ederick p.45) Cocaine, a by-product of the coca leaf, was still suspected to be present in Coca-Cola. The bad effects of this narcotic were only just being discovered at the end of the nineteenth century. With such suspicions over the safety of the beverage, Coca-Cola was forced to refine its ingredients until there was absolutely no cocaine present within the beverage before trade conditions were lifted on the product. (Candler p.122) By the time Coca-Cola had managed to alleviate these situations, other companies had begun their expansion into foreign markets in search of new consumers in order to help maximize their profits. In an attempt to gain their lost ground, Coca-Cola revolutionized the soft drink industry.Due to the nature of the product itself, the Coca-Cola company did not know how to get the syrup to various points abroad; further, soda fountains didnt exist in Europe at the time. The idea of bottling Coca-Cola revolutionized the soft drink industry and enabled further expansion in American markets and also allowed the company to begin looking overseas for profits. They believed that bottling would allow consumers to buy mass amounts for their home and would also make expansion into foreign markets easier because they could ship the ingredients for the product all over the world to bottling plants. In 1894 the idea of bottling Coca-Cola was agreed to by the entire company. (Frederick p. 68) The business was now in the appropriate form to take on the world. In 1923, Robert Woodruff took hold of the presidency of Coca-Cola, and led the company into a new era: one that saw expansion of their production into foreign markets as their main goal. (Candler p.173)In 1926, spurred by a curiosity about Cokes potential to please the foreign palate, Robert Woodruff outlined a plan to test the drink in Europe. (Candler p. 14) Once it was clear that the drink would be sold overseas, there were those who recommended modifying its ...
