Dr Pepper

**Dr Pepper** is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Australia, as well as New Zealand and South Africa as an imported good. Variants include Diet Dr Pepper and, beginning in the 2000s, a line of additional flavors.

## History

The name "Dr. Pepper" was first used commercially in 1885. It was introduced nationally in the United States at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition as a new kind of soda pop, made with 23 flavors. Its introduction in 1885 preceded the introduction of Coca-Cola by one year.

It was formulated by Brooklyn-born pharmacist Charles Alderton in Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas. To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Wade Morrison, who also found it to his liking. Patrons at Morrison's soda fountain soon learned of Alderton's new drink and began ordering a "Waco". Alderton gave the formula to Morrison, who named it Dr. Pepper (later stylized as "Dr Pepper").

Early advertisements for this soft drink made medical claims, stating that it "aids digestion and restores vim, vigor, and vitality."

As with Coca-Cola, the formula for Dr Pepper is a trade secret, and allegedly the recipe is kept as two halves in safe deposit boxes in two separate Dallas banks. A persistent rumor since the 1930s is that the drink contains prune juice, but the official Dr Pepper FAQ refutes this with "Dr Pepper is a unique blend of natural and artificial flavors; it does not contain prune juice." The origin of the rumor is unknown; some believe it was started by a deliveryman for a competitor trying to cast aspersions based on prune juice's laxative effects, but it may simply be because many people feel that Dr Pepper tastes similar to prune juice.

In 2009, an old ledger book filled with formulas and recipes was discovered by Bill Waters while shopping at antiques stores in the Texas Panhandle. Several sheets and letterheads hinted it had come from the W.B. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store (the same store where Dr Pepper was first served in 1885) and faded letters on the book's cover spelled out "Castles Formulas". John Castles was a partner of Morrison's for a time and worked at that location as early as 1880. One recipe in the book titled "Dr Peppers Pepsin Bitters" was of particular interest, and some speculated it could be an early recipe for Dr Pepper. However, Keurig Dr Pepper insists it is not the formula for Dr Pepper, but is instead a medicinal recipe for a digestive aid. The book was put up for auction in May 2009, but no one purchased it.

### Name

Theories about the origins of the soft drink's name abound. One possible reason that the name was chosen was the practice, common at the time of the drink's creation, of including *Dr.* in the names of products to convey the impression that they were healthful.

A theory often cited is that the drink was named after an actual doctor, one Charles T. Pepper of Rural Retreat, Virginia. Morrison may have named the drink after the doctor in gratitude for Pepper having given Morrison his first job. However, Milly Walker, Collections Manager / Curator for the Dublin (Texas) Dr Pepper Bottling Co. Museum, has stated that U.S. Census records show that a young Morrison lived in Christiansburg, Virginia, 40 miles (64 km) away from Rural Retreat, and that "there is not one piece of evidence that Morrison ever worked for Charles T. Pepper in Rural Retreat". Another story tells of Morrison naming the drink after Charles T. Pepper because the doctor granted Morrison permission to marry Pepper's daughter, but the girl in question was only eight years old at the time that Morrison moved to Waco.

A Dr. Pepper of Christiansburg is another possible inspiration for the soft drink's name. In the census that shows Morrison living in Christiansburg and working as a pharmacy clerk, a Dr. Pepper is recorded on a subsequent page. Since census takers at this time were walking from door to door, and these census entries are close to each other in the record, it appears that Morrison and this Dr. Pepper lived close to each other. Furthermore, Pepper is recorded as having a 16-year-old daughter, named Malinda or Malissa.

The period (full stop) after *Dr* was used intermittently in Dr Pepper logos until the 1950s, when, after some debate, it was discarded permanently, for stylistic and legibility reasons. A logo that debuted at that time had slanted text, in which *Dr.* resembled *Di:*.

### Legal and trade history

In 1951, Dr Pepper sued the Coca-Cola company for US$750,000, asserting that nickel Coca-Colas were sold below cost and were a restraint of trade.

In 1969, due to Dr Pepper's legal success as being determined a "non-cola" soft drink, then President & CEO W.W. "Foots" Clements was successful in convincing the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York, the largest bottler and distributor of Cola-Cola in the world, to bottle and distribute Dr Pepper in the New York metropolitan area.

In 1972, Dr Pepper sued the Coca-Cola company for trademark infringement based on a soft drink marketed by Coca-Cola called "Peppo". Coca-Cola renamed their beverage Dr. Pibb, which was also determined to violate the trademark. The soft drink was later renamed Mr Pibb.

