Belcher 1

Professor Rothwell
Kali Belcher
4 November 2014
How important was the controversial ingredient cocaine in the Coca-Cola and how has this led to
Coca-Cola being the most famous brand on earth?
Coca-Cola is easily the most recognizable brand in the world. How do they do it? A
secret ingredient perhaps? Growing up, Ive always heard that the company used cocaine to get
you hooked on their product. I cant help but wonder if its true. If it is, they are marketing
geniuses. I know that cocaine was not an uncommon drug used in medicines back in the day. For
there were no rules or laws saying what drugs you could and couldnt do. I hope to find the truth
behind the controversial cocaine epidemic and how it affected the brand. They must have done
something right.
Where do I begin? The internet of course. First I needed to find out if what I suspected
was true. I found articles and journals very easily. Yes, cocaine was once an ingredient in the
famous beverage. My research quickly came to a halt when I found my answer. Now what? I
became aware that could not ask a yes or no question. I started to dig deeper. I found articles of
marketing tactics and books on the relentless salesman who made the company who they are
today. So naturally, my topic question evolved as did my research.
As my question changed and shifted, I found myself getting off topic in my research. I
tried to stay focused on the future of my inquiry paper and pick sources I thought were worthy.
In any inquiry project Ive ever done, Ive relied on google scholar as a guide. Google Scholar
has citable sources by scholarly authors and hasnt failed me yet. I wanted to find a variety of
sources.

Belcher 2

The famous beverage was given the name Coca-Cola for its medicinal ingredients
called coca leaves and kola nuts. The coca leaf is where we find our cocaine. According to Tom
Blickman, the ready-extractability of cocaine from coca leaves is currently the major argument
to justify its current illegal status. (Blickman.) Coca leaf is roughly 0.5-1% of cocaine content.
Coca-Cola undeniably contained some trace of cocaine at one time. How much is the question.
According to Allen, the first stirrings of the cocaine debate began and manufacturers were
becoming defensive against accusations claiming that use of their products would lead to
cocainism or the cocaine habit. (Allen.) The founders felt that the name had to be
descriptive of the beverage. Because the company had trademarked the name, the mere trace of
cocaine was there to stay. That is until 1929, when the drink became completely cocaine-free due
to drug regulations and laws. According to Dave Musto, the Coca-Cola company replaced the
stimulant with a milder, more acceptable one, caffeine. (Musto.) This leads us to the modern
beverage we know and love so dearly.
I have already learned so much for the sake of my research paper. I definitely see the
focus shifting as a get more into my research. Now its not just about cocaine and coca-cola, but
also caffeine and coca-cola. Coca-cola has always used some addictive ingredient to keep people
hooked. I have more questions now to answer. Like How addictive is caffeine? and How
much caffeine is in one serving of the beverage? I have finally found something to base the
remainder of my research on and I am relieved. I was worried that I had hit a brick wall and
wasnt going anywhere with my research. Hopefully my readers will understand that coke can be
potentially addictive.

Works Cited

Belcher 3
Allen, Frederick. Secret Formula: How Brilliant Marketing and Relentless Salesmanship Made
Coca-Cola the Best-known Product in the World. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 1994.
Print.
Blickman, Tom. "Coca Leaf: Myths and Reality." Drugs and Democracy. Transnational
Institute, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Musto, Dave F. "America's First Cocaine Epidemic." JSTOR: The Wilson Quarterly
(1976-), Vol. 13, No. 3. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1989. Web.
27 Oct. 2014.
Pendergrast, Mark. For God, Country, and Coca-Cola. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1993. Print.

Cover letter

Dear Professor Rothwell,

I feel pretty good about this draft of my narrative but I still have a few doubts. I think I
understood the arriving at the parlor and listening in part of the assignment but am not positive

Belcher 4

if it is completely objective. I found it hard to summarize the quotes I used without forming an
opinion of them. I think everything else should be fine. In the introduction, I used bits and pieces
from my project proposal. Basically, I wrote in the sense that I hadnt learned the information
yet. Is that okay? I think the introduction sounds good when I read it but just want to be sure.
Thanks so much!
Kali Belcher, a 2 oclock scholar