Today , Coca-Cola ranks as the single most popular soft drink in the world . But Coca-Cola was invented in a drugstore . John Pemberton ,a pharmacist in Columbus, Georgia , originally invented a alchoholic "French wine coca ", but due to temperance legislation in 1886 he modified it to create a non-alcholic Coca-Cola. The public loved it , believing that the carbonated water was a health tonic . Pemberton , however , did not end up making much money from his fizzy beverage . Asa Candler , an American tycoon , accumulated a small fortune after buying a portion of the Coca-Cola Company from the inventor . He advertised it in newspapers to aggressively promote the drink . The company was later sold to Atlanta businessman Ernest Woodruff, but it was Woodruff's sons who would have the greatest influence on Coca-Cola's rise to global dominance.