Here at Retroplanet.com we are surrounded by all things retro. Not only the things we sell but original items and collections that decorate our offices. We thought it might be interesting each week to bring you a photo and information of an interesting, and maybe unusual, retro item we have kicking around. Please note these items are not for sale.

This photo is of a Coca-Cola bottle holder intended for use in a car. This was distributed by the Coca-Cola Company in the 1950s to promote sales of their bottled soft drink. The back of the cardboard holder has an advertisement that explains several ways to hang it within a car, including attaching it to the dashboard or placing it on a door lock. It’s an interesting item that must have been very useful in the days before cup holders were standard equipment in cars.

Today the Limca brand is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. It is a lemon-lime carbonated drink with a hint of ginger that has been produced in India since 1971. Limca is less sweet and has less carbonation than typical American soft drinks. It is distributed in India, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Zambia. Limca is sold primarily in glass bottles that are returned to the bottler by the store or restaurant. They are washed and reused because the bottle is more expensive than the soft drink in India. It is also available in cans and liter bottles. Indian advertising for Limca features famous Hindi film actresses and actors endorsing the soft drink.

The Coca-Cola Company was the leading soft drink manufacturer in the country when they removed their soft drink business from India in 1977. They pulled out because the Indian government had created policies in an attempt to coerce the Coca-Cola Company into revealing their secret recipe for Coke. After a sixteen-year absence they returned to India in 1992. In 1993 they bought Limca from Parle Beverages of Mumbai, in addition to other soda brands they purchased.

The Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola India

Here at Retroplanet.com we are surrounded by all things retro. Not only the things we sell but original items and collections that decorate our offices. We thought it might be interesting each week to bring you a photo and information of an interesting, and maybe unusual, retro item we have kicking around. Please note these items are not for sale.

This is a 4 1/2 “ tall cardboard replica of a Westinghouse Coca-Cola Vending Machine. The box is filled with matchbooks advertising Westinghouse appliances. It dates to the late 50s, early 60s when smoking was more popular and matchbooks were commonly distributed as a means of advertising a product.

This model soda vending machine is the Westinghouse WC-78MD that was introduced in 1959. It was the smallest of the Select-O-Matic coolers. Any of the six different drink flavors could be selected by turning the dial.

When the flap is opened on the box, it reveals a photo of the internal workings of the “machine”. Based on the copy within the box, (“Boost Your Sales with Westinghouse”), these were used to promote sales of Westinghouse Coca-Cola vending machines at businesses and institutions. The back of the box presents the selling points of the machine. Each individual matchbook is printed with additional promotional copy.

The Coca-Cola Archives issued this document in 1976. It illustrates the different can styles used from the very first can design to the can design used beginning in 1970.

Coca-Cola was first introduced in cans in 1940. The original can design was a cone style can with a metal crown cap. Both 16- and 32-ounce cans were tested in the market from 1940 to 1942. But when WWII began, the shortage of materials made it necessary to put their testing on hold. Testing results up to this point indicated people didn’t like the taste of Coca-Cola in cans, as it gave it a metallic taste.

Postwar, cans were redesigned with a liner in the hope of producing a better tasting product. A new flat topped can with an improved liner was released in 1955 exclusively for distribution to the Armed Forces in the Pacific. This 12-ounce can was test marketed in New England and California in 1959 and was made available to the general public in 1960.

As you can see in the second photo, can designs continued to change throughout the 1960s and had a redesign again in 1970. In 1985 the Coca-Cola formula was changed and resulted in very negative reactions from the public. Later in 1985 the Coca-Cola Company returned to both the original formula and design used in the 1970s, with the word “Classic” added to the label.