Coca-Cola recipe for sale for $15 million

By Kimberly Gillan|


An American man is hoping to make a fortune by selling what he claims to be the original top-secret recipe for Coca-Cola.

Cliff Kluge, an antiques dealer from Georgia, found the recipe in a box of papers he purchased from the estate of a deceased chemist.

He's now put it on eBay for a whopping $15 million.

Coca-Cola's recipe has been shrouded in secrecy since its invention in 1886 by pharmacist John Pemberton.

Kluge's recipe is from 1943, when he believes the ingredient list was sent to the chemist when Coca-Cola was having trouble sourcing ingredients during World War II.


"I think it's a little deeper than having fun — I think it's the recipe for Coca-Cola."

Coca-Cola Company says the formula might come close, but it's not the real thing.

The original Coca-Cola recipe is locked in a vault at the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta.

"What I can discern about the formula is that it's a formula for a cola-type drink. I don't think it's Coca Cola. It can't be Coca Cola," Ted Ryan, Coca-Cola Company's archivist and historian, told WXIA.

"This particular formula is one of dozens that have popped up over the years trying to emulate the flavour of Coca-Cola."

Kluge admits he's unlikely to pocket millions of dollars for the recipe, but he believes it's worth several hundred thousand dollars.
