COCA-COLA’S BILLION-DOLLAR SECRET: HOW TRADE SECRETS OUTPERFORM PATENTS
AUTHOR – NIRBHAY AGGARWAL, LL.B. STUDENT AT LLOYD LAW COLLEGE, GREATER NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
BEST CITATION – NIRBHAY AGGARWAL, COCA-COLA’S BILLION-DOLLAR SECRET: HOW TRADE SECRETS OUTPERFORM PATENTS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (10) OF 2025, PG. 889-892, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
1. Coca-Cola: More than Just Soda The Coca-Cola Co. is a non-alcoholic beverage company that manufactures, markets, and sells the said products. The company has a wide category of products, including sparkling soft drinks, water, enhanced water and sports drinks, juice, dairy, and plant-based beverages. Moreover, the company owns several brands under which these beverages are marketed globally, including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid, De Valle, Aquarius, Dasani, etc. The company started in 1886 with Dr. John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia, where he experimented by mixing a syrup with carbonated water. The drink was then sold as a soda fountain drink for five (05) cents a glass. However, in 2024, the company had a revenue of $46.1 billion[1]. The best product of the company is still Dr. John’s experiment of syrup mixed with carbonated water, which is considered traditional ‘Coca-Cola.’ This recipe/formula or the experiment by Dr. John is well well-guarded secret kept private for over 130 years now. The entire business of the company revolves around its secret recipe. Reports suggest that the recipe is kept in a secret vault in Coca-Cola’s headquarters. Dr. John shared this secret to a small group in the early 1900s, but never wrote it down on any paper. Since then, the core principle of Coca-Cola Co. is the keep their formula a secret and prevent the materials from being leaked. The individuals who get to know the formula must sign a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). It is also believed that at once only two (02) individuals are allowed to know the actual formula of the recipe, who are never allowed to meet each other or even travel through any means at the same time.
[1] Coca Cola, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola/ (16 April 2025)