For more than 136 years, Coca-Cola has transformed from a soft drink into a culture and identity packed in a bottle, promoted in American films and series and on clothing and furniture, as no other company has.

But recently, a loyal American consumer of Coca-Cola has begun to "open" an alternative version of his favorite soft drink, Mexican Coca-Cola.

What is the story of Mexican Coca-Cola?

Is it better than the American one?

And how did it turn into a drink used in churches and religious events in Mexico?

The emergence of Coca-Cola

In the soft-drink aisles of most American grocery stores, along with traditional Coca-Cola plastic cans and bottles, there is a selection of long-necked bottles of Mexican Coca-Cola.

The bottles were imported from Mexican Coca-Cola bottling plants, which have risen in popularity in the United States since 2005, although they are more expensive than their traditional counterparts.

The history of Coca-Cola began at the hands of a pharmacist named John Pemberton, who invented the composition of Coca-Cola, and it was supposed to be a nerve-stimulating drug because of its composition that contains the African kola nut and coca leaf, in addition to carbonated water.

John sold his first cup of Coca-Cola at Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886, for 5 cents a cup, and the drink was very popular, according to the Medium website.

In 1889, American businessman Asa Candler purchased the Coca-Cola formula and brand from John's heirs.

Within 3 years, Candler founded the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, and distribution had expanded to cover all US states by 1895.

After that, Coca-Cola decided to expand beyond the borders of the United States, and spread more than expected, and its spread was more pronounced in Mexico, which first appeared in 1897, and it overtook the United States in obtaining the title of the country with the highest consumption rate of Coca-Cola per capita, as Mexicans drink more of 700 cups of it annually, nearly twice as much as an American drinks, according to Business Insider.

A traditional Mexican Coca-Cola bottle (networking sites)

Beginning in Mexico

Coca-Cola tried to open markets for it outside the United States, but the matter did not succeed greatly, until the Second World War came and Coca-Cola was the official drink of American soldiers in various camps, and through them the "drink" was passed to the indigenous people of the country, according to the "History of Yesterday" website. (Historyofyesterday).

The Second World War was credited with the spread of Coca-Cola outside the borders of the United States, so it opened bottling and distribution factories in more than one country, and Mexico was one of the first countries in which it was sold.

Coca-Cola and Mexican culture

Mexico's Coca-Cola and former president Vicente Fox have a shared ascent journey. In the 1960s, Fox was working for Coca-Cola, distributing the drink from the main company to the country's local distributors.

In 1971, Coca-Cola launched a large advertising campaign in Mexico, and at the same time, it was the official sponsor of the Mexico City Olympics, and then the World Cup, and its marketing was spread everywhere there.

After 10 years, profits increased and the market share of Coca-Cola expanded in Mexico, and loyal worker Fox rose with it and became president of "Coca-Cola Mexico".

Coca-Cola continued to grow in Mexico, as did Fox, who won the presidential election in 2000 backed by campaign donations.

Coca-Cola became cheaper and more popular, so that in some parts of Mexico it was cheaper and easier to find Coca-Cola than to have access to clean drinking water, even those with malnutrition started drinking Coca-Cola a lot to get their calories quickly.

Its popularity grew in Mexico, so that the organizers of the Church of "St. John" in the state of Chiapas replaced it with traditional wine, and it became famous as the Church of "Coca-Cola".

Is mexican better?

Despite the emergence of Coca-Cola in the United States, the Mexican version expanded on the land of origin and achieved double growth in a short time.

According to the "New York Times" (Nytimes), Coca-Cola does not publish the exact numbers of its Mexican sales, but it is very popular despite its high price compared to other soft drinks.

So why do so many prefer Mexican to American?

There are 3 main reasons to prefer Mexican over American, according to Mashed.

  • sugar cane

Some believe that "Mexican" tastes more natural than American, and this difference in taste is due to the fact that American-made Coca-Cola uses high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten, while Mexican uses cane sugar.

Coca-Cola allows independent local bottlers some room in the use of sweeteners, as long as the rest of the recipe remains intact.

  • classic bottle

The American Coca-Cola Company introduced the first two-liter plastic bottle, and soon began offering all its products in different sizes of plastic bottles.

While Mexican Coca-Cola continued to use classic glass bottles, which the consumer prefers because it feels nostalgic.

  • Ethical factor

Some believe that consuming Mexican Coca-Cola is a more ethical option, because it bolsters smaller companies around the world in the face of American globalization, and the use of cane sugar as a sweetener pits small farmers against big companies.