Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola sold territorial bottling rights in 1899 because its first bottlers could not fund national plants themselves. Today its independent bottling partners, distributors and retailers put drinks bearing its trademarks in front of consumers 2.2 billion times a day, about 3% of an estimated 65 billion daily beverage servings worldwide. The company earns from concentrate and brand while partners carry the trucks, plants and cold storage.

On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola changed its formula for the first time in 99 years, to one preferred in taste tests with nearly 200,000 consumers. Hotline calls rose from 400 a day to 1,500 by June, and the original returned as Coca-Cola Classic on July 11, after 79 days. The company’s own summary is that the tests did not show the bond consumers felt with their Coke.