OUR COMPANY
Coca‑Cola and its ~200 independent bottling partners employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Due to the strength of this unique system, we are able to create global reach with local focus. While many may view us as “Coca‑Cola”, our system operates through multiple local channels, and our bottling partners work closely with customers to execute localized strategies developed in partnership with our company. Customers then sell our products to consumers at a rate of 2.2 billion servings per day.
Ties to the Community
Our bottling partners are your neighbors and friends. Coca‑Cola’s success rests on the foundation of a commitment to the people who buy products, the people who sell them and the local communities that our employees and the employees of our partners call home. By hiring and operating locally, our bottling partners are investing in their communities, alongside Coca‑Cola customers and consumers.
Global Reach
While Coca‑Cola is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company and its bottling partners hire and employ people across the world in a wide variety of roles. We hire locally in the communities we operate in, as well as utilizing a highly motivated and mobile workforce for some roles, allowing employees to gain valuable international experience and to work closely with people from different countries, cultures and beliefs. We believe in the power of diversifying our workforce at every level, and we have made great strides in the areas of equal opportunity, women’s empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, and much more.
More Information:
- To learn more about working for The Coca‑Cola Company, or to view our latest job openings visit our Careers page.
- To learn more about The Coca‑Cola Company System, visit our our system page.
The World of Coca‑Cola is a museum, located in Atlanta, Georgia, showcasing the history of The Coca‑Cola Company and its brands.
World of Coca‑Cola at Pemberton Place® celebrated its Grand Opening on May 24, 2007. It’s the only place where you can explore the fascinating story of Coca‑Cola® – the world’s best-known beverage brand.
Spend the day interacting with multiple exhibits, learning about the storied history of the iconic beverage brand, and sampling more than 100 different beverages from around the world.
More information about the World of Coca‑Cola experience, including specific information regarding location, parking, pricing, hours of operation, exhibits, and more can be found on our website.
The Coca‑Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca‑Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded grants to support sustainable community initiatives —from water to women’s empowerment, from community recycling to wellbeing—around the world.
Priority Areas
- Sustainable Access to Safe Water
- Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk preparedness and Response
- Circular Economy
- Economic Empowerment
- Hometown
- Employee Giving
In 1984, Roberto Goizueta, then Chairman and CEO of The Coca‑Cola Company, established The Coca‑Cola Foundation. Since then, The Foundation has grown from a local foundation into a global philanthropic organization.
Since its inception, the Foundation has supported learning inside and outside the classroom. However, addressing critical community challenges and opportunities is an evolving process. In 2007, the Foundation broadened its support to include global water stewardship programs and community recycling programs. Today, its strategies align with the Company’s sustainability platform and include economic empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Learn more about the Coca‑Cola Foundation >
In May 1886, Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia, created the syrup for Coca‑Cola.
He carried a jug of the new product down the street to Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta. There, it was sampled, pronounced "excellent" and placed on sale as a soda fountain drink for five cents a glass.
Dr. Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, suggested the name "Coca‑Cola" and penned the flowing script that is famous today.
Coca‑Cola did not create the legend of Santa Claus. But Coca‑Cola advertising did play a big role in shaping the jolly character we know today.
Before 1931, there were many different depictions of Santa Claus around the world, including a tall gaunt man and an elf —there was even a scary Claus.
But in 1931, Coca‑Cola commissioned illustrator Haddon Sundblom to paint Santa for Christmas advertisements. Those paintings established Santa as a warm, happy character with human features, including rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines.
Sundblom drew inspiration from an 1822 poem by Clement Clark Moore called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” —commonly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
To avoid confusion with copycat brands, The Coca‑Cola Company asked the Root Glass Company in Terra Haute, Indiana, to create a package that was “so distinctive that it could be recognized by touch alone and so unique it could be identified when shattered on the ground.”
The result was the iconic Coca‑Cola bottle inspired by the curves and grooves of the gourd-shaped cocoa bean, an ingredient the designers originally thought was in the product.
One of the most famous shapes in the world is the iconic contour fluted lines of the Coca‑Cola bottle. Renowned as a design classic and described by noted industrial designer, Raymond Loewy as the “perfect liquid wrapper,” the bottle has been celebrated in art, music and advertising.
We began building our global network in the 1920s. Our global growth expanded during World War II when Coca‑Cola President Robert Woodruff believed that every American service man and woman should have a Coke at their disposal, no matter where they were or the cost to the company. Woodruff’s vision during this critical period in American history helped establish Coke as a global corporation by introducing the product to different markets.
Now operating in more than 200 countries and producing over 200 brands, our system has successfully applied a simple formula on a global scale: Refresh the World. Make a Difference.
With so many items, events and collectors, how does someone get started creating their own personal collection?
You can:
- Find current collectibles at the Coca‑Cola store online, the Coca‑Cola Store at the World of Coca‑Cola in Atlanta, or the Coca‑Cola Store in Las Vegas or Orlando.
- For vintage collectibles, you may wish to consult The Coca‑Cola Collectors Club, a non-profit, grass-roots organization run by collectors.
Rigorous scientific research is essential to support our innovation efforts, but also ensures we offer products that are safe and meet global regulatory requirements and allows us to address questions of public health and consumer interest.
We agree that research transparency and integrity are important.
Whether it is the research we fund independently or when we work in partnership, our company associates and others with whom we engage are required to adhere to the highest level of scientific integrity and to align with our research principles.
For the latest updates on our approach to stakeholder engagement and scientific research, please visit our Transparency in Partnerships page.