Coca Cola Secret Formula Put on ‘Display’

It hasn't been moved in 86 years, but on Thursday the Coca Cola Company relocated the 125-year-old secret formula for Coca-Cola to a new home at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

To mark the 125^th anniversary year of Coca-Cola, the company will share its deepest secret with the world ... sort of.

Though the paper documenting the secret formula will find a new home in the Atlanta museum, it's safe to say the secret is not out.

The Coca-Cola Company opened the vault at a downtown Atlanta SunTrust Bank and moved the 1886 formula to its new home on Thursday, but the formula itself remains hidden from view.

Now available to the public, the World of Coca-Cola unveiled its latest exhibit, The Vault of the Secret Formula.

The new exhibit, open to the public, contains a Secret Formula 4-D Theater where visitors can embark on a journey of discovery as they follow an eccentric scientist and his assistant on their quest to uncover the mysterious secret formula for Coca-Cola.

The exhibit will immerse guests in the rich history, mythology and intrigue surrounding the secret formula - but a railing will keep them several feet away from the secret, hidden in an ornate vault.

The move of the Coca-Cola secret formula is a historic moment for the Company, Phil Mooney, Coca-Cola's director of archives, said in a release announcing the exhibit. The Company has always gone to great lengths to protect it and now by safeguarding it at the World of Coca-Cola, we can share its legendary legacy with people around the world.

Dr. John S Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886 and the formula was kept a closely guarded secret, only shared with a small group and never written down. In 1891, Asa Candler became the sole proprietor of Coca-Cola after purchasing the rights to the business.

Ernest Woodruff and a group of investors purchased the company from Candler in 1919 and asked Candler's son to commit the formula to paper as collateral. This was kept in a vault in the Guaranty Bank in New York until 1925, when it was moved to Atlanta and placed in the Trust Company Bank (now SunTrust), where it remained until this week.

At one time, SunTrust held more than 48 million Coca-Cola shares. The beverage giant reiterated that the new move had nothing to do with the bank's selloff of millions in dollars of Coke stock in 2007.

By sharing this secret formula experience with our consumers, we celebrate both the rich history of the brand's beginnings and the moments of refreshment and happiness to come for future generations, Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent said in the release. This is yet another way we are recognizing and thanking everyone around the world who has made the Coca-Cola brand what it is today.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company and most recognizable brand. According to a recent survey, consumers in over 200 countries drink 1.7 billion servings of Coca-Cola products each day.

Last year alone, the Coca-Cola Company posted annual revenue of $35 billion.