17. The Soft Drink Colossus
By the early twentieth century, The Coca-Cola Company was America’s – and the world’s – biggest soda manufacturer and seller. While Coca-Cola zoomed to the stratosphere, another soft drink concocted in the same era, Pepsi, languished. Pepsi was first concocted in 1893 by Caleb Bradham, who initially named it “Brad’s Drink”, and sold it at his drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina. Advertised to relieve dyspepsia, it was accordingly renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898. For decades, Pepsi was a niche drink with a tiny market, and was nowhere near Coca-Cola’s league. In short, it posed no challenge to the soft drink giant’s dominance. That began to change in the 1920s. Charles Guth, president of candy manufacturer Loft Inc., asked Coca-Cola for a discount on its syrup, which was used in some of his retail stores’ soda fountains. Coca-Cola refused to give him what he wanted, so he cast around for alternatives.
