Posted on 06/04/2024 5:26:18 AM PDT by Red Badger
Dr Pepper is now tied with Pepsi as the No. 2 soft drink brand in the U.S., new research shows.
Wall Street Journal reveals favorite soft drink
DALLAS — Move over, Pepsi. Or at least make room.
Texas' own Dr Pepper is now tied with Pepsi as the No. 2 soft drink brand in the U.S., according to new research reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Both brands are still well behind Coke, which has long held the dominant market share on soft drinks, according to Beverage Digest data cited in the report.
In 2023, Coke held 19.18% market share, while Dr. Pepper and Pepsi were around 8.30%, the data said. *Technically,* Dr. Pepper held the slight edge at 8.34% to Pepsi's 8.31%, but it was virtually a tie for second, which is a long way coming for Dr. Pepper.
The Texas-founded brand, which dates back to 1885, has gradually increased market share over the last 20 years, growing from the 5.50% range in the early 2000s -- and fifth among major soft drink brands -- to its current standing, surpassing Diet Coke and Sprite to tie with Pepsi.
The Wall Street Journal report cited the rise of Dr. Pepper's "big marketing investments, novel flavors and a quirk in Dr. Pepper's distribution," which has allowed the drink to be on more soda fountains than any other brand.
While Coke and Pepsi typically have exclusive deals with certain restaurant chains, the Journal reported, Dr. Pepper "has alliances with both sides."
Dr. Pepper is unique from Pepsi and Coke in that it doesn't have a traditional cola taste. Instead, it's a syrup blend of 23 different flavors -- as evidenced on the Dr. Pepper logo -- that was invented by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco in the 1880s.
The company ultimately relocated its headquarters to Dallas, near Mockingbird Lane and Greenville Avenue, where the old Dr. Pepper clock still stands today. Dr. Pepper eventually merged with Seven-Up, and the two brands were later acquired by Cadbury Schweppes in the 1990s when the company relocated its headquarters to Plano.
Today, Dr. Pepper is under the Keurig Dr. Pepper corporate structure.
And no, there's still no period after Dr. all these years later.
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Well at least the French-Canadians still drink Pepsi.
No matter which soft drink you choose, in Europe they are all flat....................
They did, in the ‘80s. “Pepsi Free”. It failed. Marty McFly asks for one to set up a joke in the 1950s in “Back to the Future”.
“I’ll have a Tab.”
Mr Pibb, the red headed step child of the soda pop family
Never heard of it. It must have been a regional release.
Even Winn-Dixie house brand, Chek, has a version. And several other minor soda companies...........
From the movie “One, Two, Three”:
Peripetchikoff : No formula, NO DEAL!
C.R. MacNamara : OK, NO DEAL!
Borodenko : We do not need you! If we want Coca-cola, we invent it ourselves!
C.R. MacNamara : Oh, yeah? In 1956 you flew a bottle of Coke to a secret laboratory in Sverdlosk. A dozen of your top chemists went nuts trying to analyze the ingredients. Right?
Mishkin : No comment!
C.R. MacNamara : And in 1958, you planted two undercover agents in Atlanta to steal the formula. And what happened? They both defected! And now they’re successful businessmen in Florida packaging instant borscht. Right?
Peripetchikoff : No comment!
C.R. MacNamara : Last year you put out a cockamamie imitation “Kremlin-kola!” You tried it out in the satellite countries, but even the Albanians wouldn’t drink it. They used it for SHEEP DIP! RIGHT?
Mishkin : No comment!
C.R. MacNamara : So either get down to business or get off the pot!
Peripetchikoff : My dear American friend, if we are to live together in peaceful coexistence, there must be a certain amount of give and take.
C.R. MacNamara : Oh, sure - we give and you take.
Peripetchikoff : What is the matter - you do not trust us?
C.R. MacNamara : No comment!
When I order a Dr. Pepper they usually say “Will Mr. Pibb be okay?”. And I say “Why? Is he sick?”
They then get a really odd look on their face before laughing!..................
Make 7-Up yours!
Dr thunder is a ton better- something about Dr pepper just doesn’t sit well! Dr 5hunder though is smoother in my opinion
Dr Pepper Zero Sugar w/Cream Soda tastes even less like a diet soda than Dr Pepper Zero Sugar
Also, I bought a couple six packs of RC cola, and actuslly preferred the taste over Pepsi, BUT, at the end of one of the cans was a global of something gelatinous that i drank and about puked up. I think probably the soda was just really old beczuse noone buys that stuff hardly, and it had likely congealed some with multiple heating and freezing in storages.
Moral,of the story is, watch out for “soda sales” especially of off brand sodas- there’s usually a reason they are selling off cheaper.
No matter which soft drink you choose, in Europe they are all flat....................\\
That will never be a concern of mine.
There briefly sometimes in the 80s a chain restaurant called “Po’ Boys”, that offered NEHI.
Best soft drink in existence is Cheerwine for this guy...
“Zero Surgar” sweetener works for some drinks... Zero Sugar Coke and Pepsi are pretty decent.. However Zero Sugar Doctor Pepper, just doesn’t work at all.
Given how absurdly sweet Dr Pepper is, though, I doubt any artificial sweetener can be used and make it taste anything close to the regular sweetened variety.
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