Caleb Bradham

Caleb Bradham

Caleb Bradham (born May 27, 1867 in Chinquapin , North Carolina , † February 19, 1934 ) was an American pharmacist and inventor of the soft drink Pepsi-Cola .

Invention of Pepsi-Cola

Caleb Bradham was a pharmacist in New Bern , North Carolina . His pharmacy was a small shop on the corner of Middle Street and Pollock Street in the heart of New Bern. Like many pharmacies around the turn of the century, Bradham had a so-called "soda-machine" a device for enriching water with carbon dioxide in his pharmacy.

Bradham came up with the idea of ​​making a drink based on carbonated water, which is both tasty and digestive, and which should also be enjoyed as a soft drink. Also, this drink shouldn't contain impurities that were found in many health tonics at the time. He also wanted to avoid the narcotics that were found in popular soft drinks at the time.

After a few attempts in the summer of 1893, a drink that Bradham made from carbonated drinking water , sugar , vanilla , oil , pepsin and kola nuts turned out to be a best seller . Bradham called this drink "Brad's drink".

In 1898 the drink was renamed " Pepsi-Cola ". This new name took into account the ingredients pepsin and cola nuts. In the same year Bradham also acquired the "Pep Cola" trademark from a competitor in Newark, New Jersey. At that time, the syrup was produced as the base of the drink in the pharmacy's basement and supplied in 1-gallon (approx. 3.8 l) and 5-gallon barrels (approx. 19 l) mainly to pharmacies in the area. By 1902, Pepsi-Cola had grown so popular that Bradham realized he had found a niche in the market with the drink. So he founded his company on December 24, 1902, based in North Carolina. The founding documents already indicate that the company planned branches in the US states of Virginia , Maryland , Pennsylvania and New York. On June 16, 1903, the new name was registered as a trademark . Bradham's neighbor, an artist, designed the brand's first logo , and initially 97 shares of the new company were issued.