The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia – Bottling Happiness Laced with Corn Syrup

I originally visited Atlanta (and the World of Coca-Cola) in 2006. I remember the tour being interesting and I learned a great deal about Coca-Cola in the process. However, I remember thinking that the exhibit was tired, old, and out of date. It was built in the 1980′s, and it looked as though it hadn’t seen and update since.

But I learned during that visit that they were actually in the process of developing an constructing an entirely new World of Coca-Cola – not just revamping the old one, but starting all over again in a new building. The idea behind this was that Coca-Cola is an ever evolving brand. While timeless, its advertisements are very tied to pop culture and what is cool at the moment. The old museum was not easily reconfigurable with new advertisements and branding efforts which made it feel so old fashioned and out of touch.

The new museum was being built with adaptability in mind allowing for rotating exhibits and new updatable video, audio, and interactive exhibits. I was disappointed that I was not there to see the new museum, but still enjoyed the old World of Coca-Cola nonetheless.

That’s why when I returned to Atlanta in 2012, I knew I had to see the new museum.

The NEW World of Coca-Cola

I waited in a line for about 10 minutes before entering the lobby where I was greeted by larger than life Coke bottles decorated with various worldly designs representing the countries of origin of the various artists.

The tour started in a memorabilia room which contains the oldest Coca-Cola artifact (a syrup dispenser from the 1800′s) as well as the very first Coca-Cola soda fountain. The guide told us the story of the founding of Coca-Cola by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton at a pharmacy just blocks away from where the museum stands today.

Then, we were ushered into a theater where we watched an extended version of a Coke commercial explaining how Coca-Cola ‘bottles happiness.’ The video turned into a musical singalong, with the characters on screen encouraging the audience to sing a long, but alas, their efforts did not work. It was slightly painful to sit through as not a single person in the audience sang along. This whole video came across as cheesy and felt a little like indoctrination into the cult of the Cola giant.

After the film, we were given access to the rest of the ‘World’ where we were allowed to visit the attractions and exhibits at our own pace and without a tour guide. This is where the World of Coca-Cola varied vastly from the original that I had visited six years prior. All the original artifacts were still there, but instead of being presented in a chronological, museum like format, they were presented in interactive, themed galleries that visitors access from the central ‘hub’ area. This new layout allowed me to pick and choose which exhibits I visited first instead of having to walk through the entire museum.

By this point, I was getting pretty thirsty and had already endured about 20 minutes of taunting and teasing from the folks at the World of Coca-Cola. We had seen Coca-Cola products everywhere – bottles, cans, vending machines, glassware, etc. We had even been subjected to the audio assault – a sound clip of a bottle of Coke being opened followed by the glug glug as it poured out into a glass and the subsequent popping fizz sound which that created.

And yet there had been no samples yet.

Coca-Cola everywhere but not a drop to drink. If there’s one thing Coca-Cola can do very well, it’s manufacturing the ‘crave’ response in their customers. I don’t even like Coke that much yet here I was ready to trample small children in order to be first in line for a sip.

Thanks to the new museum layout, I didn’t have to wait until the end of the tour to get to the tasting room. Right after the movie finished, I made a beeline for Taste It!, the official tasting room at the  World of Coca-Cola. I found all of the familiar favorites here – Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, etc.

But in addition to this, the tasting room offered over sixty other beverages that Coke serves around the world, organized by continent. Some were familiar, some weren’t. Some were delicious, others….not so much. Here’s my breakdown of the most interesting flavors I found at Taste It!

North America

Tab – I wasn’t aware that Tab was still manufactured, but apparently some people somewhere are drinking this cola. Tab is the ‘original’ diet Coke, using saccharine instead of aspartame as it’s sweetening agent. As an added bonus, it’s logo is full of nostalgia-y goodness.

Barq’s Red Creme Soda – I’d never seen Barq’s logo on anything either than a root beer until I saw this. Apparently, Barq’s Red Creme Soda is a regional variant and is only sold in select markets.

