From the creation of Coca-Cola in 1886 to the success story of the Coca-Cola system in Austria and being recognized as an industry leader by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices: We have an inspiring past behind and an exciting future ahead of us.
Coca-Cola HBC Austria is one of the biggest companies in the non-alcoholic beverage industry in the country and is a franchised bottler of The Coca-Cola Company. Together we aim to refresh Austria since 1929.
Coca-Cola is available in Austria since 1929 and is now more than ever ready to refresh local consumers. As part of Coca-Cola HBC, we clearly commit to our strong international background, but also to our local roots.
Our sustainability strategy is embedded throughout the entire Coca-Cola HBC Group. We take local actions to contribute to the international goals defined by the Group.
1886: Doctor and pharmacist John Stith Pemberton creates Coca-Cola in Atlanta (USA). He develops a delicious blend: Coca-Cola is born.
1888: Pemberton sells his unique recipe and all rights to his secret formula for only 2,300 dollars to the businessman Asa Griggs Candler from Atlanta.
1892: Four years later, Candler founds The Coca-Cola Company and sets a milestone for one of the most successful stories in the (beverage) world.
1895: Coca-Cola is sold and consumed in every state in the US.
1899: The Coca-Cola Company franchises its beverages to independent companies for the first time. With this step, the licensing system is established.
1929 – 1948: Birth and first years in Austria
1929: Heinrich Ganahl from Bludenz signs the first bottling and distribution agreement with The Coca-Cola Company and produces the first 24,000 bottles.
End of the 1930´s: Coca-Cola GmbH is founded in Vienna
1948: Römerquelle water is bottled for the first time ever
1951 – 1969: the beginnings of Coca‑Cola HBC
1951: Coca‑Cola HBC originates in Nigeria, where A.G. Leventis founded the Nigerian Bottling Company.
1953: After the Second World War, the Paul Koenig OHG in Lambach restarts production. During the first year, 64,344 bottles are sold.
1955: The Gesellschaft für alkoholfreie Getränke (Society for non-alcoholic beverages) starts operations at Wienerberg in the district of Favoriten in Vienna on February 1st. Its first bottling plant is established in 1956.
1965: Since 1953, another eleven Coca‑Cola franchises were established. With the foundation of Römerquelle GmbH their mineral water is marketed across Austria for the first time.
1969: Hellenic Bottling Company SA is founded in Greece.
1981 – 1998: Reorganisation of the Coca-Cola system
1981: The Nigerian Bottling Company takes over the Hellenic Bottling Company.
1982: The Australian company Amatil Ltd. takes over the Wienerberg Getränke GesmbH and the Grazer Getina.
1991: Hellenic Bottling Company SA shares are listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
1996: Coca-Cola Amatil becomes the only Coca-Cola concessionaire in Austria.
1998: Coca-Cola Beverages takes over all European business from Coca-Cola Amatil.
2000: Coca-Cola HBC is founded
2000: The Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. merges with Coca-Cola Beverages, which is noted on the London Stock Exchange and operating in twelve countries.
2003: Römerquelle becomes a brand of Coca-Cola Hellenic Austria.
2007: The PET to PET Recycling Plant in Müllendorf is founded.
2008–2023: Investing in the Future
2008: Coca-Cola HBC is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the first time.
2013: In May, Coca-Cola HBC Austria opened a state-of-the-art production and logistics center in Edelstal, Burgenland, where all soft drinks and Römerquelle mineral water are bottled and distributed throughout Austria
2019: Römerquelle becomes the first major mineral water brand in Austria to switch all PET bottle bodies to 100 percent recycled PET; the transition for the soft drink portfolio bottled in Edelstal will take place in 2023.
2021: Commissioning of the new high-tech can line: It has a capacity of approximately 90,000 cans per hour and enables soft drinks to be bottled directly in Austria.
2023: Expansion of the returnable bottle portfolio with a new returnable glass bottle line at the Edelstal site