There were many copycats to Coke and usually Coke was successful in suing them out of business. In 1893, a North Carolina pharmacist named Caleb Bradham came up with “Brad’s Drink” which he renamed Pepsi-Cola to imply pepsin which was good for stomach ailments. His company went bankrupt due to changes in sugar prices. The rights were bought, but this company also went bankrupt in 1931. Charles Guth bought the rights for $10,500. He hated Coke because it would not give him a bulk discount even though he bought a lot of syrup to sell in his candy stores. When people asked for Coke, he would sell them Pepsi. Coke sued and lost. He too was going bankrupt in the Depression and tried to sell out to Coke, but they turned him down. Desperate, he cut the price from a dime to a nickel and since it was already being sold in bigger bottles than Coke, it was a cheaper alternative for depressed Americans. When the Depression ended, Pepsi found hard times as it was considered a low-scale beverage. By 1949, it was near bankruptcy again when a marketing wizard Alfred Steele (who had been fired by Coke) rebooted the company with a new logo (the current circular design) and endorsements from celebrities like Joan Crawford (Steele’s wife). It helped that Vice President Nixon and Soviet Premier Khrushchev chilled with a Pepsi after their famous “Kitchen Debate”. Uncle 4 pp. 209-213
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