Quote:The Coca-Cola Trail is a journey for anyone interested in discovering the history and growth of the world's most recognized product. The trail will take readers to the places in America that tell the story - places where you can see, touch, and remember. Whether a serious Coca-Cola memorabilia collector, a person interested in American business history, or simply a fan-The Coca-Cola Trail provides a fresh new look at a trusted old friend. 30 chapters cover each bottling plant location in meticulous detail, including unique and ghost billboard signage.

So, what is a Coca-Cola Bottler? Well, from a legal standpoint, it's a franchisee of the Coca-Cola company, who has been granted the right to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in an exclusive territory. This franchise or contract has been amended and otherwise changed somewhat over the years to add many additional brands, but in the beginning, it was granted for the sole purpose of bottling and distributing Coca-Cola throughout the bottler's territory.

In the early years, it was bottled one bottle at a time, placed in wooden cases, and hauled to the customer in horse or mule-drawn wagons. The bottling plants were crude and the task was difficult but by acquiring these franchises, these entrepreneurs had unknowingly won the lottery. They had settled on investing in a product that would change the world. A fabulous beverage with a delicious, unique taste profile that provided a refreshing boost to the drinker. Even in today's world, with thousands of brands of both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, Coca-Cola remains at the top in providing that unique taste and special experience in a beverage. You combine this great product with brilliant advertising and marketing from The Coca-Cola Company and "voila" you have a brand and company and a bottling and distribution system that has been so successful that books upon books have been written about it for over 100 years. That is unique in itself.