When Colonel Harland Sanders opened the first Kentucky Fried
Chicken outlet in 1952, neither he nor anyone else could have
foreseen that it would grow into 18,875 locations generating US$23
billion in revenue a year, and all due to one trade secret, the
"Original Recipe".
Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand for 13
consecutive years1 at US$80 billion and based on a
sugared beverage served 1.8 billion times a day, was built on a
140-year-old trade secret that the label of ingredients gives no
hint of.
A multi-billion dollar business empire can be built on trade
secrets.
Every business has its secrets
While the average business may not have a
billion-dollar-generating secret, it may not realise the value in
their existing information. A business may have more trade secrets
than meets the eye (and these are not limited to industrial or
manufacturing processes).2
