Tyler Brooks
Asa Griggs Candler, born in 1851, was a druggist and businessman who bought the recipe for Coca-Cola from John Pemberton in 1888 for $2,300. He founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and became sole owner in 1891 or 1900. Candler was a marketing pioneer, and his advertising campaigns and merchandising strategies helped spread the drink's popularity across the United States and beyond. In 1916, Candler stepped down from day-to-day management of the company after being elected mayor of Atlanta, and in 1919, he sold most of his stock in the company to a group of investors for $25 million. So, to answer the question, Asa Griggs Candler was in charge of Coke for around 27 years, from 1892 to 1919.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Full name | Asa Griggs Candler |
| Year of birth | 1851 |
| Year of buying the rights to Coca-Cola | 1888 |
| Year of buying full ownership of Coca-Cola | 1900 or 1901 |
| Year of selling Coca-Cola | 1919 |
| Year of ending day-to-day management of Coca-Cola | 1916 |
| Year of Coca-Cola's first national distribution | 1895 |
| Year of Coca-Cola's first export | 1899 |
| Year of Coca-Cola's first export to Europe | 1901 |
| Year of Coca-Cola's first large-scale bottling | 1899 |
| Year of Coca-Cola's first bottling in the U.S. and overseas | 1906 |
| Year of Coca-Cola's advertising budget reaching $1 million | 1911 |
| Year of the iconic Coca-Cola bottle creation | 1915 |
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What You'll Learn
Asa Griggs Candler bought the Coca-Cola recipe in 1888
In 1888, Asa Griggs Candler, a druggist and pharmacist, bought the recipe for Coca-Cola from John Stith Pemberton, a businessman. The drink was derived from brewed coca leaves, caffeine, carbonated water, and sugar. It was originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine.
Candler was born on December 30, 1851, in Villa Rica, Georgia, and studied medicine. He developed a prosperous wholesale drug business and, in 1887, purchased the formula for Coca-Cola, which was then not particularly well-known. He improved the manufacturing process and built Coca-Cola into one of the most prosperous US businesses.
In 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola were on the market, sold by three separate businesses. Candler bought the rights to the recipe from Pemberton for a rumoured amount of $2,300. However, one source states that Candler paid $50 upfront and $500 after 30 days for a one-third interest in the formula. He then acquired half of the Walker/Dozier interest shares for an additional $750. By May 1, 1889, Candler claimed full ownership of the Coca-Cola beverage, with a total investment outlay of $2,300.
In 1892, Candler founded the Coca-Cola Company and distributed the first dividends to the company's shareholders. By 1895, the company was distributing Coca-Cola nationwide in the United States. Candler also developed the "$1 contract", where he sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola in the US for only one dollar. He was in charge of the company until 1919, when he sold most of the stock to his children, who then sold their shares to a consortium of investors for $25,000,000.
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He founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892
The Coca-Cola Company was founded in 1892 by Asa Griggs Candler, an American businessman and druggist. Candler bought the formula and brand from pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1888 for $2,300. The drink was derived from brewed coca leaves, caffeine from kola nuts, carbonated water, and sugar.
Candler was one of the first businessmen to use merchandising in his advertising strategy. In 1889, he published a full-page advertisement in The Atlanta Journal, proclaiming his wholesale and retail drug business as the "sole proprietors of Coca‑Cola ... Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating." By 1892, his flair for merchandising had boosted sales of Coca‑Cola syrup nearly tenfold.
In 1893, Candler trademarked the Coca-Cola brand and distributed the first dividends to the company's shareholders. By 1895, just three years after the company was founded, Coca-Cola was being distributed nationwide in the United States. The company's first headquarters building, devoted exclusively to the production of syrup and the management of the business, was erected in 1898.
In 1899, large-scale bottling was made possible when Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead of Chattanooga, Tennessee, secured from Mr. Candler the exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca‑Cola in most of the United States. The first bottling plant under the new contract was opened in Chattanooga in 1899, and the second in Atlanta the following year. By 1900, Candler had achieved full ownership of the company.
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Candler sold the company in 1919 for $25 million
Asa Griggs Candler, born on December 30, 1851, in Villa Rica, Georgia, was an American business tycoon and politician. He founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and developed it into a major company. In 1888, Candler bought the Coca-Cola recipe from chemist John Stith Pemberton for $238.98 (equivalent to $8,363 in 2024). By 1895, the company was distributing Coca-Cola nationwide in the United States, and it began exporting to Cuba in 1899.
