You've probably had a cola, eaten a bag of peanuts or fired up a grill this year without knowing it all traces back to Columbus. For a midsize city on the Chattahoochee, Columbus has launched a remarkable number of brands that ended up in homes across America.

Here are eight of them.

1. Coca-Cola: the inventor started here

The man who invented Coca-Cola, John Stith Pemberton, built his career in Columbus. The pharmacist opened a drugstore here, married a Columbus woman in 1853, and lived in a Victorian cottage, the Pemberton House, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

In April 1865, Pemberton was wounded by a saber during the Battle of Columbus. He became addicted to the morphine used for his pain, and his search for something to replace it led to the drinks that became Coca-Cola. Former Coca-Cola historian Phil Mooney has said Pemberton's famous soda "was created in Columbus, Georgia, and carried to Atlanta," where Pemberton finished the alcohol-free recipe in 1886.

2. RC Cola: born from a feud over Coke

Columbus gave the world a second famous cola, and it started with an argument.

Claud A. Hatcher ran a family grocery on West 10th Street and bought Coca-Cola syrup in bulk. When the local Coke salesman refused to give him a discount, Hatcher vowed never to buy Coca-Cola again and started making his own drinks in the store's basement.

His Royal Crown Ginger Ale came out in 1905. Cherry-flavored Chero-Cola followed in 1907. In 1934 the company launched Royal Crown Cola, better known today as RC Cola. Paired with a MoonPie, it became the classic Southern "working man's lunch."

3. Nehi: the fruit soda from the same family

Hatcher's company introduced Nehi fruit sodas in 1924. They were so popular that the company renamed itself the Nehi Corporation in 1928. If you grew up drinking grape or orange Nehi, thank a Columbus grocer.

4. Aflac: three brothers and a duck

In 1955, brothers John, Paul and William Amos founded the American Family Life Insurance Company of Columbus. It became Aflac, the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, with millions of customers in the U.S. and Japan.

Aflac is still headquartered here. Its tower in MidTown is the tallest building in Columbus.

5. Synovus: a bank that started with a torn dress

Columbus Bank and Trust, the bank that became Synovus, opened in 1888 because of an accident. A textile mill worker's dress got caught in machinery, and the money she had sewn into her hem spilled across the floor. When she explained it was the safest place she knew to keep her savings, a mill executive offered to keep it in the mill safe and pay her interest. Soon the service was open to every worker, and a bank was born.

Synovus grew into a regional bank in five Southern states. It merged with Pinnacle Financial Partners in 2026.

6. TSYS: the card processor behind millions of purchases

When you swipe a credit card, there's a good chance it passes through technology that started in Columbus. TSYS began in 1959 as a division of Columbus Bank and Trust and started processing cards for other banks in 1974. It grew into one of the largest card processors in North America before merging with Global Payments in 2019.

7. Tom's Snacks: a nickel bag of peanuts

In 1925, Tom Huston began selling roasted peanuts in Columbus for a nickel a bag. Within two years, Tom's peanuts were sold across the country. The company later grew into Tom's chips, crackers and snacks, and the Tom's brand is still sold today.

8. Char-Broil: the backyard grill

The W.C. Bradley Co., founded in Columbus in 1885 as a cotton business, bought a controlling share of the Columbus Iron Works in 1925. As farming moved west, the company turned to backyard cooking and created Char-Broil. Today Char-Broil grills and smokers are sold across North America and around the world, and the company is still based on the riverfront in Uptown Columbus.

Honorable mention: Carmike Cinemas

For more than three decades, Carmike Cinemas ran its theaters from Columbus. By 2016 it was the fourth-largest movie theater chain in the country, with nearly 3,000 screens in 41 states. AMC bought it that year, and its logo and slogan live on in AMC's "AMC Classic" theaters.

Did we miss one? Tell us what other famous names started in Columbus at columbustimes.com/contact.