Dr Pepper History 

Keurig Dr. Pepper is the oldest major beverage company in the United States. In 1885, John S. Pemberton developed his version of Coca-Cola and started selling it in small grocery stores throughout Atlanta, Georgia. He called his new product “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.” When Coke became popular, the name was changed to Coke. But PepsiCo purchased Coke in 1996, so today we call it both Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.

History of Keurig Dr. Pepper

In 1885, the Coca-Cola Company introduced a soft drink called ‘Coca-Cola’ at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in St. Louis, Missouri. The company later changed the recipe of the drink, replacing cane sugar with high fructose corn syrup. Today, Coke is one of the world’s best-known brands.

Dr. Pepper is a native Texas beverage that originated at Morrison’s old corner drugstore. Unlike its flavor, the origin story of the drink is far from ordinary. Charles Alderton was a young pharmacist who worked at Morrison’s drug store. During his spare time, he enjoyed drinking carbonated beverages at the soda fountain. When he noticed how good the flavors of the soda fountain mixed together, he began experimenting with creating a similar taste. After countless hours of trial and error, he eventually came up with a drink that tasted just like the smell of the drug store. A few months later, Alderton wrote the recipe down in his journal so he could share the secret with others. Today, thousands of people enjoy the delicious taste of Dr. Pepper every day.

Naming Dr Pepper

To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Morrison, who also found it to his liking. After repeated sample testing by the two, Alderton was ready to offer his new drink to some of the fountain customers. They liked it as well. Other patrons at Morrison’s soda fountain soon learned of Alderton’s new drink and began ordering it by asking him to shoot them a “Waco.”

Morrison is credited with naming the drink “Dr. Pepper” (the period was dropped in the 1950s). Unfortunately, the origin for the name is unclear. The Museum has collected over a dozen different stories on how the drink became known as Dr Pepper.

Varieties of Dr Pepper

1. Almond
2. Amaretto
3. Black Licorice
4. Blackberry
5. Caramel
6. Carrot
7. Cherry
8. Clove
9. Cola
10. Ginger
11. Juniper
12. Lemon
13. Molasses
14. Nutmeg
15. Orange
16. Pepper
17. Plum
18. Prune
19. Raspberry
20. Root Beer
21. Rum
22. Tomato
23. Vanilla

Caffeine in Dr Pepper Soda Flavors

• Dr Pepper: 42 mg
• Diet Dr Pepper: 41 mg
• Caffeine Free Dr Pepper: 0 mg
• Caffeine Free Diet Dr Pepper: 0 mg
• Dr Pepper Zero Sugar: 42 mg
• Dr Pepper Cherry: 42 mg
• Dr Pepper Cherry Zero Sugar: 42 mg
• Dr Pepper & Cream Soda: 42 mg
• Dr Pepper & Cream Soda Zero Sugar: 42 mg
• Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper: 42 mg
• Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper: 39 mg
• Dr Pepper Made With Real Sugar: 42 mg