Latin America

Manzana Lift – This was my first introduction to foreign soda on a trip to Mexico when I was 12. I loved it and would ask my dad to bring back a six pack whenever he’d make one of his frequent trips south of the border. It tastes like apple juice, but with carbonation…which is awesome. It’s still one of my favorites to this day.

Delaware Punch – Given the name, you might be inclined to think that Delaware Punch is from the United States, and you’d be correct. However, The World of Coca-Cola has it listed under Honduras on the Latin America soda fountain. The drink is originally from the US, though it is extremely difficult to find now. It is a fruit based beverage with grape as it’s primary flavor, however, it is now banned across much of the United States due to a coloring agent used in its production which causes behavioral modifications in children (wait, what?).

Inca Kola - Inca Kola was originally owned and manufactured locally in Peru and was a favorite drink of the locals. In the case of most every other country wherever Coca-Cola was introduced, it soon outperformed the local competition and drove it out of business. However in Peru, the locals were resistant to the foreign cola and Inca Kola continually beat out Coca-Cola in sales. After Coca-Cola realized they couldn’t beat Inca Kola on their home turf, they did the next best thing – bought them out. Inca Kola is a golden color and tastes nothing like the colas I’m used to (perhaps that’s because it’s a Kola?), tasting a bit like bubble gum.

Europe

Mezzo Mix – Mezzo Mix is a German drink that is essentially a mix of Coca-Cola and orange Fanta. It seemed familiar when I tasted it, but that’s because I’m pretty sure I made this drink all the time when I was a wee one, mixing the sodas at the fountain and creating a huge mess much to the chagrin of my mother.

Beverly – This is perhaps the most talked about soda in the tasting room. It is a bitter aperitif consumed in Italy before meals, and it has a displeasing taste to most people who try it. I was no different and didn’t particularly enjoy the unique taste. It derives it’s flavor from quinine (also present in tonic water) and will actually fluoresce if held under ultraviolet light.

Africa

Bibo – This was an extremely sweet pineapple and coconut drink – a pina colada for children. Anthropomorphized pieces of fruit are the mascots of this particular soda.

Stoney Tangawizi – A ginger drink distributed throughout much of Africa. This drink takes the ginger flavor far beyond ginger ale; it tastes more like the pieces of ginger you’d be served alongside your sushi.

Asia

Vegitabeta - This is a popular Coca-Cola product in Japan and as marketed as a vegetable soda drink. However, like every other product in the room, it’s main ingredients are sugar and water. Betacarotene is added, giving the drink a nice carroty-orange color.

Smart – Smart is a fruit soda introduced by Coca-Cola in the world’s largest market – China – and has been expanded into several flavors across the fruit spectrum. At the World of Coca-Cola, they had the green apple flavor which was incredibly sweet and tasted exactly like a green apple jolly rancher.

In addition to the soda fountains from around the world, Coca-Cola had one of their new freestyle fountains which allows the users to select a drink (such as Coke) and add a variety of flavoring combinations. This machine takes the soda fountain to a new level offering over 100 different types of soda. I’ve seen this in a few restaurants so far and depending on it’s success, I think we could expect to see this replace the standard soda fountain in a few years.

It was fascinating trying all the different sodas from all over the world, but one thing that I think would make this exhibit even better would be to have discontinued Coca-Cola drinks available. Who wouldn’t want to try an OK Soda, Surge, or New Coke to see how they stack up today?

There was also a special ‘holiday’ edition drink they were serving up – Gingerbread Coke. While it is not manufactured for the general public, they gave out the recipe so people could make it at home (here’s a hint: one of the ingredients is Coke).

I made a point to try every single drink at the World of Coca-Cola. Yes, that’s over 60 different types of soda. And yes, I probably accelerated the onset of my eventual diabetes by a couple years in doing so. But I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to try these drinks I may never see again (and also drink an entire admission fee’s worth of soda).

