140 years of Coca-Cola history and 35 years since the first “Made in Romania” bottle. How a global brand became a pillar of over 900 million euros for the local economy
From a glass served in an Atlanta pharmacy in 1886 to one of the most famous brands in the world, the Coca-Cola story has been written for 140 years through moments that have defined not only the history of the company, but also the global culture of soft drinks.
On May 8, 1886, at Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta, pharmacist John Stith Pemberton served the first glass of Coca-Cola. It was also then that the brand name appeared written for the first time in the famous Spencerian logo, which would become one of the most famous commercial symbols in the world.
If in the first year, on average, only nine glasses were sold per day, the following decades turned the drink into a global phenomenon: in 1904, Coca-Cola surpassed the threshold of three million liters sold annually, and in 1915, the famous contour bottle was created, which became a landmark of industrial design. The first European factories opened in 1919 in Paris and Bordeaux. 30 years later Coca-Cola became the first commercial product to appear on the cover of the magazine Time; and in 1985 it was the first soft drink consumed in space, aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
140 years after that first glass was served in Atlanta, the story of Coca-Cola is no longer just about a global brand. It's increasingly about how an American icon has transformed, market by market, into a local business, with factories, suppliers, investments and direct economic impact in the communities in which it operates.
For 35 years, Romania has been an important point in the history of Coca-Cola
In 1991, in an economy that was just discovering the mechanisms of the free market and the first foreign direct investments, Coca-Cola entered the local market and started production in Romania. For consumers, it was one of the symbols of the new economy. For the business, it would be the beginning of one of the longest industrial investments built by an international brand on the local market.
Today, 35 years after the first locally bottled bottle, the Coca-Cola system in Romania means three factories, over a billion liters produced annually, exports to 15 countries, and an economic contribution of 911 million euros — the equivalent of 0.26% of Romania's GDP.
Industrial footprint: Three factories and exports to 15 countries
Today, Coca-Cola operations in Romania are supported by three production hubs: Ploiesti, Timișoara and Poiana Negri. Annually, more than one billion liters of beverages depart from these units, products that reach both the local market and 15 other countries in the region.
Romania is also home to one of the most important industrial capacities of the group, the factory in Ploiesti being the second largest production unit in the Coca-Cola HBC network.
For the company, Romania is no longer just a consumer market. It has become a regional manufacturing, innovation and export hub, supported by constant investment in technology, automation and sustainability.
“For us, Romania is an investment built for the long term. In the 35 years of our local presence, we have built here a regional hub for production, innovation and export, supported by constant investments in people, technology and sustainability. Today, Romania plays a strategic role within the group, both through the three local factories and through the ability to serve the markets in the region”, declares Cornel Carămizaru, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Romania.
Coca-Cola in Romania: more than 20,000 jobs and 86% local suppliers
Beyond factories and volumes, the economic impact is seen in the network built around local operations.
The Coca-Cola system has 1,560 direct employees in Romania. However, the economic effect goes much further: the company's activity indirectly supports approximately 19,100 jobs along the entire value chain — from suppliers of raw materials and services, transport, to retail, distribution and HoReCa.
In other words, each job in the Coca-Cola system supports 12 other jobs in the Romanian economy. 86% of the company's suppliers are local companies, and approximately 216 million euros go to goods and services purchased in Romania.
A commercial network of over 70,000 partners has also formed around the business, from convenience stores and supermarkets to restaurants, cafes and hotels.
The total impact: over 900 million euros in the Romanian economy
The latest socio-economic impact study shows that the activity of the Coca-Cola system generated an added value of 911 million euros in the local economy in 2024, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year.
Of this amount, 502 million euros represent taxes and contributions that reach the state budget, directly or indirectly, through the entire economic ecosystem built around the company.
Simply put, the impact of Coca-Cola in Romania is not only measured in volumes sold or market shares, but also in salaries, taxes, investments, local contracts and exports.
“35 years ago, Coca-Cola was for many Romanians the symbol of a world that was opening up. Today, we are talking about a system built here, together with Romanian partners, that produces locally, exports regionally and contributes concretely to the country's economy”, says Mark Docherty, Franchise Country Manager Coca-Cola Romania.
From the symbol of transition, to a strong local identity
In the 90s, Coca-Cola was one of the products that quickly entered the culture of the new local reality. Today, behind every bottle or can produced in Romania there are factories, suppliers, transporters, traders, investments in energy, logistics and technology. In recent years, these investments have included circular economy projects, rPET production and renewable energy — signs of a business that no longer just imports global notoriety, but creates local value.
140 years after the first glass served in Atlanta and 35 years after the first bottle produced in our country, the phrase “Made in Romania” means the story of a business that grew along with the Romanian economy — and which continues to invest here.
*Data according to the socio-economic impact study of the Coca-Cola System in Romania, for the year 2024
Article sponsored by Coca-Cola
