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Dr Pepper is a popular caramel-colored, carbonated, soft drink marketed by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., a unit of Cadbury-Schweppes. The headquarters of Dr Pepper are situated in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

Overview and history

The drink was first sold in Waco, Texas in 1885, and was introduced nationally in the United States at the 1904 World Fair. The exact date of Dr Pepper's conception is unknown, but the US Patent Office recognizes December 1, 1885 as the first time Dr Pepper was served. It is the oldest major soft drink (still in existence) in the world. The drink, named after a former employer (Dr. Charles Pepper) of Wade Morrison, owner of Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store, was formulated by Charles Alderton, a pharmacist. Unlike Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Dr Pepper is not a "cola" drink. Allegedly, Dr Pepper's flavor is derived from a mixture of soda fountain flavors popular when the drink was first devised. A partial list of these flavors can be seen at the Dr Pepper museum in Waco, although the formula itself (with its twenty-three ingredients) is a closely-guarded secret. Also, contrary to a popular urban legend, Dr Pepper does not and never has contained prune juice. In Texas, Dr Pepper is extremely competitive in the soft drink market, regularly outselling Pepsi.

In the United States, Dr Pepper/Seven Up does not have a network of bottlers and distributors, so it is frequently bottled under contract by independent Coca-Cola or Pepsi bottlers, though in some areas independent distributors exist, either by Cadbury-Schweppes, or by individual independent bottling plants. In other countries, Cadbury-Schweppes has licensed distribution rights to The Coca-Cola Company.

The oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant is in Dublin, Texas. In the 1960s, plant owner Bill Kloster (1918-1999) refused to convert the plant from cane sugar to less expensive corn syrup. Today, the plant is still in operation, and is the only US source for Dr Pepper made with real cane sugar (from Texas-based Imperial Sugar). Dr Pepper of this nature is called Dublin Dr Pepper. Contractual requirements limit the plant's distribution range to a 40-mile radius of Dublin, an area encompassing Stephenville, Tolar, Comanche and Hico; however, sales to individual customers in non-commercial quantities are allowed, and the plant sells its product over the Internet.

Recently (as of 2003), Dublin Dr Pepper has expanded their shipping and the product is now distributed over most of Texas. Originally, the drink came in 8 fl. oz. glass bottles. Dublin Dr Pepper recently began shipping 12 fl. oz. plastic bottles. Both types of bottles still have the "Imperial Cane Sugar" labels on the front.

The period after "Dr" was discarded for stylistic reasons in the 1950s. Dr Pepper's logo was redesigned and the text in this new logo was slanted. The period made "Dr." look like "Di:". After some debate, the period was removed for good (it had been used on and off in previous logos), as it would also help remove the medical connotation to Dr Pepper.

Dr Pepper Slogans

1889-1914: "King of Beverages."

1920s-1930s: "Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 o'clock."

1950s: "The Friendly Pepper Upper."

1960s: "America's Most Misunderstood Soft Drink."

1970s: "The Most Original Soft Drink Ever."

1977: "Be a Pepper."

1980s: "Hold Out For the Out of the Ordinary."

1997: "Now's the Time. This is the Place. Dr Pepper Is The Taste."

2000: "Dr Pepper, It Makes the World Taste Better."

2001 (ca.) onwards: "What's the worst that could happen?" (used in UK and Ireland)

2003-present: "Be You."

External links

• Dr Pepper official website
• The Highly Unofficial alt.fan.dr-pepper FAQ
• The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company (in Dublin, Texas, U.S.A.)
• The Dr Pepper Museum
• Clones: Nothing is as good as the original

• Soft drinks
• Cadbury-Schweppes brands