Weird History Food is giving you the secrets to the Coca-Cola formula. Since its invention by John Pemberton in 1886, Coca-Cola has become the most well-known soft drink in the world. Yet who actually knows the Coca-Cola recipe? On its website, Coca-Cola claims the company's "secret formula for making Coca-Cola has remained a trade secret for 130 years." Shrouding the drink's ingredients in secrecy "creates a natural curiosity about the product itself," according to social psychologist and marketing expert Ben Voyer.