# LIST OF OVER 300 COCA COLA IMITATORS AS OF 1919



## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

I found this article in a 1919 newspaper archives and it might be the most comprehensive list of so called Coca Cola imitators ever published. I say "so called" because I'm not sure that every one of them can be considered a true imitator. Nor do I know how many of them the Coca Cola Company actually took to court and filed suits against. Much has been written about this subject and this list might serve collectors and researchers in the future.

According to the opening statements, the list includes "over" 300 different uses of the words Cola-Kola-Ola, as well as other variations too numerous to mention. Some of the brands are obviously still around but the majority are not.

In order to read it clearly, I cropped the article into seven sections, a few of which overlap one another, which I did not re-crop to correct. It consist of three columns that are listed alphabetically. After discovering this list I did a search to see if I could find another one like it but was unable to.

It would be an interesting challenge for someone to collect one of every bottle on the list. But that someone won't be me because I don't have the years left that it would take to hunt down that many hard-to-find and rare bottles.      

The article is from ...

The Monroe Journal ~ Monroe, North Carolina ~ August 15, 1919

Check it out and see how many of the names are familiar to you and how many you never heard of before.

[ 1 and 2 of 8 Snippets ]


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

[ 3 - 4 - 5 of 8 ]


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

[ 6 - 7 - 8 of 8 ] Check out the last one about what it says after reading through the list ...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

P.S. Allan Petretti's Cola Cola collectibles books are a valuable resource for some of this information, of which I have four different editions that I use all of the time, but they only contain about 200 variations of Coca Cola imitators.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

P.S. ~ P.S. If you save the first image that contains the entire list, it zooms nice and clear in picture files. That way you can examine the names at one time.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

My current favorite brand name on the list is ... *SO-COOL-A* Which is obviously a play on the words "SO COLA" I did a search and found the 1914 advertisement below. But because the main list is from 1919, it appears that Coca Cola did not bother with these guys until later, if at all. Notice SO-COOL-A was a powdered drink and came in several flavors. I might toy around with this and see how many of the other brands I can find. But don't hold your breath, because a search like that could take weeks, months, and possibly even years. I'm not sure if So-COOL-A was sold in other states, but this particular ad is from ... The Daily Review ~ Decatur, Illinois ~ June 11, 1914


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## zecritr (Apr 21, 2014)

Now That is a So-Cool-A List of imitators thx


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## ACLbottles (Apr 21, 2014)

Yeah, great list. Thanks for sharing, Bob.


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## toms sc (Apr 21, 2014)

Thank you for sharing that list.great info.


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## cowseatmaize (Apr 21, 2014)

They sued about everyone but how many cases did they win? [8|][][]


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

I have come to realize that even though the master list was published in 1919, that doesn't necessarily mean every company was still in operation at the time. Apparently the list was compiled to emphasize the vast number of imitators throughout the years so the bottler who published the ad could use his little catch-phrase at the bottom about drinking a bottle of Coca Cola after reading the exhaustive list. Take the following brand for example, it was "exterminated" in 1906 ...  *KO-KOLA* From ... The Washington Post ~ Washington D.C. ~ July 27, 1906


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## iggyworf (Apr 21, 2014)

Excellent research. Thanx


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

The more I fool around with this the more interesting it gets. This article contains some of the names that are on the master list but refers to them as the "Blacklist" with a focus on those that contain "Dope."  It also includes the bottling company names and city/state locations, which is helpful. Note:Instead of my cropping these larger articles, which takes a ton of time, just save them to your pictures file and they should appear and/or zoom nicely for reading.  This one is from ... Chicago Daily Tribute ~ Chicago, Illinois ~ August 24, 1910


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

Correction ... I did a little experiment and saved the last ad I posted but it did not turn out able to read. Because I have no choice but to reduce them in size first before posting them, they apparently don't save like the originals do. I will crop and post the last one later tonight or tomorrow morning.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 21, 2014)

Another experiment ... Like I said, this could take "years"  [] It seems to work okay if I crop them into two sections.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 23, 2014)

If anyone has a particular brand they would like me to search in the newspaper archives, just post your request here and I'll see what I can find. In the meantime I will search random selections and see what comes up.