Dr Pepper became insolvent in the early 1980s, prompting an investment group to take the company private. Several years later, Coca-Cola attempted to acquire Dr Pepper, but was blocked from doing so by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Around the same time, Seven Up was acquired from Phillip Morris by the same investment company that bailed out Dr Pepper. Upon the failure of the Coca-Cola merger, Dr Pepper and Seven Up merged (creating Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., or DPSU), giving up international branding rights in the process. After the DPSU merger, Coca-Cola obtained most non-US rights to the Dr Pepper name (with PepsiCo taking the Seven Up rights).

Dr Pepper was a frequent player in the 1990s antitrust history of the United States. As part of these activities, economists and the courts have weighed in with the opinion that Dr Pepper is a "pepper" flavored drink and not a "cola". In 1995, the FTC blocked a merger between The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper on grounds that included concerns about a monopoly of the "pepper" flavor category of soft drinks. In 1996, Dr Pepper was involved in an antitrust case involving Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys, NFL Properties, Nike, and other commercial interests active at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. Jones had made deals with Dr Pepper and the other companies that, the league said, violated their exclusive marketing contracts with Coca-Cola and other businesses. The NFL agreed to allow Jones and other teams to pursue their own agreements.

In 1998, the "pepper" flavor soda category was a major part of the analysis supporting an antitrust case between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

## Varieties

### Dietary brands

* **Dietetic Dr Pepper** was introduced in 1962 (cans) and 1963 (bottles). Sales were slow partly due to the public misconception that the drink was for diabetics, and in 1966, the company renamed the product Sugar Free Dr Pepper. The name was changed to Diet Dr Pepper in 1987. Diet Dr Pepper, after posting a 6.4% gain in sales volume, became the 10th best-selling soda in 2006, according to *Beverage Digest* magazine. From 1991 to 2006, the beverage was marketed using the slogan "Diet Dr Pepper tastes more like Regular Dr Pepper." In 2006, a new marketing campaign was launched comparing the taste of Diet Dr Pepper to desserts instead of regular Dr Pepper with the slogan "There's nothing diet about it."
* **Pepper Free** (1982–1985) was first introduced to test markets in 1982 as a caffeine-free version of Diet Dr Pepper, citing company research that indicated a need for a product to fill a niche for the health-conscious consumer. Originally introduced in only six states, the Pepper Free brand lasted for only three years and was phased out in 1985. While a caffeine-free dietetic product continues to be produced under various name permutations, the reason for pulling the Pepper Free brand is unknown, but could have been due to confusion with the rival "Pepsi Free" brand (currently "Caffeine-Free Pepsi").
* **Caffeine Free Dr Pepper** (not diet) was first released in 1983.
* **Dr Pepper TEN**, a low-calorie version of Dr Pepper, was released in 2011. This version retained the taste of regular Dr Pepper, but with 10 calories per serving. It was marketed toward men, featuring a gunmetal-gray color scheme, industrial rivets, and bold font, and the tagline "It's Not for Women."

### Flavor variations

* **Dr Pepper Red Fusion** (2002–2004) was available only in the US. The predominantly cherry-flavored, red-colored Red Fusion was the first new flavor added to the Dr Pepper family of beverages in the company's 122-year history. Its production was essentially canceled less than a year later, although in certain areas it was available until late 2004.
* **Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla** (began 2004) was released in some areas on October 15, 2004. The beverage tastes similar to Dr Pepper but has stronger cherry and vanilla flavors added. Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper was the first drink in the planned "Soda Fountain Classics" line of beverages from Dr Pepper, a range of drinks designed to taste similar to popular soda fountain drinks from the 1950s. It is now only available in select areas of the US. It was available in Canada for a short time, but it ceased production as of mid-2007. It became available again in mid-2008, after Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper ceased production. It is also available as a flavor variant in Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that offer Dr Pepper in place of Pibb Xtra.
* **Dr Pepper Berries and Cream** (2006–2007) and its diet version were released in most US locations in April 2006. It is the second beverage in Dr Pepper's "Soda Fountain Classics" line of drinks. In Canada, the diet version of the drink was available approximately from May 2007 to August 2007 and the nondiet version was available from September 2007 to December 2007. Berries and Cream and Diet Berries and Cream have also been discontinued.

* **Dr Pepper Cream Soda** Introduced in 2020, It is the cream soda version of the original Dr Pepper. The beverage also comes in diet form.

