As Pepsi was struggling to market its Yoo-hoo competitor, Devil Shake, Coca-Cola was looking to shake things up with Saci. Launched in Brazil around 1968, Saci was an attempt to market a chocolate-flavored nutrition drink. The company hoped to convince locals to adopt its offering while also addressing protein malnutrition in developing regions. Coca-Cola Failed … Read more
The question posed in the title of this article is easy to answer if you’ve already read about the Pepsi taste tests of the 1980s. You see, as part of its “Project Kansas” the Coca-Cola company did its own taste tests, comparing its sweeter New Coke formula to the classic Coca-Cola formula. They found, much … Read more
Drinking expired soda is generally safe because carbonated soft drinks are not perishable and do not “expire” in terms of food safety. While the dates on Coca-Cola or Pepsi cans are “best-by” markers for peak quality, an unopened soda remains safe to drink indefinitely if the seal is intact. However, over time, the beverage will … Read more
t’s easy to look back at the original Coca-Cola formula and see it as a historical anomaly—a one-time lapse in judgment by a caffeine-crazed pharmacist. In reality, Coca-Cola wasn’t the outlier; it was just the most successful survivor of an era where the line between a refreshment and a pharmaceutical was almost non-existent. While Coke … Read more
By 1891, when Asa G. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola, the drink was already a runaway success. But that success invited a massive wave of Coca-Cola rip-offs looking to cash in on the “coca” craze. From blatant name-swaps like Koke and Coke-Ola to literal “clones” like Afri-Kola, the soda market was flooded with imitators. … Read more
Did Coca-Cola really contain cocaine? The short answer is yes. Far from being an urban legend or an accidental contamination, cocaine was a foundational ingredient in John Pemberton’s original 1886 formula. At a time when coca-leaf extracts were touted as a medicinal marvel, the drink wasn’t just a soda, it was a sophisticated delivery system … Read more