A "highly entertaining history [of] global hustling, cola wars and the marketing savvy that carved a niche for Coke in the American social psyche" (Publishers Weekly). Secret Formula follows the colorful characters who turned a relic from the patent medicine era into a company worth $80 billion. Award-winning reporter Frederick Allen's engaging account begins with Asa Candler, a nineteenth Indeed, many an urban myth surrounds the secret recipe for the number one soft drink in the world. One pervasive story is that the formula is known only by two men, and each man only knows half of the formula, that way neither can abscond with the knowledge. The truth is far less of a logistical nightmare. Coca-Cola claims its formula is the "world's most guarded secret." The recipe, the company says, is now kept in a purpose-built vault within the company's headquarters in Atlanta. Courtesy: The long story of Coke's secret formula begins with Pemberton, a veteran from Georgia who emerged from the Civil War with a morphine addiction. Hoping to cure his ailment, he dreamed up Pemberton's French Wine Coca, a brew that included kola nut and coca wine. ‍ MERCHANDISE 7X History Oasis ‍ Few tales stir more intrigue than the enigma of Coca-Cola's original 1886 recipe and its mysterious ingredient, "Merchandise 7X." This elusive component, far from being an incidental constituent, forms the bedrock of Coca-Cola's secret formula. J265Xn.