Category Big Business1

          Starbucks was started by three friends who met in the University, who shared the love for coffee and tea. English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker were fascinated by the coffee seller Alfred Peet’s roasting techniques and brewing skills.

          Drawing inspiration from Peets, they decided to open a coffee outlet that sold quality roasted coffee beans. After considering some names, they chose ‘Starbuck’, the name of the first mate in Moby Dick, because they thought that the name starting with ‘st’ had some special power.

          When they started the company in Seattle in 1971, they only sold roasted whole coffee beans and did not yet brew coffee to sell. The only brewed coffee served in the store was free samples as most of their customers did not know much about their products. The credit for the introduction of Starbucks cafe lies with Howard Schultz.

          Schultz bought Starbucks in 1982 as a marketing head. Schultz brought Starbucks when Baldwin and Bowker decided to sell it in 1987 and introduced the cafe style of business. It was an instant hit, followed by a period of rapid expansion. Starbucks soon became the world’s largest public coffee-house chain.

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          Quaker Oats Company, whose history dates back to the mid-1880s is famous not for the brand name alone, but also for its trademark. The trademark was registered by Henry Seymour and William Heston, the former owners of Quaker Oats, who sold it to Henry Parsons Crowell due to bankruptcy. Quaker has long been the icon of a healthy breakfast. The name was chosen as it projected values like honesty and integrity.

          Four oatmeal business pioneers- Ferdinand Schumacher, John Stuart, George Douglas, and Henry Parsons Crowell-formed the American Cereal Company in the mid-1880s that used the Quaker trademark. They were producing oats and wheat cereals, corn meal, baby food, and animal feed while management conflicts broke out. Dirty ownership fights led to a split that gave shape to the Quaker Oats Company with Crowell as its president.

          Throughout its history, Quaker had bought and sold several brands that changed the profile of the company. By the 1980s, Quaker sold off its non-food operations. It is owned by Pepsico since 2001.

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          Golden arches, the clown with red and yellow stripes, and burgers. This would make you think only of McDonald’s, the brand that revolutionized the modern fast food business.

          The world’s largest restaurant chain started in California in 1948, when two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald decided to seek their fortune by selling hamburgers and hotdogs. But it was nowhere close to the McDonald’s that we know today. The brothers focused on providing quick bites for the people on the road. Their meeting with salesman Ray Kroc however, changed all this.

          Ray Kroc was impressed by their technique of creating large quantities of food at a low price. Seeing a great business opportunity, he decided to invest in the brothers and offered them a franchise program in 1945.

          The chain expanded and within ten years, McDonald’s went international. Eventually, Ray Kroc bought out the brothers from McDonald’s Corporation. But he retained the name as it had got ingrained to the burgers they sold.

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          Baskin-Robbins started with two ice cream lovers who happened to be brothers-in-law. As a teenager, Irvine Robbins used to work in his father’s ice cream shops while Burton Baskin made ice creams for his colleagues in the US navy. Both of them had separate ice cream shops before they decided to be partners. The passion for creating new flavours brought them close.

          In 1945, they decided to merge their shops to form the world-renowned ice cream store- Baskin Robbins. They expanded gradually and began franchising by hiring managers. In 1949, they purchased their first dairy production unit in California. This was the beginning of the ice cream revolution. They experimented with new ingredients and flavours, bringing out more varieties. The idea was to create a different flavour for each day of a month. Right now, they have more than 1300 flavours in their assortment. They still continue to come up with a new ‘Flavour of the Month’ each month along with other creative ice creams and cake designs.

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          In 1919, Ernest Woodruff bought the company and ran Coca-Cola for the next 60 years. Nothing was the same ever again.

          He is responsible for bottling the beverage. He popularized these bottles so much, that people slowly started forgetting the soda fountains. He is also responsible for many other innovations like the metal-topped coolers, and coin-operated Coke vending machines.

          Woodruff took great efforts in marketing Coke overseas. Woodruff also created links between Coca-Cola and the U.S. military. At the outbreak of World War II, he swore that American servicemen would be able to get a cold Coca-Cola everywhere the war took them. They took Coke everywhere they went and even though the soldiers returned, Coke remained behind. Today, Coca-Cola is sold virtually everywhere in the world.

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          Coca-Cola is quintessentially American and its history dates back to 1886. It all began with the curiosity of Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta. He wanted to make a soft drink that could be sold in the soda fountains, famous during that time.

          He succeeded in making a flavoured syrup of distinct taste. It tasted good when mixed with carbonated water. People who tasted it instantly liked it. His friend Frank M Robinson suggested the name Coca-Cola which soon became an iconic brand. The story of Coca-Cola begins here.

          Coca-Cola was an instant hit in the market. Soon, the soda fountains were crowded with Coke customers. Within two years of its creation, a major part of its shares was sold to Asa Candler under whom, Coca-Cola expanded. He invested considerably in promotion campaigns. As a result, the demand increased and distribution chains grew. Looking at the possibilities of expansion, the company started to bottle the drink. The drink soon began to be associated with happiness and any occasion was felt to be incomplete without it.

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