Navigate Select ESC Close

How Rivalry Shaped the Soda Industry (S2, E14) | The Food That Built America | Full Episode

2025-10-16 Entertainment
94.7k
1.3k
94
HISTORY
HISTORY
15.3m subscribers

How Charles Guth’s Rejection Sparked the Epic Cola Wars

Discover the specific moment a major customer felt disrespected by Coca-Cola, leading him to acquire a bankrupt rival and ignite a multi-decade war that defined the modern soft drink industry.

Short Summary

  • Charles Guth, president of the Loft soda fountain chain, actively rebelled against Coca-Cola after being denied bulk discounts, sparking the rivalry.
  • Coca-Cola President Robert Woodruff focused on quality control and consistency, successfully innovating chilled bottle distribution via gas stations.
  • Guth purchased the struggling Pepsi-Cola, reformulated it to appeal to price-sensitive Depression-era consumers with a 12-ounce value proposition, dramatically increasing its market share.
  • Coca-Cola later tried to eliminate Pepsi through trademark lawsuits, but Pepsi’s new leadership, led by Walter Mack, successfully defended the brand and secured its future.

This segment details the genesis of the Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola rivalry in the 1920s and 1930s. It charts the initial dominance of Coca-Cola under Robert Woodruff’s push for quality standardization and contrasts it with Charles Guth’s aggressive, profit-driven response after feeling slighted, which led directly to Pepsi's strategic resurgence during the Great Depression.

Unlock all features

FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.

Description

When candy company president Charles Guth gets shafted by a Cola salesman, he decides to buy a bankrupt rival company and go to war with the supplier who wronged him and its new CEO. In Season 2, Episode 14, "The Rise of a Rival." Watch The Food That Built America, New Episodes Sunday at 9/8c, and stay up to date on all of your favorite The HISTORY Channel shows at http://history.com/schedule. #TheFoodThatBuiltAmerica Subscribe for more from The Food That Built America and other great The HISTORY Channel shows: http://histv.co/SubscribeHistoryYT Watch more The Food That Built America on YouTube in this playlist: http://histv.co/TheFoodThatBuiltAmerica Check out exclusive The HISTORY Channel content: History Newsletter - https://histv.co/newsletter Website - https://histv.co/History Facebook - https://histv.co/Facebook Twitter - https://histv.co/Twitter For generations of Americans, food titans like Henry Heinz, Milton Hershey, John and Will Kellogg, C.W. Post and the McDonald brothers have literally been household names, but you don’t know their stories. Before they were brand names, they were brilliant, sometimes ruthless, visionaries who revolutionized food and changed the landscape of America forever. This miniseries event will tell the fascinating stories of the people behind the food that built America – those who used brains, muscle, blood, sweat and tears to get to America’s heart through its stomach, and along the way built cities, invented new technologies and helped win wars. The HISTORY® Channel, a division of A+E Networks, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, The HISTORY® Channel serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. The HISTORY® channel has been named the #1 U.S. TV network in buzz for seven consecutive years by YouGov BrandIndex, and a top favorite TV network by Beta Research Corporation. For a deeper dive, visit history.com or follow @history on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. For additional press materials visit the A+E Networks Press Center at http://press.aenetworks.com.

Top Comments (10)

@Purgatory73 2025-10-16

Love the content the History channel has been adding on YouTube. A lot of great stuff!

57 3 replies
@HappyCamper7982 2025-10-27

These are the shows that just brings Americana in your spirit.

37
@jatoa9755 2025-10-31

YouTube algorithm surprised me today . 40 mins never went by so fast , learn something new everyday .

35 8 replies
@rickbanner969 2025-10-22

I'm 50 and I remember grandma calling it an ice box

28 1 replies
@HISTORY 2025-10-14

Watch The Food That Built America, New Episodes Sunday at 9/8c, and stay up to date on all of your favorite The HISTORY Channel shows at http://history.com/schedule.

24 6 replies
@tigerphid9677 2025-10-19

I remember the soda fountains - the lady stirring the drink with a spoon after the carbonated water was added to the syrup.

15
@jtwimages 2025-10-28

Me: Can I get a Coca-Cola documentary? Waiter: Is Pepsi ok?

12 3 replies
@jordanmc9015 2025-10-27

Thinking is was ok to buy a company, in your name with the funds of another company you do not own is simply crazy.

9
@debgib007 2025-11-10

The best Cola I've ever had was RC -Cola.

6
@TonyGarrett-p1c 2026-04-03

Coke: "I'm better!" Pepsi: "No, I'M better!" Dr. Pepper: "Ahem"

1

Unlock the Data Inside
Turn Videos into Knowledge

  • Get FREE 10/day: transcripts, summaries, chats
  • Chat with videos, export text & PDF
  • $1 free API credit for RAG, chatbots & research

Free forever plan • All features unlocked

App screenshot