History of Pepsi Cola |
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| Caleb Davis Bradham was born in Chinquapin, North Carolina on May 27, 1867. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the University of Maryland School of Medicine, circa 1890. He dropped out of medical school because his father’s business was going bankrupt. After returning to North Carolina, Bradham taught public school for about a year, and later opened a drug store on the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets in downtown New Bern. He named the store “Bradham Drug Company” and, like many other drug stores of the time, housed a soda fountain. In 1893, Bradham invented “Brad’s Drink,” a blend of carbonated water, sugar, pepsin, kola nut extract, vanilla and “rare oils” at this location. On August 28, 1898, Caleb renamed his drink “Pepsi-Cola,” after a combination of two ingredients, “pepsin” and “cola”. He believed his drink was “healthy” as it aided in digestion much like the pepsin enzyme does. In 1898, Caleb Bradham wisely bought the trade name “Pep Cola” for $100 from a competitor in Newark, New Jersey that had gone broke. His assistant James Henry King, a young African American was the first to taste the new drink.In 1902, Bradham launched the Pepsi-Cola Company in the back room of his pharmacy and on December 24, 1902 the Pepsi-Cola Company was incorporated in the state of North Carolina. The business began to grow, and on June 16, 1903, “Pepsi-Cola” was officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office. At first, he mixed the syrup himself and sold it exclusively through soda fountains. That first year, Bradham sold 7,968 gallons of syrup, using the theme line “Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion.” He also expanded his operation by opening a second Drug Store at the corner of Middle and Broad Streets. Caleb soon recognized that a greater opportunity existed to bottle Pepsi so that people could drink it anywhere. In 1905, Bradham began selling Pepsi-Cola in six-ounce bottles and awarded two franchises to Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina. The following year, 15 franchises were awarded, with another 40 by 1907. In 1910 there were 250 franchises in 24 states and in January of that year the Pepsi Cola Company held their first Bottler Convention in New Bern. Caleb Bradham enjoyed 17 years of success with Pepsi-Cola. However, he had gambled on the fluctuations of sugar prices during WWI. He believed that sugar prices would continue to rise, but they fell drastically, leaving him with an overpriced sugar inventory. Pepsi Cola went bankrupt in 1923 and its assets were sold to Craven Holding Corporation for $30,000.
source: www.pepsistore.com
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