Monday, February 9, 2015

Antique Pepsi-Cola Machine

We at City Liquidators are selling this antique Pepsi-Cola machine for the brilliantly low price of $799.99! This is a small price to pay for the major amount of nostalgia you're buying.


According to the Encyclopædia Brittanica, the "first Pepsi-Cola was created by Caleb D. Bradham (1866-1934), a pharmacist in New Bern, North Carolina." About.com's "Inventors" Page claims "he had a soda fountain in his drug store, where he served his customers refreshing drinks that he created himself."  In 1893, one of his experiments, known as "'Brad's Drink', made from a mix of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg, and other natural additives, became an overnight sensation" (PepsiStore.com).



"On August 28, 1898, Bradham renamed his drink, 'Pepsi-Cola.' He believed that the drink was more than a refreshment but a 'healthy' cola, aiding in digestion, getting its roots from the word dyspepsia, meaning indigestion" (PepsiStore.com). Once he was sure it proved popular, he incorporated the company on June 16, 1903. According to PepsiStore.com, "by 1904, the Pepsi-Cola syrup sales reached almost 20,000 gallons." By 1910, they started selling their drinks in bottles.



But during World War I, they had a hard time of things because of the severe rationing and high price of sugar. As a result, they couldn't meet their consumers' demands. Bradham worked day in and out to find a substitute for sugar, but none of the results tasted as good in the recipe as the original. "After the war ended sugar prices soared from 3 cents to 28 cents per pound. Bradham purchased a high quantity... which would be a factor to the company's downfall. Pepsi Cola officially was bankrupt as of May 31, 1923" (PepsiStore.com).



Both the drink and the name "Pepsi-Cola" were created in 1898 and trademarked in 1903. Over the years, several different logos have been used. In 1931, the company went bankrupt and the trademark was sold.


(The modern Pepsi redesign. Photo also courtesy of http://www.famouslogos.us/pepsi-logo/)


The founder of today's modern Pepsi-Cola, Charles G. Guth (1876-1948), bought the trademark and assets when the company went under in 1931. He then "established a new Pepsi-Cola Company, had a chemist formulate a better drink, set up new bottling operations, and began merchandising a hugely successful 12-ounce bottle for five cents" ("PepsiCo, Inc. | American Company"). At the time, he was also president of a candy company by the name of Loft, Incorporated and soon after lost controlling interest in Pepsi-Cola to new management of his company. Then, in 1941, the two companies merged under the name "Pepsi-Cola", and that was that.



In 1950, a former vice president of the Coca-Cola Company by the name of Alfred N. Steele (1901-1959) became chief executive officer of the Pepsi-Cola Company. "His emphasis on giant advertising campaigns and sales promotions increased Pepsi-Cola's net earnings 11-fold during the 1950s and made it the chief competitor of Coca-Cola" ("PepsiCo, Inc. | American Company"). After he died, his wife, Joan Crawford, took over as an active director of the company.



In 1965, they merged with Frito-Lay Inc., then stretched over Pizza Hut in 1977, Taco Bell in 1978, and KFC in 1986. When, in 1997, the restaurant chains went their own way into a new company separate from Pepsi, Pepsi bought Tropicana and Dole from the Seagram Company the year after. In 2001, they merged with Quaker Oats and are keeping their success status true today.


So consider how lucky and wonderful it would be to own a piece of this wonderful history with our Pepsi machine. For only $799.99, it could be yours today!

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