Pepsi Cola
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. It was originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham in the United States, and became known as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, before shortening to Pepsi in 1961.
As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola;[1] the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".[2]
In 1923, the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy—in large part due to financial losses incurred by speculating on the wildly fluctuating sugar prices as a result of World War I.
Assets were sold and Roy C. Megargel bought the Pepsi trademark.[3] Megargel was unsuccessful in efforts to find funding to revive the brand and soon Pepsi-Cola's assets were purchased by Charles Guth, the president of Loft, Inc.
Loft was a candy manufacturer with retail stores that contained soda fountains.
He sought to replace Coca-Cola at his stores' fountains after The Coca-Cola Company refused to give him additional discounts on syrup.
Guth then had Loft's chemists reformulate the Pepsi-Cola syrup formula.[8]
On three occasions between 1922 and 1933, the Coca-Cola Company was offered the opportunity to purchase the Pepsi-Cola Company, which it declined on each occasion.[9]