Pepsi Cola/ started/ in a drug store/ in New Bern, North Carolina/ in eighteen ninety-six. At the time, most drug stores/ included a long, high, narrow table/ where people/ could gather/ socially. They could order sweet drinks/ called sodas.

Caleb Bradham/ was the pharmacist/ at the drug store/ in New Bern. He prepared medicines/ for patients. He also was well known/ for his special drinks. Mister Bradham/ wanted to make a drink/ that tasted good, could increase a person’s energy/ and help the body/ process food.

The pharmacist/ created a mixture/ of bubbly water, sugar, vanilla, oils and kola nuts/ and tried it out/ on the New Bern community. The drink/ became very popular. For a while, it was known/ simply as “Brad’s Drink.”

Mister Bradham/ re-named it/ Pepsi-Cola/ in eighteen ninety-eight. Demand/ for the drink/ grew. Drugstores/ in nearby towns/ began to order large amounts/ of the syrup/ used to make the drink. Mister Bradham realized/ it was time/ to build a whole company/ around the drink.

In nineteen-oh-three, the pharmacist/ received legal ownership/ of the name Pepsi-Cola/ from the United States government. He moved the soft drink production/ to a large building/ in New Bern. In his first year/ as Pepsi-Cola owner, Mister Bradham/ sold more than thirty thousand liters/ of syrup.

The former pharmacist/ did well/ in business/ for many years. By nineteen fifteen/ Pepsi-Cola/ was worth more than one million dollars/ in sales and property.

But World War One/ affected the soda industry. When the war ended, the price of sugar/ increased. Mister Bradham/ bought huge amounts of sugar/ because he thought/ the price/ would go higher. But then/ the price of sugar/ fell to almost nothing. This resulted in huge losses/ for the Pepsi-Cola Company. Caleb Bradham/ lost his company/ in nineteen twenty-three.

Pepsi-Cola/ has had several owners/ since that time. Today, it is part/ of a larger group of companies/ called PepsiCo. Last month, PepsiCo/ made history. For the first time/ since its creation, the value/ of the company’s stock/ was worth more than that of its main competitor, the Coca-Cola company.