Coke Card 330

Asa Griggs Candler, another local druggist, eventually purchased Pemberton's secret formula--for, reputedly, between $1,750 and $2,300, and elevated Coca-Cola to a national brand. By 1895, a mere seven years after he bought the company, Coca-Cola was available in every U.S. state. Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff, president of the Trust Company of Georgia, recognized the company's potential and persuaded his son, Robert, to invest in the Coca-Cola Company. In 1923, Woodruff became president of the now publicly traded company.Woodruff, at true innovator, proceeded to turn Coca Cola into a nationally recognized brand marketing his product like no other product had been marketed before. The company spent enormous sums (based on standards of the time) on advertising.