Slogans of Dr Pepper

• This 1947 ad shows the logo as it looked before the period was removed after “Dr”.
• 1889–1914: “King of Beverages.”
• 1920s–1940s: “Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 o’clock.”
• 1939: “When You Drink a Dr. Pepper You Drink a Bite to Eat.”
• 1930s–1940s: “Good For Life.”
• 1945: “Dr. Pepper has 23 flavors”
• 1950s: “The Friendly Pepper Upper.”
• 1960s: “America’s Most Misunderstood Soft Drink.”
• 1970s-77: “The Most Original Soft Drink Ever.”
• 1977–1983: “I’m a Pepper, He’s a Pepper, We’re a Pepper.”, “Be a Pepper.”, “Wouldn’t you like to Be a Pepper too?”
• 1983: “Dr Pepper Has Made a Pepper Out of me.”
• 1983: “It Tastes and It Looks.” (Sugar Free Dr Pepper)
• c. 1984 “Out of the Ordinary. Like You.”
• c. 1984 “The Taste for Out of the Ordinary Bodies.” (Diet Dr Pepper)
• 1984–1997: “Hold Out For the Out of the Ordinary.”
• 1980s–Present “Dr Pepper, what’s the worst that could happen?”, used in the UK, playing on the fact that many UK consumers don’t know what the drink tastes like and are wary of trying it
• 1991: “Just what the Doctor ordered.”
• c. 1997: “It’s Dr Pepper Flavour, Silly!” Australia
• c. 1997: “Expect the Unexpected!” Australia
• 1997: “Now’s the Time. This is the Place. Dr Pepper Is The Taste.”
• 2000: “Dr Pepper, It Makes the World Taste Better.”
• 2000–Present: “Just What The Dr Ordered.”
• c. 2001 “Dr Pepper, so misunderstood”
• 2002–2004: “Be You.”
• 2002–Present: “Solves All Your Problems.” (used in Europe)
• 2003 “Dr Pepper, to try it is to love it” (used in the UK)
• 2005–Present: “One Taste & You Get It.”
• 2006: “Can You Handle The Taste?”[61] (seen in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland)
• 2006: “Authentic blend of 23 flavors.” United States, Canada
• 2006: “Dr Pepper, makes the world go round.”
• 2006: “Dr Pepper, nothing better.” United States
• 2006: “The Dr knows the right touch.” (used in Europe)
• 2006: “There’s more to it.” United States
• c. 2006: “Get Berried in Cream” United States (used for the new Berries and Cream flavor)
• 2007: “I Want It All.” United States
• 2007: “El Dr muy bueno” Latin America
• 2008: “Drink It Slow, Dr’s Orders” (United States)
• 2009: “Trust me – I’m a Doctor.” (ft. Julius Erving, Kelsey Grammer, Gene Simmons, Dr. Dre) United States
• 2009: “It’s so amazingly smooth, you have try it to believe it!” and “Amazingly smooth” Dr Pepper Cherry
• 2010: “There’s nothing like a Pepper” United States
• 2011: “Can you handle the taste?”
• 2012: “Always One of a Kind” (United States)

Logo evolution

In the 1920s, the company logo was painted red. Since then, red has become the signature color of the brand. On top of that, Dr. Pepper got a new slogan, “Good for life”.

In the 1950s, a third version of the emblem went through two major changes:

• The old handwritten serif font was replaced with a massive sans-serif typeface.
• To avoid legal problems, the full stop after Dr was removed. Many people erroneously thought that the drink possessed medicinal properties.

In 1956, designers tried to find a way to incorporate yellow into the logo, but without success. Eventually they got back to red and played around with its shades over the next few decades.

In 1997, to portray the invigorating energy of the beverage, the decision was made to spice up the logo with tiny bubbles. In 2005, the design started to look like one big bubble, with white letters on the dark red background.

Ten years later, Dr Pepper made a strategic decision to invert its logo. Nowadays, the emblem features red letters against a white background. The “tail” of the first letter draws an oval line around the brand name. Beneath it, the words “Since 1885” are written in a fine font.

Best Dr. Pepper Flavors

Dr. Pepper ranks among the most popular beverages of all time. Most soda lovers have difficulty describing the soft drink’s unique flavor. That’s probably because the company has combined 23 different flavors to craft the beverage! Though the classic flavor of Dr. Pepper is always a favorite, the beverage has several other flavor options to enjoy and savor.

Dr. Pepper Original

While we all love our flavor variants, there’s nothing quite like the refreshing and iconic taste of the original recipe of Dr. Pepper.

Diet Dr. Pepper

Many soft drink enthusiasts know that when a soda puts the word “diet” in its name, they typically sacrifice a fair amount of the flavor. Diet Dr Pepper contains about 41mg of caffeine per 12 fl oz can.

Dr. Pepper with Real Sugar

The only thing that could improve Dr. Pepper’s classic flavor is to sweeten it with authentic cane sugar.

Dr. Pepper & Cream Soda

In the final entry, the cream soda version of the beloved drink is, without a doubt, the creamiest and most delicious soft drink on the market.

Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar

Although reducing your sugar intake is a healthy choice, it can lower your enjoyment of soft drinks.

Caffeine Free Dr. Pepper

Surprisingly, the option featuring the lowest levels of caffeine actually still tastes pretty good.

Dr. Pepper Cherry

The added touch makes for a taste bud party. Even those who don’t find themselves fond of cherry-flavored sodas will fall in love with this delicious option.

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