"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."
可口可樂(lè)風(fēng)靡全球,其獨(dú)家配方一直是頂級(jí)商業(yè)機(jī)密。但是,據(jù)外國(guó)媒體5月14日?qǐng)?bào)道,美國(guó)亞特蘭大市的克利夫·克拉格宣稱(chēng),他無(wú)意中發(fā)現(xiàn)七十年前的一份可口可樂(lè)正式配方副本,并在eBay網(wǎng)站標(biāo)價(jià)500萬(wàn)美元(約合人民幣3072萬(wàn)元)出售。
克拉格說(shuō),“人們不會(huì)經(jīng)常偶遇這樣的事情。那是一封信,寫(xiě)著配方和制作過(guò)程。我認(rèn)為,那不會(huì)只是開(kāi)玩笑,那就是可口可樂(lè)的配方。”
據(jù)克拉格說(shuō),最近,他和妻子在資產(chǎn)拍賣(mài)會(huì)上買(mǎi)到一盒信件和文件,從中發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個(gè)配方。配方上寫(xiě)著1943年,但是可口可樂(lè)公司表示,自十九世紀(jì)以來(lái),他們一直保守著配方的秘密。“許多年來(lái),很多人都試圖破解這個(gè)秘密配方,但是沒(méi)有人能夠復(fù)制出‘真正的配方’。”該公司在聲明中表示,“真正的配方安全地儲(chǔ)藏在亞特蘭大可口可樂(lè)世界博物館。”
然而,克拉格說(shuō),他的配方非常接近2011年美國(guó)國(guó)家共同電臺(tái)(NPR)在“美國(guó)生活”網(wǎng)站“食譜”欄目中透露的配方。當(dāng)時(shí),NPR在網(wǎng)上貼出這個(gè)配方,無(wú)數(shù)用戶(hù)的點(diǎn)擊曾導(dǎo)致網(wǎng)站崩潰。
如果想購(gòu)買(mǎi)克拉格的配方,你不上eBay網(wǎng),根本無(wú)法復(fù)制,因?yàn)樗庉嬃伺浞降拇蟛糠旨?xì)節(jié)。你需要付出一大筆錢(qián):500萬(wàn)美元。而且,如果你想通過(guò)使用“立即購(gòu)買(mǎi)”選項(xiàng)確保自己中標(biāo),就要支付1500萬(wàn)美元。
那么,有人出來(lái)購(gòu)買(mǎi)嗎?
“呃,還沒(méi)有。”克拉格說(shuō)。“這令人興奮。好像復(fù)活節(jié)在外面找彩蛋。而遇到這樣的事,就是過(guò)圣誕節(jié)啦。”
克拉格說(shuō),他跟可口可樂(lè)公司聯(lián)系過(guò),但是沒(méi)有得到回音。他說(shuō),“他們告訴我,會(huì)在7至10個(gè)工作日內(nèi)回話(huà)。但是,現(xiàn)在還沒(méi)和我聯(lián)系。”