Pepsi Alerted Coca-Cola to Stolen-Coke-Secrets Offer

Fox News ^ | Thursday, July 06, 2006 | AP

[Brytani]

Pepsi Alerted Coca-Cola to Stolen-Coke-Secrets Offer

•Three Arrested for Allegedly Stealing, Plotting to Sell Coca-Cola Recipes•Coke:

Coca-Cola (KO) and Pepsi (PEP) are usually bitter enemies, but when PepsiCo Inc. got a letter offering Coke trade secrets, it went straight to its corporate rival.
Six weeks later, three people were scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday to face charges of stealing confidential information, including a sample of a new drink, from The Coca-Cola Co., and trying to sell it to PepsiCo......

[Brytani]

With all the bad news we hear about companies (and the rich) using unethical and illegal business tactics to turn profits, I thought it would be nice to share a story where a company acted with complete integrity.

Kudos to Pepsi.

[Sir Gawain]

Now if they could just do something about their drink that tastes like flat Coke.

[Tex Pete]

It was good on Pepsi's part.

I think lots of big companies realize they have to stick together to keep this sort of thing from happening.

[donmeaker]

Cocacola was developed as cold medicine. Still tastes like it to me.

Moxie: even worse!

[ASA Vet]

I've not allowed a Pepsi product in my house since they hired Comrade Geraldine Ferraro.

[AmericaUnited]

I'm sure about the "complete integrity" part. Pepsi would never really know if this was a sting/dirty trick by Coke, or the party with the "secret" would blackmail them in the future to keep this quiet, or they would sell this to National Enquirer, etc., so of course they would never accept this info.

Real Integrity is when Pepsi is CERTAIN Coke (or anyone else) would not find out, and they still go to Coke.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

It lost something when they took the cocaine out.

[Xenalyte]

What you said. If it doesn't say Coke on it, it doesn't get drunk by me.

[rwfromkansas]

Wow. Good on Pepsi; I probably would not have returned it to them since I view corporate intelligence as fair game.

But, that is integrity.

Pepsi is way better than Coke anyway.

Coke makes me want to hurl.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Now if they could just do something about their drink that tastes like flat Coke.

I always preferred Pepsi when I was drinking non-diet sodas. Coke tastes vaguely of cough medicine. But I hear that if you drink Coke in a part of the world where they still use cane sugar instead of corn syrup as a sweetener, the taste is a lot better.

[SouthernBoyupNorth]

Industrial espionage is a federal crime. Any company engaging in and getting caught doing this faces Huge fines and penalties that can kill the company.

[dfwgator]

"You may have won this time Coke, but I'll be back!!"

[Abathar]

Unfortunately I think you are exactly correct. Pepsi had no way of knowing if they were being set up or not, if they bought the secret and then word hit the street they did it it would be a huge advertising blitz for Coke. I bet they factored all that in first before they decided to "do the right thing".

[Red Badger]

Now, if Coke could do something about its drink that tastes like syrupy Pepsi........

[dayglored]

Spelling correction:

> With all the bad news we hear about companies (and the rich) using unethical and illegal business tactics to turn profits, I thought it would be nice to share a story where a company acted with complete integrity enlightened self-interest that happened to align with doing the Right Thing.

There, that's better.

> Kudos to Pepsi.

Agreed. They were smart enough to realize that taking that insane bait would have started the lawsuit of the century.

Understand, I don't think Pepsi (or Coke) are evil. I'm just saying that no company in its right mind would go for that crap these days, and being sane/smart is not the same as having complete integrity.

That said, kudos.

[Red Badger]

since I view corporate intelligence as fair game.

It's illegal to conduct industrial espionage.......

[rawcatslyentist]

What have you got against Ayatollah cola?

Must be the proximity to the plain nuts from plains peanuts association!

[Red Badger]

Man, you ARE OLD if you remember how it tasted then!........

[Joe 6-pack]

"If it doesn't say Coke on it, it doesn't get drunk by me."

I agree; In addition to Coke Classic, I'm particularly fond of Fresca....

[js1138]

"New Coke" was invented because in countless blind tests (some conducted by Coke) people preferred Pepsi. And because Pepsi was kicking their butts among kids, the future market.

I have no idea why people prefer one or the other, and apparently the marketing geniuses don't either.

[Red Badger]

I drink either. They should both come with a bag of peanuts for inserting..........

