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Dr Pepper Company is the oldest major manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups in the United States. It is America’s unique flavor and was created in the Central Texas town of Waco.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 heavy production today

Dr Pepper is a “native Texan,” originating at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store. It is the oldest of the major brand soft drinks in America. Like its flavor, the origin of Dr Pepper is out-of-the-ordinary. Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist working at Morrison’s store, is believed to be the inventor of the now famous drink. Alderton spent most of his time mixing up medicine for the people of Waco, but in his spare time he liked to serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. He liked the way the drug store smelled, with all of the fruit syrup flavor smells mixing together in the air. He decided to to create a drink that tasted like that smell. He kept a journal, and after numerous experiments he finally hit upon a mixture of fruit syrups that he liked.

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.

Dr Pepper gained such widespread consumer favor that other soda fountain operators in Waco began buying the syrup from Morrison and serving it. This soon presented a problem for Alderton and Morrison. They could no longer produce enough at their fountain to supply the demand.

Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, had also tasted the new drink and he, too, was impressed. Alderton, the inventor, was primarily interested in pharmacy work and had no designs on the drink. He suggested that Morrison and Lazenby develop it further.

Morrison and Lazenby were impressed with the growth of Dr Pepper. In 1891, they formed a new firm, the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became Dr Pepper Company. Lazenby and his son-in-law, J.B. O’Hara moved the company from Waco to Dallas in 1923.

In 1904, Lazenby and O’Hara introduced Dr Pepper to almost 20 million people attending the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis. The exposition was the setting for more than one major product debut. Hamburgers and frankfurters were first served on buns at the exposition, and the ice cream cone was introduced.

From 1910 to 1914, Dr Pepper was identified with the slogan, “King of Beverages.” “Old Doc,” a typical country doctor character with monocle and top hat, became the Dr Pepper trademark character in the 1920s and 1930s. During that era, research was discovered proving that sugar provided energy and that the average person experiences a letdown during the normal day at 10:30a.m., 2:30p.m. and 4:30p.m. A contest was held for the creation of an ad using this new information. The winner of the ad campaign came up with the famous advertising slogan, “Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4.” Dr Pepper’s slogan in the 1950s was “the friendly Pepper-Upper,” which led the brand into the 1960s when it became associated with rock and roll music and on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand TV show.

In the United States, Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. does not have a complete network of bottlers and distributors, so it is sometimes bottled under contract by Coca-Cola or Pepsi bottlers. In about 30% of the country, the product is distributed by Pepsi bottlers, in about 30% of the country, by Coca-Cola bottlers and in the remainder it is distributed by bottlers that are not affiliated with either of those companies.In Canada, Cadbury-Schweppes has licensed distribution rights to PepsiCo. In Germany, Mexico, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, Slovakia, Finland, Austria, The Czech Republic, Belgium, and Norway Cadbury-Schweppes owns the trademark and distributes the product. In all of the other countries of the world, The Coca-Cola Company purchased the trademark from Cadbury-Schweppes and distributes the product. This mixed worldwide ownership of the trademark is due to antitrust regulations which prevented Coca-Cola from purchasing the rights everywhere.

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.

The movie Short Circuit had many advertisements for Dr. Pepper contained within it, including a notable slogan used by the main protagonist Johnny 5 – “Wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too?” Dr. Pepper was also featured in both Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.

Dr. Pepper was introduced to the Australian market in 1997 with TV adverts and low priced half-sized cans, but an unsustained marketing push failed to earn the soft drink widespread acceptance among consumers. Dr. Pepper continued to be sold in 1.25 litre plastic bottles until as recently as late 2003, but has since quietly withdrawn from the market.