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## sunrunner (Apr 23, 2014)

how many had bottles made for them?


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## jblaylock (Apr 24, 2014)

I wonder how many of those brands survived and are still in production today.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 24, 2014)

sunrunner said:
			
		

> how many had bottles made for them?



 My guess is that the majority of them were bottled and/or produced.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 24, 2014)

jblaylock said:
			
		

> I wonder how many of those brands survived and are still in production today.



 As near as I can determine, the only one on the list that's still around is *Pepsi Cola*. Remember, the list was published in 1919 so brands like Royal Crown Cola and others were not around at the time.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 24, 2014)

I'm not sure when this brand was first established or if it was only located in Washington, D.C., nor why it went out of business, but check it out ... *Doc Cola* The Washington Post ~ Washington, D.C. ~ December 13, 1919


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 24, 2014)

P.S. Did you make the connection that the master list was published on August 15, 1919 and the Doc Cola bankruptcy ad was published on December 13, 1919. Hmm, I wonder if it was just a coincidence or what?


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 24, 2014)

One more just for the "heck" of it! [] I don't know zilch about this one yet except that it was advertised several times in 1908 in Lawrence, Kansas. *Heck's Cola / Heck's Star Cola* From ... The Lawrence Daily Journal ~ Lawrence, Kansas ~ April 29, 1908


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## cowseatmaize (Apr 24, 2014)

> the list was published in 1919 so brands like Royal Crown Cola and others were not around at the time.


I'm not sure what you mean. RC started in 1905 or so they say. http://www.rccolainternational.com/


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 24, 2014)

Cows Remember, the key word with the cola list/wars was *COLA* You forgot the rest of the story. ... Royal Crown *Ginger Ale *= 1905 Chero ColaMeloNehi Royal Crown *Cola *= 1934  http://www.rccolainternational.com/about_royal_crown_history.aspx


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## cowseatmaize (Apr 25, 2014)

Ahh, I figured I missed something.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 25, 2014)

Meet ... *William Heck* *http://books.google.com/books?id=MV8fAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT65&dq=heck's+cola&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E29aU4T5HIK1yATi4oLwBg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=heck's%20cola&f=false *


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 25, 2014)

Here's one they missed and is not on the list ... *PauCola* It says it was available in bottles, but I looked around and couldn't find one. The only thing I found were numerous syrup dispensers. The bottles must be extremely rare. ???  From ... The Chicago Daily Tribune ~ Chicago, Illinois ~ August 24, 1910


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 25, 2014)

Currently on eBay ... http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-RARE-c-1910-PAU-COLA-SYRUP-DISPENSER-ADVERTISING-SIGN-/111326182249?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19eb8ebb69


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 25, 2014)

Here's a brand with cola in it's name that few people were familiar with in the early days ... []


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 25, 2014)

Some of the brands on the list weren't even soda pop. Here's two brands by the same maker from ... The Washington Post ~ Washington D.C. ~ April 21, 1907 *Coca Wine & Kolafra*


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 25, 2014)

Here's a couple of bottles to look for. I wonder what the drink that "resembled" Coca Cola taste like? ( At least the lady didn't lie about what she did ) [8|] From ... The Cincinnati Enquirer ~ July 31, 1918 *Afri Cola ~ Cola ~ And something "resembling" Coca Cola*


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## Ron13a (Apr 26, 2014)

Some of the names of these beverages crack me up! Koke Cola? Cola Coke? Geez, no wonder they got sued.However, the real winner is Afri Cola. Really? Afri Cola? Wow. I can't believe that a militant rapper hasn't thought of this product.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

I discovered that the Coca Cola imitators list was also published as early as *1917*. But I'm not sure if this was the first one. The 1917 and 1919 list, as well as the the article itself, appear to be identical and both were provided by the National Bottlers Gazette of New York. I do not know if the list was compiled by the National Bottlers Gazette originally or if it was provided to them by someone else such as the Coca Cola Company itself. I believe the National Bottlers Gazette was first published in 1882.

