Scientists and technology are very smart in this era. If we can tell what are the compositions of the edibles are to a minute details then why can’t we extract the secret formula of food and drinks like KFC and Coke?
In: Chemistry
Probably something to do with proprietary rights. I don’t think it’s legal to do it with intent to copy it. I might be wrong, but I’m sure I read something along these lines.
we can. thats how knockoffs exist.
the whole “secret formula” nonesense is to drum up hype for advertising.
and their rival companies are happier not knowing. at one point coke straight up could have bought all of pepsi but didnt want to, and there have been numerous times “secret formulas” where stolen and rival companies refused to purchase them. no one actually cares if you can make a drink that tastes exactly like coke. its still not coke.
The composition of coca-cola or most other foods can be determined with testing but you’re still missing a ton of information. How are the ingredients blended and in what exact quantities, at what temperature, are they mixed all at once or one at a time, is water added that then evaporates, and many more. A recipe is more then a list of ingredients. Without the recipe your combination may taste similar but won’t be the same. Think of off brand soda’s if you compare ingredients they often contain all the same things but they still won’t taste the same.
Technically, you can. It’s just that if you tried to do anything with it or tried and sell it, coke will make sure that it was very much not worth your time and energy.
It’s not that you can’t, it’s what are you supposed to do afterwards? You now have a product that tastes exactly like coke but has 0 of the brand recognition and market share. You likely can’t even make it cheaper since you also don’t have the logistics chain and infrastructure that they have.
Basically if you copy Coke you just have Coke that no one cares about. If you make Pepsi you have Pepsi.
Is there even a set coca cola formula? Because everywhere I’ve drunk it it tastes different. Cans taste different from bottles, small bottles taste different from large bottles, local Coke tastes different from imported Coke.
The value of Coca-Cola is the name Coca-Cola. The recipe is secondary. Blind taste tests between Coke and Pepsi usually give a slight advantage to Pepsi but when the test isn’t blind a majority prefer Coke, showing that it is your perception of the brand, not the taste of the drink, that guides your decision.
This means that **figuring out Coca-Cola’s recipe is pointless** because you still cannot legally use Coca-Cola’s trademarked name and branding, which is what people actually want.
Coca-Cola isn’t a secret. They literally print the ingredients on the bottle. It’s just a matter of what the exact percentages are.
There was a YouTube channel that did this sort of thing, took the ingredients of brand name foods and made their own versions. It eventually got shut down for whatever reason.
As for KFC, the “secret formula” is less about the ingredients and more about the ratios. It’s great for marketing too. If they have a patent on the ratios you could probably find that somewhere and copy that for yourself.
You never saw any cola drink that was not Coca Cola?
We can, but it’s not legally allowed to reproduce it. Coca Cola owns the patent to that specific formula, which means only they are allowed to distribute, produce, sell, and give permission to distribute, sell, and produce the product. Pepsi knows the formula, without a doubt. They could make it themselves, but they’re not legally allowed to. They need to make their product distinctly different enough that customers won’t confuse it with Coca Cola. That’s essentially the legal definition. You are allowed to make something like Coca Cola, but you’re not allowed to use any branding associated with it and the product needs to be different enough to not make a customer think they’re drinking it.
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