* **Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper** (2007–2008) was introduced as a limited edition flavor on November 21, 2007. It was discontinued in April 2008. It became available in Canada in early January 2008. A nondiet version was never created. The taste is similar to Canfield's Diet Cherry Chocolate Fudge Soda, but with the distinctive Dr Pepper flavor. It was featured in the song "Cherry Chocolate Rain" by YouTube celebrity Tay Zonday. Upon ceasing production, it was replaced by Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper.
* **Dr Pepper Cherry** (began 2009) was released in some areas around February 2009. The beverage tastes similar to Dr Pepper, but has stronger cherry flavor added. Variety comes in both regular and diet versions. Gene Simmons of the band Kiss was chosen to be the variation's spokesman, with a commercial circulating on television in March–April 2009 featuring Kiss's song "Calling Dr. Love" ("Trust me, I'm a doctor" claims Simmons in the commercial). It is also available as a flavor variant in Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that offer Dr Pepper in place of Pibb Xtra.
* **Heritage Dr Pepper** (or **Dr Pepper Heritage**; began 2009) became available around November 2009 in various outlets around the United States. As its name implies, it is a "re-release" of sorts of Dr Pepper's original formula, which uses sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, which Dr Pepper and other brands of soft drink started to use around the early 1970s. The formulas of Heritage Dr Pepper and Dublin Dr Pepper are assumed to be one and the same, but Heritage Dr Pepper is a larger-scale, national release aimed at capturing the same marketing essence as the Pepsi and Mountain Dew throwbacks.
* **Dr Pepper "Made with Real Sugar"** was released to commemorate the drink's 125th anniversary during summer 2010. It featured the use of "real" sugar which was likely a mix of cane and beet sugar as opposed to its usual high fructose corn syrup. This version of the soda featured six collectible 12 oz cans and a 20 oz plastic bottle decorated with Dr Pepper's old slogans and images from the 1960s.
* **Dr Pepper Vanilla Float** (began 2014) is a summertime limited-edition run of Dr Pepper with a vanilla ice cream taste, available in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles, and 12-ounce 12 packs.
* **Dr Pepper Dark Berry** (beginning 2019) will be a limited-edition run of Dr Pepper with a dark berry taste, to promote the launch of *Spider-Man: Far From Home*.
* **UK Variation**, United Kingdom's version of Dr Pepper, along with various other countries, is manufactured with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup (much like Heritage Dr Pepper in the US, as mentioned above). Since August 2014, a "revised" flavor has been marketed in the UK that reduces the amount of sugar from 10.3 g per 100 ml to 7.2 g while adding artificial sweeteners (aspartame and acesulfame K).
* **Dr Pepper Zero** (began 2013) – As Coca-Cola distribute Dr Pepper in the United Kingdom, a "Zero" version was introduced, meaning no added sugar and low-calorie, but maintaining a taste more in line with regular Dr Pepper than its diet variant.
* **German Variation**, Germany's version of Dr Pepper, similar to its UK version, is also manufactured with a reduced amount of sugar and artificial sweeteners (also aspartame and acesulfame K). However, the sugar is reduced to 6.8 g per 100 ml, marginally less than in the United Kingdom.

### Sweeteners

Much of the soft drink industry in the United States stopped using sugar in the 1980s, in response to a series of price supports and import quotas introduced beginning in 1982 that increased the price of sugar above the global market price. As a result, most US soft drinks, including Dr Pepper, now use high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar.

A handful of United States bottling plants still use sugar to sweeten Dr Pepper. The Dr Pepper bottling plant in Dublin, Texas used to produce such a beverage, known as Dublin Dr Pepper. In the 1980s, plant owner W.P. "Bill" Kloster (June 7, 1918 – September 27, 1999) refused to convert the plant to high fructose corn syrup. Other bottlers still using sugar include Temple Bottling Company, in Temple, Texas, Ab-Tex in Abilene, and West Jefferson Dr Pepper (WJDP) of West Jefferson, NC.

On March 25, 2007, Coca-Cola bottlers in the Dr Pepper Heartland commenced sales of 16 ounce cans of Dr Pepper made with cane sugar and featuring a logo with 'Old Doc' on them. This product was scheduled to be a limited time release.

In January 2009, "Heritage Dr Pepper" became available in select markets in cans and 16 oz bottles with the distinction "Made with Real Sugar."

Beginning in July 2010, Dr Pepper's 125th Anniversary edition in some markets was made with sugar as opposed to other sweeteners. Since Dr Pepper Corporate has no control over whether the bottlers will use sugar, there is no guarantee the soda will have sugar.

