Coca Cola: The American staple of beverage

     Coca Cola is an American staple in the soft drink game. Created in 1888, Coke has only seen subtle changes in its nearly 150 year history which has made it a global sensation and an anchor of consistency throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. That does not mean that Coke hasn’t rolled out different variations of itself to try and attract more buyers, creating different flavor variations such as cherry coke or vanilla coke, or even marketing itself as a diet beverage for those who still want to enjoy a Coke but not at the expense of their weight with Diet Coke and Coke Zero (referring to the alleged 0g of sugar). This type of constant consistency combined with slight variations in flavor has created an almost cult-like following around Coke has some people refuse to drink any other soft drink that is not a part of the Coca Cola family. 

    Like I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Coke has not changed much throughout its history. Its formula is a secret and its signature glass bottle has only seen minor tweaks since it was first put on shelves. In addition to some added flavors for variation, in 1985 Coke wanted to better rival its main competing company in Pepsi by changing Coke's formula slightly to make it sweeter like Pepsi. This New Coke, as the Coca Cola company marketed it failed miserably, with people rushing to take the last of the original Coke off the shelves and the masses to demand that they go back to their original flavor that created this “fandom” for nearly a hundred years at that point. Coca Cola listened and since has only released slight variations of its original recipe always keeping the original available at abundance to sell. 

    As was demonstrated by the near New Coke disaster for Coca Cola, the pseudo-individualization of Coke is a constant in an ever changing world. My feeling is that people cling to the things that they know and are comfortable with, and the fact that Coke has not changed in 150 years is a fact that people take comfort in. It is the same beverage that they enjoyed as a child and it has never changed. You can still get Coke in that slim glass bottle, which has become an icon across American pop culture for its appearance. Coca Cola has become an American staple with its consistent taste and appearance.