Bottles were once valuable objects not lightly discarded. Just 150 years ago carbonated drinks would have been sold on-site, in bars, saloons, taverns and restaurants. If you brought a bottle of drink it would have been hand-filled and hand-capped.
At the end of the 19th Century, mass production allowed for greater quantities to be sold but these bottles were still expensive so were returnable in exchange for a deposit. They had a logo imprinted into them so that companies could ensure they got their bottles back.
Here we follow the history of just one famous branded bottle – Coca-Cola – one of the most iconic marketing symbols in retail advertising today. Since 1889, the distinct shape and branding of these bottles has made them collector’s items.
In 1894, Joseph A. Biedenharn, a shop owner in Mississippi, began bottling Coca-Cola in a glass bottle called a Hutchinson. The drink had sold well in his store. Biedenharn had also sent a case to Asa Griggs Candler, who owned the Coca-Cola Company, but Candler was not interested in bottling – he preferred to focus on fountain sales.
By 1916, Coca-Cola was using a straight-sided bottle but, concerned it wasn’t distinctive enough, the company adopted the famous contour shaped bottle (designed by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute). In 1923, Coca-Cola six packs were introduced, and by 1928, the amount sold in bottles exceeded the amount sold through soda fountains. The Coke bottle was becoming an icon, and in 1950 it appeared on the front cover of TIME Magazine, the first commercial product to do so.
In 2000, in keeping with the ongoing drive for sustainability, Coca-Cola introduced its ultra-glass contour bottle designed for improved impact and resistance, reduced weight and cost. This was both stronger and lighter, saving around 52,000 metric tons of glass in one year alone. In 2005 new aluminum contour bottles were introduced.
Contribution to Retail History
The bottle, which facilitated much of early commerce, enabled distribution of liquid products on an international scale. Today, bottles of all shapes, sizes and colors are mass produced and recycling glass is a major effort throughout the world. The returnable deposit bottle, which still exists today, was an early loyalty and repeat-purchase incentive as customers invariably returned the empty bottles to the store from which they had purchased them and picked up extra items. Today, in many US markets the original milk bottle home delivery service is making a comeback as sustainability and recycling is of paramount importance.