The following link will take you to a newspaper archives site where you can view the 1917 article that appeared in ...

The Statesville Landmark ~ Statesville, North Carolina ~ Tuesday, January 23, 1917 

This is a different site than the one I am subscribed to. The one I am subscribed to does not have this particular publication. I was not able to save or print the article and believe you have to be a subscriber in order to do that. In any event, take a quick look at it and it will confirm that the article was in deed published as early as 1917.

[URL=http://newspaperarchive.com/us/north-carolina/statesville/statesville-landmark/1917/01-23/page-4]http://newspaperarchive.c...mark/1917/01-23/page-4


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

P.S. If you looked at the 1917 publication, you might have noticed that the title was slightly different than the 1919 issue. The 1917 title is in block lettering whereas the 1919 title has the Coca Cola script. I suspect by 1919 that the Coca Cola Company might have got involved with these ads and requested (demanded?) that bottlers use the script instead. Here's the 1919 title again for comparison to the 1917 title  ...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

I especially like articles such as this one that include information about origins. These are the toughest ads to find and I consider them a bonus when I do find them. *Celery Cola* From ... New Bern Weekly Journal ~ New Bern, North Carolina ~ June 23, 1905


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

I am currently searching to see if I can find the use of the word *Cola *that was not someone's name or a town but was used as a product of some type prior to about 1886 when Coca Cola made it's entry. The word *Coca *as a product is almost impossible to narrow down because it is so often used in connection with coca leaves and beans which are in many cases misspelled and should be cocoa and other spelling variations of the plant.

One thing I discovered as a result of my search, and never thought much about or realized before, is that the word ...

CHO*COLA*TE

... contains the word Cola.

( More about this topic later )


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

*Kola Nut?  *Maybe. Maybe not. But it seems most likely this is where the word "Cola" in Coca Cola originated from.

But mainly I'm trying to determine if Coca Cola was the first to use the exact word "Cola" as a product or if it was used by someone else earlier.
http://www.mariettasodamuseum.com/COCA.htm 

3.     The cola in Coca-Cola comes from the kola nut, yet kola nuts are not mentioned in the above Coca-Cola formula. This was because the reason for using kola nuts was for their caffeine content, and Pemberton almost positively bought his "Citrate Caffein" from a company that derived their caffeine from kola nuts. (Pemberton had previously praised the German firm Merck of producing a superior form of the stimulant from kola nuts).


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## M.C.Glass (Apr 26, 2014)

SODAPOPBOB said:
			
		

> But mainly I'm trying to determine if Coca Cola was the first to use the exact word "Cola" as a product or if it was used by someone else earlier.


I was wondering the same thing as I perused this thread. The huge imitator list appears to include anyone who used the word "Cola". I seem to recall in a previous thread a discussion of Coca Cola suing everyone in sight, but only winning the most obvious cases. Of course, many were probably forced out of business by the threat of lawsuit.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

I have not been able to find an actual product that used the word COLA, but it appears the word is a derivative of Kola / Kola Nut that originated in Africa and spread throughout the world from there. Apparently Kola Nut ingestion goes back thousands of years, mostly by chewing and/or in the form of a powder for dissolving and drinking.

The link below is to a book published in 1887 and apparently is the result of a lecture given at the time by it's author. On Page 5 there are two points of interest that I intend to do some more research on where it says ...

"The genus Cola belongs to the order Sterculiaceae ..."

And ...

"Produce of Cola acuminata, R.Br., and it's varieties." 

(At the moment I'm not sure what either one of them mean or refer to). 

