through retail, food service, gyms, and sports-related channels.
Coffee
Costa Coffee
A coffeehouse and packaged-coffee business acquired from Whitbread in 2019. Costa extends Coca-Cola into cafés, coffee beans, vending, ready-to-drink products, and at-home formats, complementing the company’s existing beverage distribution system.
Sparkling water
Topo Chico
A Mexican mineral-water brand acquired by Coca-Cola in 2017. Its established heritage and distinctive glass-bottle presence support the company’s premium sparkling-water strategy.
Sports drink
BODYARMOR
A sports-hydration brand in which Coca-Cola first took a minority interest before later increasing its ownership. It broadens the company’s sports-nutrition position and provides an additional competitor to established electrolyte-drink brands.
Energy drink
Monster Beverage
Monster is not simply a wholly owned Coca-Cola brand; Coca-Cola has held a substantial minority investment and maintains a strategic commercial relationship involving distribution, marketing, and product arrangements. The partnership gives Coca-Cola exposure to the global energy-drink category.
Controversies
2021
Coca-Cola recalls certain Minute Maid products over possible foreign objects
The Coca-Cola Company recalled certain Minute Maid products because they might contain foreign objects, including metal bolts or washers.
2021
Greenpeace USA criticizes Coca-Cola's river-cleanup partnership as greenwashing
In response to Coca-Cola's partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director John Hocevar criticized Coca-Cola, saying the cleanup effort would not stop the company from continuing to use single-use plastic and calling the partnership greenwashing.
2020
Plastic packaging and waste criticism
Coca-Cola continued to face international criticism over single-use plastic bottles and its contribution to packaging waste. The issue has prompted corporate commitments concerning recycled content, collection, reuse, and packaging redesign.
2020
Alberta school sues Coca-Cola and others over vending-machine fire
St. Paul School in Alberta filed a lawsuit against The Coca-Cola Company, five subsidiaries, two vending operating companies and Vendo Company, seeking more than $750,000 in damages over a fire the school says started in a vending machine. According to the school, the machine had a faulty refrigeration compressor. The suit names the beverage company, its subsidiaries, the vending operators and the equipment company as defendants in connection with the incident.
2015
Public-health criticism and funding controversy
The company faced criticism over its relationships with researchers and organizations discussing obesity and sugary-drink consumption. Critics argued that industry-funded research and communication could shift attention away from the role of sugary beverages in public health.
2009
Huiyuan Juice acquisition blocked on competition grounds
Chinese authorities rejected Coca-Cola’s proposed acquisition of Huiyuan Juice, stating that the transaction could harm competition. The episode generated debate about market concentration, regulatory policy, and the role of national economic interests.
1999
Belgian product contamination and recall crisis
Coca-Cola products were recalled in Belgium and several nearby markets after reports of illness associated with contaminated beverages and packaging problems. The incident became one of the company’s most serious product-safety crises in Europe.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Taste the Feeling
International
A global Coca-Cola campaign focused on everyday emotional moments and unified several Coca-Cola product variants under a common creative platform.
Outcome. The campaign supported a more integrated master-brand approach across regular and no-sugar Coca-Cola products.
- 2011Share a Coke
Australia · International
The company replaced or supplemented the Coca-Cola logo on packages with personal names and encouraged consumers to find and share bottles with friends and family.
Outcome. The personalization format generated substantial social and retail engagement and was adapted for many markets.
- 1993Always Coca-Cola
International
This long-running platform used a consistent brand promise and memorable animated and seasonal executions to reinforce Coca-Cola’s heritage and everyday refreshment positioning.
Outcome. It became a major global advertising platform and supported continuity across local market campaigns.
- 1971I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke
International
A widely recognized advertising campaign presented Coca-Cola as a symbol of harmony and shared human connection. Its choral presentation helped establish the brand’s association with optimism and global togetherness.
Outcome. The campaign became one of the company’s most enduring examples of emotional, globally oriented brand advertising.
Brand decisions
2020
Reduce the number of brandsStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted away-from-home consumption and increased the need to focus management and distribution resources on scalable brands.
Action taken
Coca-Cola announced a portfolio review intended to eliminate or reduce more than half of its brands.
Aftermath
The company placed greater emphasis on leading brands, scalable innovations, and categories with stronger growth or distribution potential.
2018
Agree to acquire Costa CoffeeM&ABackground
Coca-Cola aimed to expand into coffee shops, packaged coffee, and ready-to-drink coffee as beverage consumption diversified.
Action taken
The company agreed to buy Costa Coffee from Whitbread and completed the transaction in January 2019.
