MRM EXCLUSIVE: Strategies for Keeping the Secret Formula

Giants such as Coca-Cola and KFC are famous for zealously guarding the secret recipes that set their brands apart, but distinctive recipes could be key ingredients in the success enjoyed by smaller restaurants as well. Recipes can constitute valuable forms of intellectual property that, from a strategic or even legal standpoint, are well worth protecting. After all, most of us have had a friend heartily recommend a place by saying something along the lines of “The shrimp and grits over there are out of this world. You simply must try them.”

To mitigate the risk of your recipes getting out to competitors, you may try to treat those important dishes as trade secrets. Rumor has it that no single employee is ever allowed to know the entire formula for Coca-Cola. Likewise, if a recipe truly is critical to your restaurant maintaining its competitive edge, you might consider keeping it secret even from your own staff. For example, different chefs could handle different parts of the…