The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company,[citation needed] largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world,[citation needed] and is one of the largest corporations in the United States. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers more than 400 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves 1.6 billion servings each day.[5]
The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory.
