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“The secret formula for Coca-Cola is the most valuable trade secret in the world.”
—James Quincey, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
Soft drinks in America trace their roots to humble pharmacists concocting medicinal tonics and beverages in their local drug stores throughout the mid-1800s.
Among these enterprising druggists was John Stith Pemberton, a Confederate veteran who would go on to create Coca-Cola and its secret formula.
The original Coca-Cola recipe was created in 1886, by John Stith Pemberton. It included the mysterious “Merchandise 7X” ingredient.
Merchandise 7X was and still is a crucial part of Coca-Cola’s secret formula.
It is the most well-protected trade secret in business history.
It’s only known by two Coca-Cola executives at any given time, who pledge an oath to secrecy. And Storage protocols are highly secure.
Amazingly, it’s remained confidential for over 130+ years and has never been revealed by the cola giant.
The ingredient acts as a branding mystique element. It has become a part of American business folklore.
Prior to inventing Coca-Cola, John Stith Pemberton created “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.”
A popular drink similar to Vin Mariani that was marketed as a medicinal tonic.
The formula contained alcohol and cocaine. This formula reflected Victorian-era medical practices and beliefs.
However, in 1886, Atlanta enacted prohibition, which banned alcohol production and sales.
Pemberton is forced to reformulate his tonic.
He removed alcohol from the recipe and added kola nuts (a source of caffeine) but retained the coca leaf (a source of cocaine) in the formula.
This reformulation became Coca-Cola.
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The original Coca-Cola formula contained cocaine derived from coca leaves. With the added Kola nut—Pemberton came up with the beverage’s name—Coca-Cola.
It wouldn’t be till the late 19th century that health officials would understand cocaine’s harmful effects as they had not fully understood them before then.
In fact, Pemberton and others commonly used the drug in medical applications.
Because of this, Coca-Cola was initially marketed as a medicinal tonic.
In 1903, cocaine was removed from the formula in 1903.
The change was prompted by:
By 1919, Coca-Cola was purchased by Ernest Woodruff.
To secure financing for this acquisition, Woodruff placed the only written copy of the formula in a vault at the Guaranty Trust Company in New York.
This would last until 1925.
When the debt was repaid, he was able to move the formula to a new vault in Atlanta, where it remained for 86 years.
On December 8, 2011, The Coca-Cola Company moved its secret formula to a new exhibit at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.
This was the first time the formula was visible to the public, although access to its contents remains strictly controlled.
In 2006, three individuals were involved in trying to steal the secret formula.
They were almost successful.
A woman approached PepsiCo, claiming to have Coca-Cola’s secret recipe in an old notebook.
Luckily, PepsiCo chose to inform Coca-Cola about the attempted trade secret sale.
Coca-Cola contacted the FBI. The agency was able to conduct an undercover sting operation, which resulted in the arrest of three individuals.
The recipe in question Allegedly, Coca-Cola’s secret formula appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in 1886.
This was claimed in 2011 on the famous podcast, “This American Life” radio program. They announced they had discovered what they believed to be the original Coca-Cola recipe.
The Coca-Cola Company responded to “This American Life” claims. They denied the authenticity and maintained that the true formula remained secured in their vaults.
In 1985, Coca-Cola Company introduced “New Coke”. This was the biggest refomulation of of their classic beverage since Diet Coke.
This was during the peak of the Cola Wars and was driven by competition with rival Pepsi.
The launch of New Coke was met with significant public opposition. As consumers had strong emotional attachment to the original Coca-Cola formula.
After 79 days of outrage, Coca-Cola reversed its decision. They brought back the original formula and renamed it Coca-Cola Classic.
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