47 Fun Facts About Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper was created in the 1880s in which Texas city?

Waco, Texas, is where Charles Alderton mixed the first Dr Pepper in the mid-1880s at a downtown drugstore soda fountain; the city's Dr Pepper Museum opened in 1991.

What was the profession of Charles Alderton, who formulated Dr Pepper?

Alderton, born in Brooklyn in 1857, was a young pharmacist who also ran the soda fountain at a Texas drugstore; he experimented with fruit syrups until he hit on the blend that became Dr Pepper.

Which American Idol alumnus plays the tiny crooner 'Lil' Sweet' in Diet Dr Pepper commercials?

Justin Guarini, runner-up in the first season of American Idol in 2002, has played the pint-sized, purple-suited Lil' Sweet in Diet Dr Pepper ads since 2015.

The name 'Dr. Pepper' was first used commercially in which year?

1885 is the year the US Patent Office recognises as Dr Pepper's first commercial sale, dated 1 December 1885; the drink had been served at a Texas soda fountain before it was named.

Which rival soft drink went on sale exactly one year after Dr Pepper?

Coke went on sale at Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta the year after Dr Pepper's debut; decades later the two companies fought in court over the Atlanta giant's Dr Pepper imitation, 'Peppo'.

Why may Wade Morrison have named the drink after Virginia doctor Charles Pepper?

He had given him his first job: Morrison had worked for Dr Charles T. Pepper in Rural Retreat, Virginia, before moving to Texas; the rival tale that Morrison courted Pepper's daughter founders on her young age.

Dr Pepper was introduced to a national audience at which 1904 event?

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, better known as the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, gave Dr Pepper its first national showcase; the same fair is often credited with popularising ice-cream cones and hot dogs in buns.

The full stop after 'Dr' in the Dr Pepper logo was permanently dropped in which year?

The period after 'Dr' was dropped in 1950, when a new slanted logo typeface made 'Dr.' look like 'Di:'; the dot had been used only intermittently before then.

According to the brand, Dr Pepper is a proprietary combination of how many flavors?

Dr Pepper markets itself as a blend of 23 flavors that it has never officially listed; the formula is said to be kept in two halves in safe-deposit boxes at two separate Dallas banks.

A persistent rumour since the 1930s claims Dr Pepper contains what ingredient?

Prune juice is the long-running rumour, which the company's FAQ flatly denies; the drink's flavour has been likened to cherry and almond, and some blame a rival's deliveryman for starting the tale.

According to one famous promotion, 'Dr Pepper Time' came at which three times of day?

During World War II a syndicated radio show called The 10-2-4 Ranch aired across the South.

Which unusual winter serving suggestion did Dr Pepper promote in the early 1960s?

Hot, with lemon slices: the company urged drinkers to heat Dr Pepper to about 180 degrees and pour it over a thin slice of lemon, a winter promotion meant to lift cold-month sales.

Which singer was chosen in a 1963 nationwide search to be the 'Dr Pepper Girl'?

Donna Loren won the 1963 search and served as the Dr Pepper Girl until 1968, appearing in the brand's ads while also singing in the Beach Party films alongside Annette Funicello.

Which songwriter wrote the lyrics to the 1977 'Be a Pepper' jingle?

Jake Holmes, a jingle writer also behind the US Army's 'Be All You Can Be', wrote the 'Be a Pepper' lyrics; the campaign built around them ran from 1977 to 1985.

Which actor fronted the dancing 'Be a Pepper' commercials of the late 1970s and early 1980s?

David Naughton sang and danced as the lead Pepper from 1977; he went on to star in An American Werewolf in London in 1981 while the campaign kept running until 1985.

What was the Atlanta rival's 1972 Dr Pepper imitation 'Peppo' renamed after Dr Pepper sued?

Mr. Pibb was the new name, adopted in 1972 after the trademark lawsuit; the drink was reformulated in 2001 as Pibb Xtra with a stronger cinnamon note.

Diet Dr Pepper's long-running slogan claims it tastes more like what?

Diet Dr Pepper's slogan insists it 'tastes more like regular Dr Pepper', a line the brand built into its advertising from the 1990s onward.

Which acquisition-hungry British confectioner bought Dr Pepper/Seven Up in 1995?

Cadbury Schweppes, formed by the 1969 merger of the Cadbury chocolate firm with Schweppes drinks, paid about $1.7 billion for Dr Pepper/Seven Up in 1995 during a decade-long buying spree.

In which year was the Dr Pepper Snapple Group spun off as an independent company?

The spin-off from its British parent was completed on 7 May 2008, when Dr Pepper Snapple Group began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DPS from its Plano, Texas, base.

Which coffee-pod company acquired the Dr Pepper Snapple Group in July 2018?

The deal created Keurig Dr Pepper, headquartered in both Burlington, Massachusetts and Texas.

The 2018 merger that created Keurig Dr Pepper was valued at how much?

$18.7 billion was the cash paid to Dr Pepper Snapple shareholders as a special dividend of $103.75 a share when the coffee-pod maker and the soda group combined in July 2018.

In 2024, Dr Pepper drew level with which brand as America's second best-selling soda?

Pepsi had held second place for decades; Beverage Digest's figures for 2023, published in 2024, put Dr Pepper and Pepsi level at about 8.3 percent of US retail sales, behind only the Atlanta market leader.

Which firm makes and sells Dr Pepper in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Japan?

Suntory handles most of the rest of Europe, while Keurig Dr Pepper covers the US, Canada and Mexico.

The Dr Pepper Museum occupies a 1906 Texas building that was originally what?

The first plant built to bottle the drink, the 1906 Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building, bottled Dr Pepper until 1965; the museum opened there in 1991.

