Asa Griggs Candler: Pharmacist to Philanthropist

In an analysis of leading entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century, one name strikes a tone of familiarity across the globe in the present day: Asa Griggs Candler. While his name is not immediately recognizable to many, the product he marketed immediately brings recognition with its distinguishing logo and glass bottles. In the late 1800’s Asa Candler bought a carbonated drink formula and turned it into one of the greatest marketing giants using methods emulated by companies even in the present day. 

The legacy of Asa Candler and Coca-Cola began with another Georgian, Dr. John Pemberton. In 1886, Pemberton began selling a beverage composed of carbonated water, extract from coca leaves, and extract from the kola nut. This elixir sold as a fountain drink for medicinal purposes. After some legal maneuvering and pressure, druggist and local businessman Asa Griggs Candler purchased rights to the formula through payments totaling a rumored $2,300.[1],[2]

Candler was uncertain of the potential for success and sold bottling rights for $1. This contract was fixed with no end date. Candler would only see maximum profits from maximum volume of sales with the price being fixed at $.05 per drink. The predicament drove Candler to begin a massive advertising campaign that would become a fixture of Coca-Cola throughout its history. Candler would eventually renegotiate bottling prices in 1921.[3]

Candler would make several changes to his product and marketing strategy. Knowing he needed additional capital and that the drink faced scrutiny over the coca ingredient, Candler worked to remove the cocaine portion and sell that to pharmaceutical companies in 1903. By 1911, the advertising budget for Coca-Cola reached over $1 million. Four years later Candler worked with Root Glass Company to design the iconic curved glass bottle still seen today.[4]

Within five years after acquisition, Candler took a beverage selling about nine drinks a day locally to one available in every state in the nation. Coca-Cola came with a formula and a logo. Within 15 years, the company had over $1 million advertising budget and sales that included multiple countries. Coca-Cola became a publicly traded company in 1919 with a stock price of $40 per share. By 1929, Coca-Cola drinks sold in vending machines strategically placed in pharmacies, grocery stores, and gas stations.[5]

In 1919, Candler and his children stepped out of their roles in the company and sold it to an investor consortium led by Ernest Woodruff. By this point, Candler had been serving as mayor of Atlanta for two years. Candler also began investing in real estate and developed several projects in and around Atlanta. Developed in 1906 and completed soon after, the Candler Building served as a headquarters for the business in the tallest building in Atlanta at that time. It remains a historical landmark in Atlanta. Candler duplicated this building in New York City six years later.

As mayor of Atlanta, he balanced the city budget for the first time in decades. After the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917, Candler led an effort to rebuild the city in a more modern effort to include commercial districts, better housing options, and an updated sewer system formatted for massive future growth. To ensure enough funding for these projects, Candler offered personal loans to the city. In addition to these efforts, Candler gave over $7 million to Emory University and paid for the school to relocate from Oxford, GA to Atlanta. He donated 50 acres of property to create Candler Park, which remains in use today. Buildings used by the Candlers while heading Coca-Cola remain in use in Kansas City, New York, and Baltimore. Candler died in 1929 in Atlanta, GA.[6] He did not live to see the market crash seven months later. His legacy with Coca-Cola is recognized around the world. The iconic logo and bottle created over 100 years ago remain popular in our culture and find themselves at sporting events, parties, vacations, and favorite restaurants.

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[1] “Cola History: The Coca-Cola Company,” Coca-Cola Company History (Coca-Cola Company, n.d.),

[2] Bahar Sharareh. "Candler, the Real Thing when it Came to Coke Sell it: The Company Founder Built a Soft-Drink Empire." Investor's Business Daily, 2012.

[3] Terri Lonier. "Alchemy in Eden." Enterprise & Society 11, no. 4 (2010): 695-708.

[4] Murray Hunter. "A Short History of Business and Entrepreneurable Evolution during the 20th Century: Trends for the New Millenium." Geopolitics, History, and International Relations 5, no. 1 (2013): 44-98.

[5] "Coca-Cola in History." New York Times (1923-Current File),1929.

               [6] "A.G. CANDLER, MAKER OF COCA COLA, DIES: …”, New York Times (1923-Current File),1929.