Dr Pepper Wins Distribution Fight with Coca-Cola

(Waco, Texas) - Dr Pepper is a true Texas original. The pepper soda was created in Waco in 1885 (tshaonline.org) and has grown over the last 100 plus years into the number two soda in the country. It is my favorite soda by far.

Coca-Cola was created in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia (heartlandcocacola.com). It quickly became the number one soda in the United States. Sure, it's a good soda, but it is the number two soda in my book. Cherry Coke Zero is pretty good, though.

Dr Pepper Versus Coca-Cola in the Courtroom

For many years, Dr Pepper had an agreement with Reyes Coca-Cola to distribute their syrup to restaurants and gas stations in 10 states (chron.com). It took a judge's ruling for Dr Pepper to get out of the agreement. This allows Dr Pepper to take control of their own distribution.

It also means that many restaurants and gas stations will be dropping Dr Pepper from their fountains. That really sucks because I do enjoy the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines where you can get all kinds of flavor combinations. I hope Dr Pepper stays a part of those machines.

READ MORE: Why a Popular Soda Brand is Banned From Buc-ee's

READ MORE: The 5 Year Push to Make Dr Pepper the Official Soft Drink of Texas

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Dr Pepper Distributing on its Own

Dr Pepper has been working on its own distribution plans for some time now. Keurig Dr Pepper did acquire the bottler Kalil to help with their future distribution plans.

Reyes Coca-Cola doesn't seem to be too concerned about this loss as they responded by pushing their own Dr Pepper competitor, Mr. Pibb. Let the soda war continue.