HISTORY
Cobega’s FIRST COCA-COLA
HISTORY
On 31 March 1953, the first crate of Coca-Cola bottles produced at the Almogàvers factory, which was located just behind the Bebidas Carbónicas D plant, was launched on the market.
This first Coca-Cola was produced almost two years after the creation of Cobega, once construction of the factory was completed and having overcome the difficult negotiations for importing machinery, buying vehicles and obtaining the sugar quotas and new industrial licences, which was extremely complicated given the precarious economic situation of Spain at the time.
James Farley, chairman of The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, attended the opening ceremony and, that same evening, the Daurella family held an Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of Cobega at their home to celebrate the event.
In the first factory on Carrer dels Almogàvers, only 19.6 cl bottles were produced in crates of 24, with an initial production of 2000 bottles per hour, which were distributed by just five delivery trucks. In its first year of activity, Cobega’s sales, boosted by a strong advertising campaign, reached 200 000 crates, the equivalent of 1 136 000 liters.