The Coca-Cola Company was once more popular, 2005 figures show that both Coca-Cola and Diet Coke now outsell Irn-Bru. In Peru, the native Inca Kola has been more popular than Coca-Cola, which prompted Coca-Cola to enter in negotiations with the soft drink's company and buy 50% of its stakes. In Japan, the best selling soft drink is not cola, as (canned) tea and coffee are more popular. As such, The Coca-Cola Company's best selling brand there is not Coca-Cola, but Georgia. In May 2016, The Coca-Cola Company temporarily halted production of its signature drink in Venezuela due to sugar shortages. Since then, The
Coca-Cola formula Coca-Cola formula The Coca-Cola formula is the Coca-Cola Company's secret recipe for Coca-Cola syrup, which bottlers combine with carbonated water to create the company's flagship cola soft drink. Company founder Asa Candler initiated the veil of secrecy that surrounds the formula in 1891 as a publicity, marketing, and intellectual property protection strategy. While several recipes, each purporting to be the authentic formula, have been published, the company maintains that the actual formula remains a secret, known only to a very few select (and anonymous) employees. Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton is known to have shared his original formula with at least