Synopses & Reviews
How did Coca-Cola build a global empire by selling a low-price concoction of mostly sugar, water, and caffeine? The easy answer is advertising, but the real formula to Coke's success was its strategy, from the start, to offload costs and risks onto suppliers, franchisees, and the government. For most of its history the company owned no bottling plants, water sources, cane- or cornfields. A lean operation, it benefited from public goods like cheap municipal water and curbside recycling programs. Its huge appetite for ingredients gave it outsized influence on suppliers and congressional committees. This was Coca-Cola capitalism.
Review
"A fascinating, thought-provoking approach to Coca-Cola history through the drink's primary ingredients--water, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, coca leaf, caffeine--and the glass, plastic, and aluminum that contain them." Mark Pendergrast, author of For God, Country & Coca-Cola
Review
"Coca-Cola is one of the most powerful economic institutions of our time, but its social and ecological impacts remain understudied. Now, in the hands of a talented young historian, corporate capitalism gets the attention it deserves in a careful dissection of the material underpinnings of the world's most valuable brand. will cause you to drink less and think more." Ted Steinberg, author of Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York
Review
" is a brilliant analysis of Coke's empire in ecological, economic, and social terms. It allows us to see the contours of an economy based on partnerships between governments and corporations like Coca-Cola. It makes us conscious of the giant ecological footprint of the Real Thing, which impacts the real lives of real people. If you want a deeper understanding of our world today, read ." Vandana Shiva, author of Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Review
"A well-researched and accessible history of one of the world's most iconic brands." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[Offers] unaccustomed perspectives on a company whose leading product is a household name around the globe... thought-provoking." Marc Levinson
Review
""...this is a carefully researched and thoughtful history of a fascinating corporation..."" Wall Street Journal
Review
""forceful, deeply researched book..."" Times Higher Education
Synopsis
An absorbing history of how Coke's insatiable thirst for natural resources shaped the company and reshaped the globe.
Synopsis
Coca-Cola's success in building a global empire out of sugary water drew on more than a secret formula and brilliant advertising. The real secret to Coke's success was its strategy, from the beginning, to offload production costs and risks onto suppliers and franchisees. Outsourcing and a trim corporate profile enabled Coke to scale up production of a low-price beverage and realize huge profits.
About the Author
Bartow J. Elmore, an Atlanta native, grew up drinking Coke. He now teaches history at the University of Alabama.