the soda pop pioneer
There were all sorts of pioneers in America.
Some made it into the history books and others didn’t, even though their work impacted the day-to-day lives of millions.
So it goes with Claud Hatcher, the soda pop pioneer who gave America Royal Crown Cola.
In 1905, Hatcher was running a family grocery wholesale business out of a store in Columbus, Georgia.
He was buying large quantities of Coca-Cola syrup from the local Coca-Cola distributor for resale to his customers, and Hatcher thought he was entitled to a volume discount.
But the Coca-Cola distributor didn’t see it that way and refused to lower his price.
And Hatcher got mad.
So, he cut ties with the Coca-Cola people and began experimenting with sugars and flavorings in his store’s basement.
And, after some tinkering, Hatcher figured out a generic cola recipe that was really good.
And it sold well.
Hatcher kept tinkering and eventually developed his own recipes for ginger ale, root beer and several fruit-flavored soft drinks, too; and his wholesale grocery business became a thriving soft drink company.
[Great things are sometimes born out of anger.]
While Hatcher’s RC Cola never overtook Coca-Cola in national sales, Hatcher and his family prospered; and the business has managed to survive all these years [though it’s been bought, sold and merged with other beverage companies several times as the food industry has consolidated].
Sadly, RC Cola only accounts for about eighteen percent of recent US cola sales, behind Coke and Pepsi.
Some people still think that Coke ‘is the real thing’ [1970s tagline] and others claim that ‘Pepsi’s got a lot to give’ [1969 tagline].
Nevertheless, RC Cola boasts certain claims to soda pop fame:
….. It was the first to sell soft drinks in cans.
….. It was the first to sell diet cola [Diet Rite].
….. It was the first to sell caffeine-free cola.
….. It was the first to conduct blind taste tests, which RC Cola always won.
Now, when you buy a six-pack of RC Cola, your money goes to the Keurig Dr. Pepper food conglomerate and not to Claud Hatcher’s great-grandchildren.
But take heart.
You’ll be buying a soda that has been the “Best by Taste Test” since the 1940s.
And that’s not nothing.
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I’ll see you on Monday.
— Brenda
Banner image: Quarterback Johnny Unitas, 1962.
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