~ * ~

The booklet is about 20 pages long, which I thumbed through and did a couple of searches in using the search box at the top. Even though the book was published in 1887, when I searched 'Coca Cola' it did not produce any results other than the words 'coca' and 'cola' listed separately.

Anyway, it is the most comprehensive study on African and Jamaican Kola nuts I could find that involves beverages and other products such as coffee. Once I am a little more familiar with the contents I will save and post some pictures of the pages that I feel might be of interest here.  Check it out!     

1887 Book/Lecture https://archive.org/details/onnewbeveragesub00neis


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

*Cola ~ Sterculiaceae ~ Cola acuminata ~ Kola nut  *

According to Wikipedia ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_(plant) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterculiaceae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_acuminata 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

I'm glad they called it "Coca Cola" instead of this ... []


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

This post will conclude my search for a product earlier than Coca Cola to use the word "Cola."  It seems apparent to me that Coca Cola was the first company to use the word commercially and introduce it to the western world and that it had it's origin in Africa and is directly related to the word(s) Kola / Kola Nut. ~ * ~ This definition pertains to the attached picture ...  a·kee

a?k?,?ak?/
noun: *ackee*

[*]a tropical tree that is cultivated for its fruit. Native to West Africa, it has been introduced into the West Indies and elsewhere.




[/ol]


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

Speaking of the word "Kola" This one is also on the master list. *Kola-Kola* From ... The Lethbridge Herald ~ Lethbridge, Alberta Canada ~ September 16, 1908


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 26, 2014)

This will do it for the day! Time for dinner-and-a-movie! [] This is the earliest one I've posted so far and is also my new favorite. Man-o-man, they really had a lot to say!  The word "bottle" is in there somewhere! *Kongo Kola* From ... The Salem Daily News ~ Salem, Ohio ~ June 6, *1896* (You might have to save and zoom this one - its not cooperating. I had to resize it five times)


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2014)

More Kongo Kola ...

I'm a little intrigued with this brand but also a little confused. It is on the 1919 list of imitators, so I suspect it was referring to the snake-oil-cure-all "Kongo Kola Kure."  And yet, here it pops up again in 1936. But this time it is definitely a carbonated beverage and available in bottles. I did a brief search but could not find a picture of the bottle. I also searched the bottling company who made it, but could only find references for it from the 1920s. Because the ad is dated 1936, there's a good chance the bottle was an acl. Maybe an Oklahoma collector or someone else who is familiar with the brand will be able to tell us more about it. I'm also wondering if the Coca Cola Company had any concerns about the name in 1936?   

*Kongo Kola *

From ...

The Democrat American ~ Sallisaw, Oklahoma ~ August 13, 1936


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2014)

I'm giving up the search regarding the Sallisaw Bottling Company/Works. Other than a few 1920s references and a couple of 1930s ads, I couldn't find anything about them. This 1937 ad is the latest I could find - after that they disappear. And just a year earlier, in 1936, they were bragging about how good Kongo Kola was, and yet no mention of it in 1937. It's looking as if they might have gone out of business around 1937. ??? ( The ad mentions "Pop-Cola" but I haven't found anything on that either ) From ... The Democrat American ~ Sallisaw, Oklahoma ~ July 29, 1937


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2014)

P.S. If my assumptions are correct, and the Sallisaw Bottling Company did bottle Kongo Kola for only a year or two, that would suggest an extremely hard to find and rare bottle, especially if it was a paper label bottle and not an acl. That is if there even was a bottle - maybe it was only a fountain drink. ???


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2014)

I don't know very much about this brand, but I know they had a bottle because I found a picture of one. The shoulder is embossed with QUA, but the heel has Qua Kola Bottling Company.

*Qua Kola*

From ...

The York Daily ~ York, Pennsylvania ~ February 5, 1917


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## ScottBSA (May 5, 2014)

My local knock off was KC-Ola from the Eagle Bottling Works, Kansas City, Missouri. Scott


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