The 1700's & Beyond

  • The industry started with the invention of carbonation
  • In 1767, Englishman Joseph Priestley first discovered a method of infusing water with carbon dioxide to make carbonated water when he suspended a bowl of distilled water above a beer vat at a local brewery in Leeds, England - It caused a pleasant taste in the drink.
  • Another inventor named John Mervin Nooth, improved Priestley's design and sold his apparatus for commercial use in pharmacies which started the mass production aspect of the industry.

Modernization of the Industry

  • In the 1770’s Thomas Henry (Manchester) was the first to sell artificial mineral water to the general public for medicinal purposes.  His recipe for 'Bewley's Mephitic Julep' consisted of 3 drachms of fossil alkali to a quart of water, and the manufacture had to 'throw in streams of fixed air until all the alkaline taste is destroyed'.
  • Johann Jacob Schweppe developed a very similar process to manufacture carbonated mineral water at the same time. He founded the Schweppes Company in Geneva in 1783 to sell carbonated water, and then relocated the business to London in 1792.

Modern Beverage History

  • 1885 – Charles Alderton invented “Dr. Pepper” in Waco Texas
  • 1886 – Pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton created “Coca-Cola” in Atlanta.  Pemberton who modeled his beverage after a then-popular French refreshment, coca wine, made by mixing coca-leaf extract with Bordeaux wine. To avoid liquor regulations, Pemberton chose to mix his coca-leaf extract with sugar syrup instead of wine.
  • 1898 – Caleb Bradham invented “Pepsi-Cola”.  Pepsi Cola was originally called "Brad's Drink" and marketed in Bern, North Carolina in the early 1890's. By 1898, the name Pepsi was officially adopted. The name "Pepsi Cola" is derived from the pepsin and cola nuts in the recipe.
  • 1899 – The first patent was issued for a glass blowing machine to produce glass bottles.
  • 1899 – Chattanooga businessmen Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph Whitehead met with Asa Candler and pitched the idea of bottling coke and they bought the bottling rights for $1. With support from John Lupton they created the first Coke Bottling company at 17 Market Street in Chattanooga.  Now the territory is Coke United, and is currently ran by CEO John Sherman.  The bottling plant in Chattanooga now makes 36 million cases of drinks per year.
  • 1902 – The birth of Coke Consolidated started with J.B. Harrison who began selling Coca-Cola in bottles in Greenville North Carolina, launching the first Coca-Cola bottler in N.C.  J. Frank Harrison III, the great grandson of J.B. Harris became CEO in 1997 – he is a 4th generation bottler that believes in the deep traditions in the beverage industry.  The company is one of the largest Coke bottlers in the nation covering 14 states and the DC area.
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Coke Consolidated is one of the largest bottlers in the nation and now even hosts the Coca – Cola 600 race in Charlotte
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1909: First Coca-Cola delivery truck in Knoxville, TN
  • 1904 - Richard Morehouse Barry started the Middlesboro Coca-Cola Bottling Coca-Cola in the back of a candy store, where he used a foot- pedal bottling machine. Middlesboro Coca-Cola also had a production and distribution center in Harlan, Kentucky. Passed down by generations currently, Neil Barry Sr. is the owner and CEO of the company.
  • 1905 - Avon Kenneth Weaver bought an interest in Corinth (MS) Bottling Works, a small soda water plant owned by Mr. C. C. Clark.  At that time, Coca-Cola was being produced in Jackson, Tennessee and shipped to Corinth by rail car. Mr. Weaver and Mr. Clark were set on obtaining a Coca-Cola franchise for Northeast Mississippi and while awaiting developments in Corinth, were granted a license for Coca-Cola in New Albany, Mississippi. Mr. Clark moved there to begin that operation in 1906. On April 30, 1907, Weaver & Clark were awarded a Coca-Cola franchise by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company (Thomas), Inc. of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Coca-Cola Bottling Group of Corinth was formed. Now the company is owned and operated by the Williams family with Martin Williams leading the Jackson TN facility and the CFO of the company.  Corinth Coke covers many of the West TN territory which was acquired in 2015.
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Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling Works
  • 1906 – Coca-Cola Bottling Works of Tullahoma was started by entrepreneur Frank Tate who first acquired the local Tullahoma Coca-Cola franchise bottling rights.  The franchise was then purchased by Charles V. Holland and his brother J.W.  In 1941 the company built the Wilson Avenue Bottling Plant to serve Camp Forrest under the leadership of Jordan G. Ennis.  Great Lakes Coca-Cola acquired the territory in 2019 from Jordan Ennis and family and is now the current owner/operator.
  • 1908 – Union City Coca Cola Bottling works was created by Hugh Smith in 1908.  In 1946, Newell Graham’s grandparents purchased the business, and his father Hardy Moore ran the company for decades.  Currently, Newell and his son Richard Graham own and operate the Coca-Cola Bottling Company.
  • 1913 – The first motorized delivery vehicles began making deliveries.
  • 1919 – The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages Association was formed.
  • 1920 – More than 5,000 bottling plants in the United States
  • 1926 - 24-year-old Harry Crisp Sr. first opened Marion Hatchery and Produce Co. operating in Williamson and Franklin counties.  At the beginning of the 1930’s Harry developed a line of flavored soft drink products including Red Rooster and Crisp Flavors.  By 1936 Marion Pepsi-Cola was born by acquiring a local Pepsi franchise started with 5 employees.  Today, the company is one of the larger independent Pepsi bottlers in the U.S.  Mr. Harry Crisp II is the President & CEO of the modern-day company, that covers several Tennessee counties, now known as Pepsi MidAmerica.
  • 1929 – The Howdy Company debuted what is now 7up which is now a Keurig Dr. Pepper brand.
  • 1931 - A.D. Burks opened the Dyersburg Dr. Pepper plant in 1931 and the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company of Dyersburg was founded in 1935 by the late A.D. Burks, grandfather of current company president W. Eddie Burks.  A.D. Burks was joined in the business by the late Waymon Burks, father of W. Eddie Burks and the late Lynn Burks.  Eddie Burks and his daughter Mary Burks now run the company.
  • 1949 – The SunDrop brand was developed in St. Louis, Mo. by Charles Lazier, a salesman of beverage concentrates. During the early years, SunDrop was known by several different and sometimes interchangeable names such as Golden Cola, Golden Girl Cola, SunDrop Golden Cola, SunDrop Cola, and Golden SunDrop Cola.  Today, SunDrop continues under the ownership of Keurig Dr. Pepper, an American beverage conglomerate headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.
  • SunDrop Bottling Co., Inc. distributes its products in ten counties in middle Tennessee consisting of Williamson, Giles, Lincoln, Maury, Marshall, Hickman, Perry, Lewis, Lawrence, and Wayne counties. David Johnson II and son David Johnson III own and operate the company.
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Old SunDrop plant on South 1st Street in Pulaski, TN.
  • 1957 – First Aluminum Can was introduced to the market.
  • 1952 – First Diet Drink Invented (RC – Diet Rite, Tab, Fresca, and Diet Pepsi) / Diet Coke - 1982
  • 1962 – First pull ring tab was invented by Alcoa.
  • 1965 – Donald Kendall, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola, and Herman Lay, the CEO of Frito-Lay sketch out on a napkin a plan to combine the companies to what is now modern-day PepsiCo.
  • 1970 – First plastic Bottle was introduced to the market.