He attended several North Carolina academies before entering The University of North Carolina in 1886. After three years he left to study medicine at the University of Maryland.
Unfortunately, a family crisis forced Bradham to drop his pursuit in medicine and return home to North Carolina. He returned home to teach in the Vance Academy in New Bern, a private school run by Appleton and Augusta Oaksmith.
Bradham continued to be interested in medicine, and after two years he went back to Maryland and entered the College of Pharmacy. Upon completion of those studies, he purchased a drug store in 1891 in his hometown of New Bern, North Carolina, and established "Bradham's Pharmacy," where the Pepsi-Cola story began.
Caleb Bradham experimenting with combinations of spices, juices, syrups and he trying to create a refreshing new drink to serve his customers. He invented the beverage known around the world as Pepsi-Cola.
In 1893, he sold it as “Brad’s Drink”, claiming among other things that it was a “cure for dyspepsia.” The “Brad’s Drink,” made from a mix of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg, and other natural additives, became an overnight sensation.
In 1898, Mr. Bradham purchased the name “Pep Cola” from a company that had gone out of business, subsequently changing the name of his creation to Pepsi-cola and seeking a patent on the name in 1902.
In late 1902, the Pepsi-Cola Company was formed due to the rising popularity and demand for the Pepsi-Cola Syrup with none other than Caleb Bradham as the first president. The company became a corporation under the laws of North Carolina. It began in the back room of the drug store and was an immediate local success.
He mixed his syrup, packaged it, and went out to build sales. He was a popular man and a superb salesman, and it was not long before his drink became a nationally known product. He franchised other territories in rapid succession until, by the end of 1910, there were at least three hundred bottlers spread over twenty-four states.
Hard times fell on Bradham and the Pepsi-Cola franchise during WWI. This was due to the high price and severe rationing of sugar. Pepsi Cola officially was bankrupt as of May 31, 1923, and its assets were sold to Craven Holding Corporation for $30,000.
Biography of Caleb Davis Bradham – Inventor of Pepsi-Cola