[Beelzebubba]

The "secret" is that the formula is not where the value lies. It's 99% branding, and the feelings advertising has generated in association with the familiar look and feel of the product packaging.

[mass55th]

I've been a Pepsi drinker my whole life. Since I've been diagnosed with sugar, I've had to switch to their diet products. I don't care for their regular diet Pepsi, so I've had to start drinking their flavored diet products. I also like A&W diet Root Beer and Creme Soda. Pepsi recently stopped producing their Pepsi Twist, which was flavored with Lemon. It's a shame since I really liked it. I heard they're supposed to be releasing a strawberry and creme flavored softdrink. Bleccchhh! Anyway, I took my first trip overseas (Belgium, Holland, France and the UK), and discovered that Pepsi is very hard to find. Coke has the bulk of the business there.

[Xenalyte]

Fresca! The only soda who can claim as its ad line, "Because it doesn't taste as much like grapefruit as it used to."

[wbill]

Moxie: even worse!

Moxie is nectar of the Gods. Mrs WBill, however, agrees with you!

I miss Moxie, since I moved out of Maine.

[dayglored]

> It lost something when they took the cocaine out.

Yeah, the "fanatically loyal" consumer base...

[Xenalyte]

Y'know, I am 37 and have lived in Houston my entire life (except for kindergarten, which was spent in Seguin), and I have never tried that.

Just regular unsalted peanuts? How many, more or less?

[joesbucks]

With all the bad news we hear about companies (and the rich) using unethical and illegal business tactics to turn profits, I thought it would be nice to share a story where a company acted with complete integrity

You got to wonder if they thought this was a set up like an ABSCAM set up.

[reagan_fanatic]

Now, if Coke could do something about its drink that tastes like syrupy Pepsi........

Even a warm can of Pepsi after its gone flat is better than a fresh can of Coke anyday.

[NorCalRepub]

.....you don't drink Pepsi for that reason alone?.. ha ha. a little extreme.... Well I hope you don't drink Coke either since Vicente Fox was the top executive of Coca Cola Mexico..

[HungarianGypsy]

That's funny. I always thought Coke was the one that tasted flat and bitter. Pepsi always seemed more fizzy.

[NorCalRepub]

I agree.....I don't drink too many soft drinks being a health nut....but I always found that Pepsi tasted better but for the diet drink, Coke tasted better....not sure why

[Northeastern_Realist]

If you left a bottle of Coke open for six hours then added three times as much sugar, you would get something that tasted pretty close to Pepsi.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Y'know, I am 37..."

D@mn...we're the same age? As per Python's Grail, "I'm not old, I'm 37." It was also Rick Blaine's age in Casablanca. No Fresca was consumed in the making of either movie.

[Red Badger]

Regular or salted is okay. Spanish Redskins are my favorite. The small Planter's bags 4" are just the right size. Just pour them into the bottle and enjoy. Be careful to not get a peanut down you throat!............

[Red Badger]

I believe Coke has a higher sugar content than Pepsi.......

[ASA Vet]

I don't drink Coke either. If I have a cola for home consumption it's our local store brand.

Mixed with equal amounts of 114 proof Old Grandad either will work.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Don't forget the booze.

[Lazamataz]

Only reason they did it is because they've had the formula for years already.

[NorCalRepub]

....lol.....that's the ticket.......I always buy the generic store brands too....cheaper and can't tell the difference as a mixer.....*wink*

[OneWingedShark]

Indeed... though I usually drink Dr. Pepper, I think I'll go buy a Pepsi today...

[Lazamataz]

It's illegal to conduct industrial espionage.......

Agreed. Move a little to your left, though, I can't quite see your business plan.

[Lazamataz]

Alcohol is death. Shun the booze. Run and hide.

[TexasCajun]

Maybe Pepsico thought it was a setup to charge them with corporate espionage?

Not so sure it was as much integrity as it was suspicion.

[Red Badger]

There are no windows where I work.......

[TexasCajun]

[Lazamataz]

There are no windows where I work.......

I know.

[Red Badger]

Dabnaggit! I guess I won't be getting that "special" shipment this week........

[SmoothTalker]

Smart move on their part. They don't need to produce a product like Coke and know that. They know they wouldn't make money making the exact same thing. They also know that they'll get good publicity if they come forward about this and'll get even more if they go to the FBI instead of the Atlanta pd.

[Brytani]

I'd assume since people are arrested and going to federal court, if it was a Coke setup they'd be screaming that from the rooftops.