Bottling

After I finished at the tasting room with my thirst sufficiently quenched, it was time to visit the rest of the exhibits at The World of Coca-Cola. My first stop was the Bottling Works, which is a miniaturized version of a standard Coca-Cola bottling operation run on a smaller scale and at a much slower speed so visitors can get an idea how the soda is made.

The tour takes you through the whole process from the syrup tank to carbonation to the capping of the bottles. The bottles produced here are given to every visitor at the end of the tour as a take home souvenir.

The Vault of the Secret Formula

Aside from the tasting room, the highlight for me was a visit to the Vault of the Secret Formula. Coca-Cola has always made a big deal about the secrecy of their formula, and this exhibit capitalizes on that. Outside, we were greeted by a security guard (or more likely, an actor portraying a security guard) and we were led in through a giant circular vault door.

Once inside, we had to undergo ‘security clearance’ which consisted of everyone standing in a room of tv monitors while they ‘scanned’ our images on the monitors to determine our worthiness to enter. Not surprisingly, every single person was allowed in. Apparently no one was deemed a security threat. Once inside, there were interactive exhibits that focused on dispelling fact from fiction about the secret formula, but I’ll keep this a surprise for those who visit.

After another short video presentation, we were led into the final room where the vault was contained. Dramatic lighting, intense music, and more security guard actors enhanced the experience until finally, the wall opened up and there it was before us – the actual vault where the secret formula is held.

For decades, the secret formula had been held in a much simpler safety deposit box at Sun Trust Bank just down the road from Coca-Cola’s corporate headquarters, but the company had it moved over to this new vault no more than three weeks prior to my visit. Is this vault necessary to protect the secret formula? Not likely. Instead, it is part of the larger production specifically to entertain and engage visitors. While the whole act was a bit over-the-top, it was still entertaining none-the-less.

But this led me to thinking – does Coke actually need to protect their secret formula? I understand that 100 years ago, competition was fierce and if a competitor got a hold of the recipe, they could push Coke out of business. But today, Coca-Cola’s equity is not in it’s recipe for sugary brown water, but rather the brand that they’ve spent building up since.

If a competitor big or small found the recipe and started manufacturing an identical product, how much damage would it really do to Coke’s sales? While it might have an impact, I don’t think it’d be too damaging.

No, Coke’s value is not in the soda, but rather in the image, the ideal it represents, the feelings it conjures…and this exhibit (and The World of Coca-Cola in its entirety) continues to build and develop that image – which I assume is the vault’s true purpose, rather than to protect the formula.

Final Thoughts

Is The World of Coca-Cola a giant advertisement? Without a doubt. Is it worth paying $16 to be bombarded by advertisement? It depends. I’m not a huge soda fan, but I enjoy a Coke (or Pepsi – I don’t discriminate) every now and then. The reason I chose to visit is the huge impact Coca-Cola has had on our culture – from the local to the international level. This isn’t just the history of Coke, it’s history represented through the attitudes and advertisements of Coca-Cola at the time.

Coca-Cola was never shy about current events and imagery of the day into their advertising, so it’s like looking through a window into the past – albeit a red tinted one. Despite my skepticism of it, I actually really enjoyed my visit to The World of Coca-Cola. It’s very well put together, and there are some unique experiences waiting inside it’s walls.

Plus, I reason that I made up my $16 entry fee on samples alone, as I consumed so much soda I could feel my teeth starting to disintegrate in my mouth.

General Info
121 Baker Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30313-1807
http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/
1.800.676.COKE
Hours: In general, hours are 10:00 a.m. – last entrance at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday-Monday and 9:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays, but can vary. Check the website for the latest hours.
Cost: Adults: $16
Seniors: $14
Children ages 3-12: $12
Children 2 and under: free
TRR Tips – The World of Coca-Cola is open later than other Atlanta area attractions and is best seen in the evening. If you only have an evening to spend in Atlanta, the World of Coca-Cola is one of the few attractions that’s open past 5:00.

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Tagged as: Atlanta, Georgia, Museums, USA