Learn from Coca-Cola

You need your own story

The original inventor of Coca-Cola was John Pemberton. He was addicted to morphine after a war injury. To treat his pain, he formulated a medical tonic by mixing coca leaf extract with other secret ingredients. He called it “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.”

But in 1886, prohibition laws hit Atlanta. Alcohol-based tonics were no longer allowed. So, John reformulated the recipe, replacing the wine with sugar syrup. Just like that, Coca-Cola made its debut in the world.

However, he was too was too sick to manage his creation. So, he sold his formula to Asa Candler who was a shrewd businessman, for just $1750. John died in 1888 and he left his family nothing.

After taking over the formula, Ash made the most important decision in the history of Coca-Cola. Instead of patenting it. He decided to keep it hidden from the world, hidden in people’s minds. Intended or not, this decision created a powerful aura of mystery. Coca-Cola’s competitors eventually found ways to make drinks that tasted similar, but none of them were able to cope with Coca-Cola’s unique brand identity.

In 1919. Coca-Cola wrote the recipe down on a piece of paper for the first time and stored it in a vault at the Guaranty Bank in New York. Obviously, the event was not about protecting the formula. Instead of hiding it, they publicly showed the ‘hiding process’. The vent created wild buzzes that turned their drink into a mystery, a legend.

But let’s talk about the “two unknown employees.” It’s not always just two people. The company has used vague language over the years—sometimes it’s two, sometimes it’s “a small group.” Exactly who these people are remains a mystery.

It is rumored that only two employees know the recipe and they are not allowed to travel together to avoid the risk of both being kidnapped at the same time. Really? Who knows, it sounds too much like a James Bond movie for me but we would never know.

In 2011, Coca-Cola moved its “secret recipe” to its Coca-Cola Museum. People can see that iconic vault where the recipe is ‘supposed to be’ stored. What a weird way to hide your secrets from the world! If someone asks me, I would say the vault is empty.

I don’t know if Coca-Cola is really holding a recipe that makes it unique from Pepsi and other copycats that came after that. I know I would get a lot of hate for saying this, but Coca-Cola doesn’t taste much different from hundreds of similar drinks out of that.

It is not the recipe that makes Coca-Cola great. Coca-Cola is built on a unique identity that is derived from its extraordinary story.

Whether individuals or businesses, everybody needs their own story to be special.