Coke Moves Its Secret Formula for All to See — Kind Of [VIDEO]

Since 1925, the secret recipe for Coca-Cola has been famously locked in a bank vault. But no more — to much fanfare, the coveted list of ingredients was moved Thursday to a new vault that’s on display at the World of Coca-Cola Museum at the company’s headquarters in downtown Atlanta.

“The time has come for the secret formula to come back home,” said Coke Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent.

Coke wanted to celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary with something dramatic, so the board of directors decided to move the formula to the new exhibit and keep it contained in a giant metal vault that can only be accessed by keypad and hand-imprint scanner.

Tim Mescon, an economist and president of Columbus State University, thinks the dramatics are in line with the mythology surrounding the recipe. “It is what this global empire has been built on,” he said. “It is basically part of the Coca-Cola tradition. The fact that we’re talking about it shows how they can create a national buzz without spending advertising dollars.”