Candler was a prominent civic leader in Atlanta and served as the city's 41st mayor from 1916 to 1919. During his time as mayor, Candler ended his day-to-day management of the Coca-Cola Company. In 1919, he gave most of the stock in the company to his children, who sold their shares to a consortium of investors led by Ernest Woodruff for $25 million. This sale represented a significant return on Candler's initial investment, with his private fortune estimated at between $40 and $50 million before the sale.
Candler's business acumen and philanthropy left a lasting impact on Atlanta and the Coca-Cola Company. He was known for his real estate ventures, including the construction of several Candler Buildings in Atlanta, Kansas City, New York City, and Baltimore. He also donated millions of dollars to various causes, including Emory University and the Candler Hospital in Savannah, Georgia.
In addition to his business and philanthropic endeavours, Candler had a large family. He and his wife, Martha Candler, had eleven children, including sons Charles Howard Candler, Asa G. Candler Jr., Walter T. Candler, and a daughter, Lucy Candler Heinz.
After selling the Coca-Cola Company, Candler continued to reside in Atlanta and remained a prominent figure in the city until his death on March 12, 1929.
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He was elected mayor of Atlanta in 1916
In 1888, Asa Griggs Candler bought the recipe for Coca-Cola from John Stith Pemberton. He founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and, by 1895, the company was distributing Coca-Cola nationwide in the United States. Candler was in charge of the company for almost 25 years, until 1916, when he was elected mayor of Atlanta.
Candler was elected as a reform mayor of Atlanta in 1916. He was tasked with sorting out the city's chaotic fiscal situation. As a result, he handed over control of most of his business enterprises, including the Coca-Cola Company, to his children. During his tenure as mayor, Candler faced several challenges. In 1917, a great fire consumed more than 1,500 homes, and Candler led the city's efforts to control the destruction and recover from the damage. That same year, the United States entered World War I, and Candler made personal loans to facilitate the construction of water and sewer services for Camp Gordon, a military training facility in Atlanta.
Candler was born in 1851 in Georgia and was one of eleven children. His father was a prosperous merchant and planter, and his mother was a homemaker. Candler was raised with a strong work ethic and religious beliefs. Before founding the Coca-Cola Company, he worked as a prescriptionist and owned a pharmacy business in Atlanta. He was also a banker and real estate developer and was known for his philanthropy. He donated $1 million to help establish Emory University in Atlanta as a Southern Methodist institution.
During his time as the head of the Coca-Cola Company, Candler made several significant decisions that contributed to the company's success. In 1893, he trademarked the Coca-Cola brand and distributed dividends to the company's shareholders. He also developed the "$1 contract," where he sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola in the US for $1. In 1903, Candler decided to remove the cocaine component from the coca leaves used in the drink and sold the extracted cocaine to pharmaceutical companies. By the time he stepped down as head of the company in 1916, Coca-Cola was a well-established brand with a presence in the United States and beyond.
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Candler's marketing prowess turned Coke into a household brand
Asa Griggs Candler was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, in 1851. His father, Samuel Charles Candler, was a merchant and property owner. In 1887, while working as a pharmacist in Atlanta, Candler bought the rights and formula for Coca-Cola from John Pemberton for $2,300. At the time, Coca-Cola was a fledgling five-cent soda fountain drink that sold about nine glasses a day. Candler founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and became the sole owner in 1891.
In 1894, a retailer in Vicksburg, Mississippi, started bottling the drink, making it portable and spreading its enjoyment worldwide. By 1895, just three years after the company's incorporation, Candler announced that "Coca-Cola is now drunk in every state and territory in the United States." Large-scale bottling was made possible in 1899 when Candler sold the exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in the United States to Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Over the next 20 years, the number of bottling plants grew from two to more than 1,000, with 95% of them locally owned and operated.
By 1911, the company's advertising budget had grown to $1 million, and in 1919, Candler sold the Coca-Cola Company to a group of capitalists for $25 million. His private fortune was estimated to be between $40 and $50 million at the time of the sale. Candler's marketing genius had transformed Coca-Cola into a global brand, and his legacy as one of the earliest and most successful marketers endures to this day.
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Frequently asked questions
Asa Griggs Candler was in charge of Coke from 1888 to 1919.
Candler bought the Coca-Cola recipe from John Stith Pemberton for $2,300.
Candler founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1889 and trademarked the brand in 1893. He also developed the "$1 contract" where he sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola in the US for $1.
Candler transformed Coca-Cola from a fledgling soda fountain drink to a household brand. He was a master marketer who plastered the Coca-Cola name on everything and aggressively advertised the product, increasing the advertising budget from $100,000 in 1901 to $1 million in 1911.
In 1919, Candler sold most of the stock in The Coca-Cola Company to his children, who then sold their shares to a consortium of investors led by Ernest Woodruff for $25 million.
