Dr. Pepper has quietly crept up on Pepsi for the past 20 years, finally grabbing second place in the Cola race from the traditional second-runner. What does that say about the mighty soda industry in the 21st Century?
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) ‘Musta drunk about 15 Dr. Peppers’
waiting to meet the President during his College Football
All-America year. A man ahead of his time?
You read that right. Dr. Pepper, traditionally the also-ran in the Cola Sweepstakes, is now in second place. But it’s still a full 20 percent behind eternal leader Coca Cola in market share. Even under the best of conditions, it would take the good Dr. a long time to catch Coke. So don’t hold your breath.
What happened?
Market analysts say Pepsi has been trying to grow its market share since 2000. But its pour from the Big Bottle has remained more or less the same. At the same time, Dr. pepper has been quietly growing its share – especially among the younger folks.
How did the Dr. do it?
The 139-year-old brand bucked the general cola industry trends and invested huge amounts in advertising and promo. Hand-in-hand with that, it introduced a whole slew of new flavours.
Leveraging it’s traditional No. 2 status, Dr. Pepper wormed it’s way into more in-resto soda dispenser brand arrays than any other cola. Seems neither Pepsi nor ‘big dog’ Coke perceived it as a serious competitor.
Coke and Pepsi have managed to score exclusive resto-dispenser territory over the years by forging high-profile ‘partnerships with various of the big fast food brands, and many other, smaller resto operations. Dr. Pepper has traditionally appeared as the ‘second cola choice’ in fountain arrays controlled by both.
A viable option for questing tastes…
“Dr. Pepper has distinguished itself through effective marketing campaigns that emphasize its unique flavor and individuality,” Andrew Dickow, Managing Director of Greenwich Capital Group, and national leader of its food and beverage practice, told The Food Institute. “This strategy resonates particularly well with younger demographics seeking alternatives to traditional cola drinks.”
My take
Through the years, various organizations and publications have conducted head-to-head taste tests trying to determine which was ‘better’ – Coke or Pepsi. And the results were most often inconclusive. Taste is, after all, the classic ultra-personalized human sensual experience. What’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’ varies wildly between tasters.
But Dr. Pepper has always been easily distinguishable from the other two big colas. And as such, it makes sense that folks seeking an alternative would turn to it.
One other observation… As we mentioned, Coke and Pepsi have traditionally consolidated their respective strangle holds on market share via their exclusive agreements with major Fast Food brands and smaller operators alike. Will we now see an evolution toward resto dispenser arrays dominated by Dr. Pepper?
~ Maggie J.