The Coca-Cola Company began selling Coca-Cola in bottles under a nationwide bottling agreement in 1899.
The agreement was signed with Chattanooga businessmen Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead. It gave them exclusive rights to bottle Coca-Cola in much of the United States, creating the foundation for the independent bottler system that remains central to Coca-Cola’s distribution.
Before this change, Coca-Cola was mainly served as a fountain drink mixed at pharmacies and soda counters. Bottling allowed customers to buy the beverage for consumption away from the point of sale and helped the brand spread beyond Atlanta.
The 1899 agreement did not mean every bottle was produced in one national factory. Instead, local bottlers manufactured and distributed Coca-Cola in assigned territories. That system explains why Coca-Cola packaging and bottling operations developed regionally.