Atlanta’s Cliff Kluge claims to have stumbled upon a 70-year-old copy of the official recipe for Coca-Cola, and he’s selling it on eBay for $5 million.
"You don't stumble on things like this very often," Kluge told WXIA. "It's a letter, and a formula, and the processes to make it. I think it's a little deeper than having fun; I think it's the recipe for Coca-Cola."
For its part, Coca-Cola maintains that the secret recipe for the world’s best-selling soft drink is still safely ensconced at the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta.
"Through the years, many have tried to crack the secret formula, but no one has been able to reproduce the 'real thing,'" the company said in a statement. “The real formula is safely tucked away in a vault at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta."
Kluge says that he and his wife discovered the recipe inside a box of letters and papers they recently purchased from an estate sale. The recipe is dated 1943. Coca-Cola says its recipe has been kept a secret since the 19th century.
However, Kluge says his recipe closely resembles that of one uncovered by NPR in 2011 and aired on the episode “The Recipe” of "This American Life." When NPR posted that recipe online, the number of users clicking it caused NPR's site to crash.
But if you want to buy Kluge’s recipe, you won't just be able to copy if off of eBay. He has redacted most of the specific details for the recipe. Instead, you’ll need some spare change: $5 million. Or $15 million if you want to guarantee yourself a winning bid by using the “Buy It Now” option.
So, has anyone stepped up to meet minimum asking price?
"Uh, no," Kluge told WXIA.
"It's just excitement," he added. "It's an Easter egg hunt, looking for eggs out there. And when you come up with something like this, it's Christmas."
Kluge said he reached out to Coca-Cola but hasn’t heard back.
"They told me they'd call me back in 7-10 business days," he said. "Well, they haven't contacted me back."
可口可乐风靡全球，其独家配方一直是顶级商业机密。但是，据外国媒体5月14日报道，美国亚特兰大市的克利夫·克拉格宣称，他无意中发现七十年前的一份可口可乐正式配方副本，并在eBay网站标价500万美元（约合人民币3072万元）出售。
克拉格说，“人们不会经常偶遇这样的事情。那是一封信，写着配方和制作过程。我认为，那不会只是开玩笑，那就是可口可乐的配方。”
据克拉格说，最近，他和妻子在资产拍卖会 上买到一盒信件和文件，从中发现了这个配方。配方上写着1943年，但是可口可乐公司表示，自十九世纪以来，他们一直保守着配方的秘密。“许多年来，很多 人都试图破解这个秘密配方，但是没有人能够复制出‘真正的配方’。”该公司在声明中表示，“真正的配方安全地储藏在亚特兰大可口可乐世界博物馆。”
然而，克拉格说，他的配方非常接近2011年美国国家共同电台（NPR）在“美国生活”网站“食谱”栏目中透露的配方。当时，NPR在网上贴出这个配方，无数用户的点击曾导致网站崩溃。
如果想购买克拉格的配方，你不上eBay网，根本无法复制，因为他编辑了配方的大部分细节。你需要付出一大笔钱：500万美元。而且，如果你想通过使用“立即购买”选项确保自己中标，就要支付1500万美元。
那么，有人出来购买吗？
“呃，还没有。”克拉格说。“这令人兴奋。好像复活节在外面找彩蛋。而遇到这样的事，就是过圣诞节啦。”
克拉格说，他跟可口可乐公司联系过，但是没有得到回音。他说，“他们告诉我，会在7至10个工作日内回话。但是，现在还没和我联系。”