As of January 2012, the bottling plant in Dublin, Texas, is no longer bottling Dr Pepper.

The soft drink industry in some other countries never stopped using sugar as a sweetener. For instance in the European Union, high fructose corn syrup is subject to a production quota. In 2005, this quota was set at 303,000 tons; in comparison, the EU produced an average of 18.6 million tons of sugar annually between 1999 and 2001. Therefore, most European soft drink producers, including most Dr Pepper bottling plants, still use sugar to sweeten their products. However, the bottlers of Dr Pepper in Germany and the United Kingdom use instead a combination of sugar and artificial sweeteners.

## Distribution

In the United States, Keurig Dr Pepper does not have a complete network of bottlers and distributors, so the drink is sometimes bottled under contract by Coca-Cola or Pepsi bottlers. Prior to the initial Cadbury Schweppes investment-turned-buyout, 30% of Dr Pepper/Seven Up products were produced and distributed by Pepsi bottlers, and another 30% by Coca-Cola bottlers. The remaining 40% were produced and distributed by independent bottlers (mainly consisting of Dr Pepper/Seven Up premerger regional bottlers) and the Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group. Currently, the majority of Pepsi and Coke bottlers bottling Dr Pepper are owned by PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company after their buyouts of their major bottlers.

Presently, Dr Pepper Snapple relies on its own bottling group to bottle and distribute its products in more than 30 states. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have essentially stopped bottling and distributing Cadbury-Schweppes products in favor of in-house alternatives, although regional exceptions can be found.

In Canada and Poland, Cadbury-Schweppes has licensed distribution rights to PepsiCo. In Mexico, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Norway, Cadbury-Schweppes owns the trademark and distributes the product. In Finland, the product is bottled by Sinebrychoff. In Romania, it can be found only in larger cities, imported from Belgium. In Portugal, Spain, France, Turkey, and Greece, it is almost impossible to find, as it is usually imported from the United Kingdom in particular supermarkets. In almost all of the other countries of the world, the Coca-Cola Company purchased the trademark from Cadbury-Schweppes and distributes the product. This mixed worldwide ownership of the trademark is due to antitrust regulations which prevented Coca-Cola from purchasing the rights everywhere. Dr Pepper is also available in Russia (though imported, generally from Poland — there's no local bottling despite numerous talks), South Korea and Ukraine. Although no longer locally bottled in Australia or New Zealand, Dr Pepper is imported and sold by United States Foods, and many other small retailers in Australia, with the UK (sugar) version sold in the British sections of Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. Dr Pepper is not available in Thailand, North Korea and Serbia. It is also sold in Indonesia, where it is imported by PT Citra Gourmand Prima (formerly PT Armasco Prima) with its office in Sunter, North Jakarta, but it is rarely sold in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, as it is imported from the United States. In Lebanon Dr Pepper is always available in supermarkets and convenience stores through imports mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium.

Dr Pepper has been sold in Japan since 1973 and is widely available in greater Tokyo, Okinawa and parts of the Tōkai region, where it is distributed by local Coca-Cola bottlers. It is not actively marketed in other regions of Japan; Coca-Cola's Osaka bottler began selling Dr Pepper in 1983, but pulled the product two years later due to low sales.

## Other products

* Dr Pepper has a line of jelly beans made by the Jelly Belly company.
* Hubba Bubba bubblegum produces a Dr Pepper-flavored edition. The gum is the same color as the soda.
* Dr Pepper collaborated with Vita Food Products to produce Dr Pepper Sweet & Kickin' BBQ Sauce and Dr Pepper "More than Mesquite" Marinade.
* Cosmetics company Bonne Bell includes Dr Pepper among its licensed soft drink-flavored "Lip Smackers" lip balms.
* Brach's has a line of hard candy that features Dr Pepper, Orange Crush, A&W Root Beer and 7 Up flavored hard candies in Brach's Soda Poppers.
* Dr Pepper has an ice cream topping syrup also manufactured by Vita Food Products in 2009 called "Dr Pepper cherry dessert topping".
* Dr Pepper also created an iPod skin cover, but it was discontinued.
* Dr Pepper Slurpee is sold by retailer 7-Eleven.
* Dr Pepper Flavored Freezies are currently available with Grape Crush and Hires Root Beer flavors.
* The Serious Bean Company makes a variety of baked beans using Dr Pepper in the sauce.