Aftermath
Costa became a major platform for Coca-Cola’s global coffee strategy across cafés, vending, retail, and at-home channels.
Acquisition price. £3.9 billion (2018)
2015
Refranchise the U.S. bottling networkStrategyBackground
Bottling is capital-intensive and generally lower margin than concentrate, brand, and marketing operations.
Action taken
Coca-Cola announced the transfer of selected U.S. plants and territories to large independent bottlers and the creation of a national product-supply structure.
Aftermath
The decision accelerated the company’s move away from direct ownership of much of the U.S. bottling system while preserving relationships with strategic bottling partners.
2014
Strategic investment in Monster BeverageM&ABackground
Energy drinks were a fast-growing part of the global beverage market, while Coca-Cola sought broader participation without fully acquiring the Monster business.
Action taken
Coca-Cola acquired a substantial minority stake and established a long-term partnership covering distribution, marketing, and product lines.
Aftermath
The relationship gave Coca-Cola greater exposure to energy drinks and created commercial links between the two companies.
Initial investment. $2.15 billion (2014)
2009
Attempt to acquire Huiyuan JuiceM&ABackground
Coca-Cola sought to strengthen its position in China’s juice market through the purchase of a leading domestic juice company.
Action taken
The company offered to acquire Huiyuan Juice, but Chinese regulators rejected the transaction.
Aftermath
Coca-Cola abandoned the acquisition and continued competing in China through its existing portfolio and distribution network.
Proposed acquisition value. $2.4 billion (2009)
2006
Create the Bottling Investments GroupStrategyBackground
The company needed a structured way to manage selected bottling assets while continuing to consolidate and later refranchise the distribution network.
Action taken
Coca-Cola formed the Bottling Investments Group to oversee selected company-owned or acquired bottling operations.
Aftermath
The group supported temporary ownership of bottling assets and the subsequent transfer of many territories to independent or affiliated bottlers.
1982
Acquire Columbia PicturesM&ABackground
Coca-Cola sought diversification and new entertainment assets during a period when large consumer companies were exploring media businesses.
Action taken
The company purchased Columbia Pictures and subsequently assembled additional entertainment operations.
Aftermath
The entertainment strategy was later unwound when Columbia was sold to Sony in 1989.
Acquisition price. $692 million (1982)
Recent events
The Coca-Cola Company and KFC announce U.S. beverage partnership[12]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company and KFC announced a beverage partnership in the United States.
- Unconfirmed
The Coca-Cola Company unveils new flavors and functional drinks[13]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company announced the unveiling of new flavors, functional drinks and more, per coca-colacompany.com.
- Unconfirmed
The Coca-Cola Company names Rob Gehring President of North America operating unit[14]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company named Rob Gehring President of its North America operating unit.
- Unconfirmed
The Coca-Cola Company names Rob Gehring President of North America Operating Unit[15]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company announced the appointment of Rob Gehring as President of its North America Operating Unit, per an announcement on the company's investor news site.
Coca-Cola begins 2026 restructuring with 75 corporate layoffs[16]
Reported:
Coca-Cola is planning layoffs in 2026 as part of a restructuring initiative, beginning with 75 workers at its corporate headquarters, with the initial layoffs taking effect around Feb. 28 and further cuts expected in phases.
Coca-Cola plans layoffs at Atlanta headquarters[17]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Co. is planning layoffs at its Atlanta corporate headquarters as part of an ongoing companywide restructuring, with approximately 2.5% of its Atlanta-based workforce, about 75 employees out of roughly 3,100, expected to lose their jobs. The layoffs will roll out in phases during the first two months of 2026 and are expected to take effect around Feb. 28.
Coca-Cola recalls certain Minute Maid products over possible foreign objects[10]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company recalled certain Minute Maid products because they might contain foreign objects, including metal bolts or washers.
A&W Canada announces exchangeable-cup pilot in Greater Vancouver[18]
Reported:
A&W Canada announced plans to launch A&W Cup Crew, an exchangeable-cup pilot at restaurants in the Greater Vancouver Area, in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company. Customers could purchase a cup for $3 and receive a $0.20 discount each time they returned it.
The Coca-Cola Company appoints Ruchira Bhattacharya as marketing director[19]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company appointed Ruchira Bhattacharya as marketing director for emerging categories; she said she was starting her chapter with the company that day.
Coca-Cola becomes Global Implementation Partner for The Ocean Cleanup's river project[11]
Reported:
The Coca-Cola Company and The Ocean Cleanup announced a partnership under which Coca-Cola will become a Global Implementation Partner for The Ocean Cleanup's river project. The initiative is intended to support cleanup-system deployment across 15 rivers over the following 18 months.
Showing the 10 most recent.
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