If you are confident that no one can crack your patent and you keep it well, there is no need to apply for a patent at all, because KFC's fried chicken formula will be made public in 10, and there is no patent application at all. They are well preserved and it is impossible for others to crack the formula of Red Bull, so many functional drinks have been made public in the past two years.
If your patent only doesn't change the original materials and methods much, then it is very likely that others will experiment it out, so it is absolutely necessary for you to apply for a patent. In addition, not all patent applications only protect a few key points. If you conceal or change the composition or process indicators, it will not play a protective role.
In other words, patents are open secrets that others can know, but others can't use.