Coca-Cola is the undisputed leader of the global beverages market but what would happen if its arch rival Pepsi gets a hold of Coca-Colas trade secrets? The closest we got to finding an answer to this question was in October last year a Coca-Cola employee contacted Pepsi and offered to sell stolen information from the beverage giant for a staggering $1.5 million (over Rs 12.9 crore). According to reports at the time Joya Williams a 41-year-old secretary at Coca-Colas global headquarters along with her accomplices Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhaney plotted to sell confidential trade secrets of a new Coca-Cola product to Pepsi. However in a plot-twist the move backfired when Pepsi rather than capitalising on the opportunity reported the illegal offer to Coca-Cola and the FBI resulting in the arrest of the trio. Reports said that Williams who worked as an assistant to Coca-Colas global brand director was caught attempting to steal and sell a phial containing a secret new product. In a covert operation FBI agents posed as Pepsi executives met his accomplice Dimson who handed them confidential Coca-Cola documents and the phial in exchange for $30000 hidden inside a yellow Girl Scout cookie box. The operation ultimately culminated with the arrest of Joya Williams and her accomplices before they could complete the illicit deal. They (Pepsi) did so because trade secrets are important to everybody in the business community. They realise that if their trade secrets are violated they all suffer the market suffers and the community suffers Public Prosecutor David Nahmias was quoted as saying by the Guardian. Joya Williams and her co-conspirators have been charged with corporate espionage for the theft and attempt sale of confidential trade secrets. The trio are accused of writing a letter to Pepsi under the pseudonym “Dirk” in which they demanded an initial payment of $10000 (Rs 8603053) for Cokes internal documents and the phial. I have information thats all classified and extremely confidential that only a handful of the top execs at my company have seen. I can even provide actual products and packaging of certain products that no eye has seen outside of maybe 5 top exes reads the note allegedly sent by the accused to Pepsi. The incident marked a new chapter in the Coca Cola-Pepsi with the two beverage giants often engaging in aggressive marketing campaigns celebrity endorsements and even product taste challenges in a bid to outdo each other.