The history of RC Cola International starts back in 1905, when Claud Hatcher–an American pharmacist and businessman from Columbus, Georgia–established the Union Bottling Works in the basement of his family’s wholesale grocery business.
We’ve been around ever since. Our long history has given us a good sense of the soda industry, and we are on the pulse of what’s next for bottlers and distributors. By living through all of the innovations of the past, we’ve gotten to know the industry inside & out.
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning - History of Soda
The year 1905 is far from the beginning of the soda industry. The history of soda actually dates back to the 1760s, when the first drinkable, man-made carbonated water was invented.
Since Roman times, natural mineral waters were thought to have curative powers. Soft-drink inventors of the 18th century hoped to reproduce those health-enhancing qualities by creating carbonated water in the laboratory, using chalk and acid.
In 1835, the first soda water was bottled in the U.S.. In the 1840s, soda counters selling different soda flavors were added to pharmacies. And, by the late 1800s, flavored syrup was being sold in gallons. By 1904, that figure had risen to one million gallons sold annually.
Soda Bottling & Distribution Goes Through a Transformation
In the second half of the 19th century, bottling went through a big shift and the soft drink industry started to expand rapidly. By 1860, 123 plants were bottling soft drinks in the United States. By 1870, there were 387. And by 1900, there were already 2,763 plants.
In 1899, the business took off. The first bottling agreement was made, which involved three different American businessmen, who came to a decision that involved their working in separate, clearly delineated regions. They sold bottling rights to local firms. Their activities were successful and further accelerated the growth of the industry.
The Belief that Soda Flavors are More Wholesome Than Alcohol
It is interesting that part of what spurred the growth of the soft drink industry was the temperance movement, a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In the 19th century and continuing into the early 20th century, the temperance movement grew in importance and eventually led to national prohibitions in several countries including Canada until 1920 and the United States until 1933.
The movement made a big difference to the non-alcoholic beverage industry because it encouraged the perception of carbonated drinks as a more positive choice than alcohol.
More specifically, the attitudes of the temperance movement impacted how consumers viewed the purchase of drinks–pharmacies that sold soda flavors were considered to be respectable, while bars that sold alcohol were not.
On the Brink of Another Transformation: Cutting-Edge Technologies of Today Impacting the Soda Bottling & Distribution of Tomorrow
Interestingly, it wasn’t until the latter half of the 20th century that we started to see extensive development of soda flavor production technology and the manufacturing of carbonated beverages–with particular emphasis on bottles and bottle caps.
And now, in 2020, we seem to be on the threshold of another dramatic shift. With the development of a broad number of next-generation technologies that use machine learning–a branch of artificial intelligence–the bottling industry is about to undergo a significant change.
Solutions that integrate machine learning and utilize smart algorithms allow retailers to provide insight into consumer preferences and habits and can even be leveraged to predict new trends and behaviors. The integration of these types of tools is expected to have a broad impact that will transform retail behavior.
With the knowledge gained through machine learning, retailers are expected to become increasingly agile. They can run “What If” scenarios - allowing them to anticipate consumer behaviors through an analysis of Big Data.
This shift will impact soda distributors, as long as they continue to provide the products that retailers want and need.
Become an RC Cola Bottler Today!
By working with RC Cola International, you too can be on top of industry trends and know what’s happening next in the beverage bottling industry.
Our hands-on approach helps our bottlers stay ahead of the curve and improve their bottom line. After 115 years, we have the know-how and experience to help you succeed. So, join us as an RCCI bottler and learn how to increase your profits today!