Dublin Dr Pepper, made in Dublin, Texas, was famous for refusing to switch from cane sugar to what?

Corn syrup replaced cane sugar in most Dr Pepper after the 1970s, but the Dublin plant kept using Imperial Pure Cane Sugar, which made its bottles a cult item for collectors and tourists.

In which year did a lawsuit settlement end Dublin Dr Pepper, the oldest surviving bottler?

The settlement came in January 2012, seven months after Dr Pepper Snapple sued for trademark dilution; the plant carried on as Dublin Bottling Works, making its own cane-sugar sodas.

Franchise agreements limited the Dublin bottler to selling within what radius of the town?

Fans drove from across Texas anyway, which was part of what annoyed the parent company.

Dr Pepper Ten, launched in 2011, blended a little sugar with which two artificial sweeteners?

Aspartame and Ace-K (acesulfame potassium) were paired with a little real sweetener to reach 10 calories a can; the 2011 'It's not for women' ad campaign is remembered better than the drink.

Dr Pepper Cherry was first released in some areas around February of which year?

Dr Pepper Cherry arrived in February 2009, rolled out region by region, and unlike earlier flavour experiments such as Red Fusion and Berries & Cream it stayed in the permanent line-up.

Which flavour was launched as a Valentine's Day limited edition and then made permanent?

Strawberries and Cream appeared in early 2023 as a Valentine's Day tie-in, then joined the permanent line-up the same year, one of the brand's few lasting new flavours since Cherry.

Dr Pepper Zero Sugar was released in which year?

Dr Pepper Zero Sugar launched in spring 2021 as a companion to Diet Dr Pepper rather than a replacement, with a sweetener mix meant to taste closer to the original.

In 2008 Dr Pepper promised everyone in America a free can if which band released its long-delayed album?

Guns N' Roses had been working on Chinese Democracy since the mid-1990s; Dr Pepper's pledge, made that March, came due when the album finally appeared on 23 November.

How did the free-can promotion for the long-delayed album actually go?

The online coupons proved inadequate: Dr Pepper's website crashed under demand on release day, the band's lawyers demanded an apology, and the coupon window had to be stretched by a day.

A 2009 Dr Pepper campaign featured Dr. Dre and which basketball great?

Julius Erving, known as 'Dr. J', joined Dr. Dre in the campaign, whose joke was rounding up famous 'doctors'; it leaned on the brand's title rather than any medical claim.

Which of these soda brands sits alongside Dr Pepper in its parent company's portfolio?

Canada Dry ginger ale sits in the same portfolio as Dr Pepper, alongside 7 Up, A&W, Squirt and Sunkist; the other three options belong to the two bigger rivals.

Dr Pepper's parent company has its Texas headquarters in which Dallas suburb?

Frisco, north of Dallas, became the Texas headquarters when the company moved up the road from Plano; it keeps a second head office in Burlington, Massachusetts.

At which drugstore soda fountain was Dr Pepper first served?

Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store, owned by Wade Morrison, was where Charles Alderton served the first Dr Pepper at the soda fountain in the mid-1880s.

Which rock star appeared as 'Dr Love' in Dr Pepper Cherry's launch commercials?

Gene Simmons of Kiss, borrowing the band's 1976 song 'Calling Dr. Love', played 'Dr Love' in the ads that launched Dr Pepper Cherry, declaring the drink 'so smooth'.

Which candy maker produces an official Dr Pepper-flavoured bean?

Jelly Belly sells an official Dr Pepper jelly bean, one of several licensed spin-offs alongside Dr Pepper Lip Smackers balm and a Dr Pepper Slurpee at 7-Eleven.

At college football championship games, Dr Pepper's halftime contest lets students win what?

The Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, run since the late 2000s, has finalists throw footballs into an oversized Dr Pepper can at halftime of conference championship games for $100,000 in tuition.

The 'Drink it slow' celebrity ads of 2009 ended with each star saying what line?

Trust me. I'm a doctor was the sign-off, delivered by Dr. Dre and a cast of other celebrity 'doctors', real and fictional; the ads told viewers to drink it slow, 'doctor's orders'.

Which movie monster appeared in Dr Pepper's 1980s 'Out of the Ordinary' commercials?

Godzilla starred in Dr Pepper's 1985 commercials, tied to the US release of Godzilla 1985, guzzling the soda after rampaging through a city; the campaign's slogan was 'Out of the Ordinary'.

Which Virginia city is nicknamed the 'Dr Pepper Capital of the World'?

Roanoke earned the title in 1957, when its per-capita Dr Pepper consumption led the nation; the city holds an annual Dr Pepper Day each autumn in the brand's honour.

Which Japanese company distributes Dr Pepper across most of continental Europe?

Suntory picked up the rights with its purchase of Orangina Schweppes, giving it Dr Pepper in markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Norway, while the UK licence sits elsewhere.

Which singer-songwriter co-wrote the 1970s jingle 'The Most Original Soft Drink Ever'?

Randy Newman co-wrote the 'Most Original Soft Drink Ever' jingle for the brand's mid-1970s campaign; Barry Manilow only sang it, folding it into his 'Very Strange Medley' of commercials in concert.

Dr Pepper's WWII-era radio show, named after its slogan times, starred which Western singing group?

Sons of the Pioneers, the Western harmony group co-founded by Roy Rogers, sang on the brand's early-1940s radio show, whose title echoed the Dr Pepper Time slogan, alongside actor Dick Foran.

Which German brewery acquired the rights to distribute Dr Pepper in Germany in 2006?

Krombacher, the Westphalian brewer, took on German distribution of Dr Pepper in 2006, selling it through its soft-drinks arm alongside Orangina; in Finland the bottler is Sinebrychoff.