![]() ![]() In the 1960s, PepsiCo sued Dr Pepper for trademark infringement. As a result, Dr Pepper had little national distribution, focusing primarily on Texas and nearby states. In the early 20th century, national bottlers that worked with with Coke or Pepsi shied away from Dr Pepper, fearing they would run afoul of agreements that barred them from partnering with a competitor. In the 1950s, Dr Pepper branded itself “the friendly Pepper-Upper,” once again focusing on the rush of energy you could get from any can of soda. While successful, the campaign never focused on the product’s unique, non-cola flavor. While Coke and Pepsi were making waves, Dr Pepper “just didn’t push it that hard,” said Tristan Donovan, author of “Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World.”Įarly in the 20th century, Dr Pepper encouraged customers to drink a Dr Pepper three times a day, at around 10 a.m., 2 p.m. Pepsi positioned itself as a less expensive competitor to Coke.Īds for Dr Pepper and Coca-Cola on a store in North Carolina, in April 1938. “Each town had their own soft drink manufacturing facility.”Ĭoca-Cola established itself most quickly, aided by its invention of the coupon, which offered free samples of its new beverage. “The soft drink industry itself, as a whole, was still really trying to figure itself out in the late 1800s, early 1900s,” Summar-Smith said. ![]() Pepsi was invented in the 1890s, but got its name in 1898. Pepper he was married and he had a son,” said Summar-Smith.Ĭoca-Cola was created in 1886. But Joy Summar-Smith, associate director of the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, said there are several origin stories, and this one doesn’t hold up. That’s the tale on the Dr Pepper website. Legend has it that Morrison named the beverage after one Charles Pepper, the father of a woman he loved, hoping that the gesture would facilitate a match. The drink was invented by Charles Alderton, a pharmacist at a drug store owned by Wade Morrison, who is credited with patenting the drink and naming it. (It dropped the period in the 1950s for design reasons.) The little brand rose to prominence in the latter half of the 20th century and helped shape the soda industry, all while cultivating its reputation as an outsider. “One of the bright spots … has been Dr Pepper.”įounded in 1885 in Waco, Texas, Dr Pepper was the first in a wave of 19th-century upstart soda companies. “Over the past 20 years, carbonated soft drinks have been declining in volume,” said Duane Stanford, editor of Beverage Digest. Today, Dr Pepper is the fourth most popular soda in the country after Coke, Pepsi and Mountain Dew. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Imagesĭr Pepper soda grew its dollar share by 9% from 2003 to 2021, compared to a 26% drop in the carbonated soft drinks category overall, according to Keurig Dr Pepper, citing IRI and the Beverage Digest factbook. Keurig Dr Pepper is the third-largest soda maker in the country.
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