The Coca-Cola bottle is one of the most recognizable shapes on the planet, with its iconic contour fluted lines and classic design. Celebrated in the art, music and advertising worlds, the Coca-Cola bottle has transcended time to become one of the most recognized ever. Initially, the design was born to protect the brand, but no one could have guessed just how far the shape of the bottle would come to this day.
Coca‑Cola began as a mainstay at soda fountains only and was sold in every state of the country by 1900. Two lawyers named Thomas and Whitehead had an idea to expand the popularity of this tasty soda beyond the fountain and into the hands of the American public.
A Brand is Born
The Coca‑Cola Bottling Company started franchising the rights to bottle its soda in cities across the United States, according to The Coca-Cola Company. By 1920, more than 1,200 Coca‑Cola bottling operations had been established, with sales in both bottle and fountain form increasing in popularity all over the country. As you can imagine, this created a lot of competition by other companies who wanted to fool the public into thinking they were buying authentic Coca-Cola products. Their attempts at imitating the famous trademark would be thwarted.
The bottles used back then were straight, simple bottles that were clear or brown in color. The Coca‑Cola Company made bottlers emboss the now-famous Coca‑Cola logo on every bottle, but it wasn’t long before competitors like Koka-Nola, Ma Coca-Co, Koke, and Toka-Cola tried to imitate the logo. This led to confusion among consumers, and The Coca‑Cola Company went through years of litigation against these infringements.
They also took steps to make their bottles stand out from the rest. In 1906, they introduced a diamond-shaped label paired with a colorful trademark. However, this was ultimately a failure because Coca‑Cola was sold out of barrels of ice-cold water, which led to the labels peeling off. Coca-Cola execs put out a plea to glass bottlers to come up with a distinctive design that would transcend time.
A Distinctive Solution
The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, started to work on a design, getting inspiration from a drawing of a cocoa bean with an elongated shape and ribs. They made some sample bottles and registered for a patent in 1915.
In 1916, their design was chosen from all the other submissions. The color was to be “German Green” (later called “Georgia Green”) to honor The Coca‑Cola Company’s home state. Each glass bottle weighed more than a pound when filled. Although it underwent a few changes after that, the Coca‑Cola bottle was granted trademark status in 1961. The rest, as they say, is history.
The cultural impact of the shapely Coke bottle has transcended decades and remains universally recognized.
Get Your Coca-Cola Products at Beverage Universe
We have all the Coca-Cola products you want here at Beverage Universe, from Coke Classic to Coke de Mexico in the glass bottle. Browse our site to see what else we have to offer or give us a call if you have questions.
