Entrepreneur Background
Caleb Davis Bradham (May 27, 1867 – February 19, 1934) invented the
soft drink Pepsi-Cola. He was a
pharmacist, born in
Chinquapin,
Duplin County,
North Carolina, May 27, 1867. He graduated from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the
University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Circa 1890, he dropped out of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, owing to his father's business going bankrupt. After returning to North Carolina, he was a public school teacher for about a year, and soon thereafter opened a drug store in
New Bern named the "Bradham Drug Company" that, like many other drug stores of the time, also housed a soda fountain.
This drug store, located on the corner of Middle Street and Pollock Street in downtown New Bern, is where Bradham, on August 28, 1898, invented the recipe—a blend of kola nut extract, vanilla, and "rare oils" -- for what was initially known as "Brad's Drink," but that soon was renamed Pepsi-Cola. Bradham named his drink after a combination of the terms “
pepsin” and “
cola,” as he believed that his drink aided digestion much like the pepsin enzyme does, even though it was not used as an ingredient. His assistant James Henry King was the first to taste the new drink.
On December 24, 1902, the
Pepsi-Cola Company was
incorporated in North Carolina, with Bradham as the president, and on June 16, 1903 the first Pepsi-Cola
trademark was registered. Also in 1903, he moved his Pepsi-Cola production out of his drug store and into a rented building nearby. In 1905, Bradham began selling Pepsi-Cola in six-ounce bottles (up until this time he sold Pepsi-Cola as a syrup only), and awarded two franchises to North Carolina bottlers.
On January 1, 1901, Bradham married Charity Credle in New Bern, North Carolina.
Bradham was elected steward of St. John's (
Masons') Lodge No. 3 in 1895
[citation needed]; he was later elected or appointed junior warden in 1898, senior warden in 1899, and
Worshipful Master in 1900, 1901, and again in 1927.
[citation needed] By the time of his death, Bradham had attained the
32nd degree of Scottish Rite, acted as grand commander in the
York Rite, served as provincial grand master of the
Order of Colonial Masters of North America, recorder and treasurer of the
Sudan Shrine Temple, eminent commander of
St. John's Commandery, and master
kadosh of
Carolina Consistory No. 3.
[1] He also served as an exalted ruler of the New Bern
Elks Lodge.
[citation needed]
In addition to running his drug store, he served as the president of the People’s Bank of New Bern, and was a chairman of the Craven County Board of Commissioners. At one point he was even suggested as a candidate for governor of North Carolina. He also served as an officer in the naval reserve for 25 years; he was named a lieutenant in the
North Carolina Naval Militia, was promoted to commander in 1904, and to captain in 1913. He retired as a rear admiral. Additionally, in 1914 he was appointed by
Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to the
General Naval Militia Board.
[2]
At the peak of success, Bradham had authorized Pepsi-Cola franchises in over 24 states; however, on May 31, 1923, Bradham and his Pepsi-Cola Company declared bankruptcy. The major factor for Bradham’s business failure was the price of
sugar immediately following
World War I, when prices went up to 28 cents per pound (it was three cents per pound pre-war), and Bradham had purchased a large amount of sugar at that price but the price of sugar nosedived soon after he purchased it. The assets of his company were sold to the
Craven Holding Company for $35,000. After declaring bankruptcy, Bradham returned to operating his drug store.
Bradham died on February 19, 1934, after succumbing to a long-term illness. His funeral was held at New Bern's First Presbyterian Church, of which Bradham was a member. He is buried in
Cedar Grove Cemetery in New Bern; Masonic rites were administered at his graveside, and the pallbearers were from his Masonic lodge.
History
Pepsi (stylized in lowercase as
pepsi, formerly stylized in uppercase as
PEPSI) is a
carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by
PepsiCo. Created and developed in 1898 and introduced as "Brad's Drink", it was later renamed as Pepsi-Cola on June 16, 1903, then to Pepsi in 1961.
Pepsi was first introduced as "Brad's Drink" in
New Bern, North Carolina,
United States, in 1898 by
Caleb Bradham, who made it at his home where the drink was sold. It was later labeled Pepsi Cola, named after the digestive enzyme
pepsin and
kola nuts used in the recipe.
[2] Bradham sought to create a fountain drink that was delicious and would aid in digestion and boost energy.
[3]
In 1903, Bradham moved the bottling of Pepsi-Cola from his drugstore to a rented warehouse. That year, Bradham sold 7,968 gallons of
syrup. The next year, Pepsi was sold in six-ounce bottles, and sales increased to 19,848 gallons. In 1909, automobile race pioneer
Barney Oldfield was the first celebrity to endorse Pepsi-Cola, describing it as "A bully drink...refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race." The advertising theme "Delicious and Healthful" was then used over the next two decades.
[4] In 1926, Pepsi received its first logo redesign since the original design of 1905. In 1929, the logo was changed again.
In 1931, at the depth of the
Great Depression, the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy - in large part due to financial losses incurred by speculating on wildly fluctuating sugar prices as a result of
World War I. Assets were sold and Roy C. Megargel bought the Pepsi trademark.
[5] Eight years later, the company went bankrupt again. Pepsi's assets were then purchased by
Charles Guth, the President of Loft Inc. Loft was a candy manufacturer with retail stores that contained soda fountains. He sought to replace
Coca-Cola at his stores' fountains after Coke refused to give him a discount on syrup. Guth then had Loft's chemists reformulate the Pepsi-Cola syrup formula.
On three separate occasions between 1922 and 1933, the Coca-Cola Company was offered the opportunity to purchase the Pepsi-Cola company, and it declined on each occasion.
Trademark
The original trademark application for Pepsi-Cola was filed on September 23, 1902 with registration approved on June 16, 1903. In the application's statement, Caleb Bradham describes the trademark as an, "arbitrary hyphenated word "PEPSI-COLA," and indicated that the mark was in continuous use for his business since August 1, 1901. The Pepsi-Cola's description is a flavoring-syrup for soda water. The trademark expired on April 15, 1994.
A second Pepsi-Cola trademark is on record with the USPTO. The application date submitted by Caleb Bradham for the second trademark is Saturday, April 15, 1905 with the successful registration date of April 15, 1906, over three years after the original date. Curiously, in this application, Caleb Bradham states that the trademark had been continuously used in his business "and those from whom title is derived since in the 1905 application the description submitted to the USPTO was for a tonic beverage. The federal status for the 1905 trademark is registered and renewed and is owned by
Pepsico, Inc. of
Purchase, New York.
