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Caleb Davis Bradham (born on 27 May 1867 and died on 19 February 1934) was an American pharmacist, who invented the soft drink Pepsi.
Known mainly for inventing “Brad’s Drink,” later called Pepsi-Cola, Caleb Bradham’s business career reached its apogee a couple years before World War I. The effects of the government’s rationing of sugar during the Great War cost Bradham immensely.
Caleb Bradham lived a remarkable life that intertwined small town business success with explosive entrepreneurial ambition, military service, and personal resilience in the face of adversity. Bradham grew up in rural North Carolina in the late 1800s, was trained as a pharmacist and invented the iconic Pepsi-Cola soft drink.
Aug 11, 2019 · The original formula for what would become Pepsi Cola was invented in 1893 by pharmacist Caleb Bradham of New Bern, N.C. Like many pharmacists at the time, he operated a soda fountain in his drugstore, where he served drinks that he created himself.
Caleb Bradham’s bold 1903 bottling gambit paid rapid dividends, setting the stage for Pepsi’s next quantum growth spurt on the national scene. Mere years later, the newly bottled syrup showed enough commercial promise for Bradham to ink his first celebrity athlete endorsement.
In 1898, small-town pharmacist Caleb D. Bradham looked for a name that would better describe his formula -- which he was selling under the name "Brad's Drink." He bought the name "Pep Kola" from a local competitor and changed it to Pepsi-Cola.
After seventeen years of success, Caleb Bradham lost Pepsi Cola. He had gambled on the fluctuations of sugar prices during W.W.I, believing that sugar prices would continue to rise but they fell instead leaving Caleb Bradham with an overpriced sugar inventory. Pepsi Cola went bankrupt in 1923.
