Coca-Cola formula was to be stolen, sold, then THIS happened...

Whenever you have had a sip of Coca-Cola, you might have wondered what the secret formula is that makes this drink so unique. 

YES. There is a secret formula and it is so SECRET that it has been kept in a top-secret vault in Coke's headquarters in Atlanta and it is known only to two people in the world. 

Conspiracy To Steal Coca- Cola Formula

The priceless formula was about to be leaked and handed over to rival coke manufacturing company PepsiCo for $1.5 million in 2006. It could have shocked the cold drink industry and made Coke almost a pauper. 

Joya Williams, assistant to Coke's Global Brand Director had access to the confidential file kept in the most secret vault. 

Driven by a desire to strike gold and be a rich person overnight, she hatched a conspiracy to steal the formula and sell it to the rival cola-maker PepsiCo. 

She planned to take the photocopy of the formula, steal a sample of the same, find a middleman and sell it to rake up the moola. 

Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhany joined hands with Williams, and wrote a confidential letter to the top-most executive of PepsiCo offering the formula for a price. 

What Did PepsiCo Do?

However, instead of paying the princely amount for the most secret business formula of the world, that might have killed its rival and made it the unparalleled coke-maker of the world, the PepsiCo executives dialed their counterparts in the Coke. 

The rivals joined hands and informed the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.

FBI Sets Dragnet

The investigation agency set the dragnet, sent its agent 'Dirk' posing as a PepsiCo executive, paid $32,000 to the middlemen, received the secret file and recorded everything. 

A PepsiCo spokesperson said that they are rivals, not criminals. 

He said, "Competition can be fierce, but it must be fair and legal."

Jail Instead Of Millions Of Dollars

While Joya Williams was jailed for 8 years, Dimson received a prison sentence of 5 years, and Duhaney 
2 years. 

While Coca- Cola is the world’s most valuable soft drink brand with a market cap of $307.22 billion, 
PepsiCo has a market cap of $211.814 billion.

PepsiCo also has snack brands like Doritos, Cheetos, and Lay's Potato Chips.