By Emily Ngo, amNewYork Nation/World Editor
The famed formula behind its soda -- under wraps for 122 years and stowed in an Atlanta bank vault -- is rarely accessed. Executives won't even disclose how many employees know the formula, acknowledging only that the number is low.
"The mystique of the secret formula is part of the brand's DNA," said Phil Mooney, director of Coca-Cola's archives department. "We don't provide much specific information about it."
Despite plots to sell the recipe to rival companies and claims of replication, Coca-Cola's original formula remains among the world's best-kept trade secrets. The beverage behemoth isn't the only brand to legally protect its economic advantages.
Kentucky Fried Chicken's original "11 herbs and spices" recipe, handwritten by Col. Sanders 68 years ago, was transferred earlier this month from a Louisville safe to an undisclosed location. The yellowing parchment is now protected by motion sensors and laser beams, said KFC spokeswoman Laurie Schalow.
Is all that trouble worth it? Yes, said Manhattan intellectual property attorney Scott Lebson.
"Today, it's not about brick and mortars; it's about intangible rights," he said. "It's more about driving the value of the company. It's what you have that others don't have."
Trade secrets, unlike patents, aren't disclosed to the public but are similarly protected from theft and intimation, Lebson said. They aren't limited to the food industry either. Internet search engines and polling companies also use techniques kept legally secret, he said.
Google's algorithm technology is continuously updated but still actively protected from competitors, according to the search engine's spokeswoman. It is not a legal trade secret, however, she said.
But the process comes highly recommended by KFC, where two executives know the recipe and only one other has access to the safe.
"Having a trade secret is what differentiates us from all other restaurants," said Schalow, a company spokeswoman. "No one can match that great chicken recipe, so we like to say it's priceless."
