The Sad True Story Behind John Pemberton and the Invention of Coca-Cola

The Bottle Mistake

When it came to the business side of things, Chandler was doing an incredible job increasing the success of the company, with clever business decisions and advertising techniques. But he made just one little mistake. At the turn of the century, Coca-Cola was sold in pharmacies as a fountain drink. Chandler was asked by bottlers if he would allow them to distribute the drink in glass containers.

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Photo by Northcliffe Collection / ANL / Shutterstock

For a one-dollar fee, Chandler agreed and let them package the drink. This decision turned out to be profitable for bottling companies across the country as well as rival companies. As more brands started to bottle their product, so many knock offs started showed up. Consumers had trouble telling them from the real brand.

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