Dublin Dr Pepper, a regionally popular soda pop made in small-town Dublin, Texas, soon will disappear from store shelves after the corporation that owns Dr Pepper forced the small bottler to stop production.
Dublin Dr Pepper was notable because it was made with cane sugar, not the high-fructose corn syrup that flavors regular Dr Pepper. Customers would drive literally hundreds of miles to pick up cases of the soda at the plant.
The Dubin bottler also has been operating since 1891 — just a few years after Dr Pepper was invented in nearby Waco.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group sued the bottler in June, alleging that Dublin Dr Pepper was diluting the main Dr Pepper brand and cannibalizing sales.
If Dublin Dr Pepper was hurting sales, it was hard to tell. According to MSN Money:
The Dublin bottler had sales of $7 million a year. Dr Pepper Snapple Group had sales of $5.6 billion in 2010. And, the Journal reported, Dublin Dr Pepper makes up less than 1% of Dr Pepper’s annual U.S. volume.
To settle the lawsuit, the bottler changed its name to Dublin Bottling Works, and will no longer produce Dublin Dr Pepper — or any Dr Pepper, for that matter. The Dallas Morning News said that anything with a Dublin Dr Pepper logo on it is being destroyed. Details of the lawsuit settlement were revealed Thursday.
Naturally, the news could have an adverse impact on Dublin itself, population 3,800:
You could find Dublin Dr Pepper scattered throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri, including Route 66. One of the biggest and most prominent sellers of Dublin Dr Pepper was Pops on Route 66 in Arcadia, Okla. It sold Dublin Dr Pepper both in the small 8-ounce bottles and from soda fountains. It had long been one of Pops’ biggest sellers.
According to Pops’ Twitter account on Saturday, it still had “plenty” of Dublin Dr Pepper left, but was limiting purchases to one case per customer.
A quick search for Dublin Dr Pepper on eBay on Saturday afternoon revealed that one seller was wanting $9,999 for a case. Prices of $10 to $20 for one 8-ounce bottle were common.
You have to file Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s actions under the Corporate Stupidity Department. In an effort to “protect” its brand from a piddly regional producer, the behemoth has created a public-relations disaster that very likely will prove more costly. Boycotts and other angry campaigns seem certain.
Don’t be surprised if the Dr Pepper Snapple Group tries to walk this back in the coming weeks. Whether it can is another matter.
You have to believe this was done to control the Dr. Pepper brand. Every bottle sold in Texas is considered lost ‘market’. The real answer is more than likely the main company’s market share in the Dublin area, and their ability to dominate vs other brands. Your point, that some accommodation be reached seems like the right way to go, but even that would not let them reach their goal. So, they just used the courts to run them out of business. What I don’t understand is why it took them so long to do this, and why the Dublin group didn’t fight it, or at least try to work something out to stay in business (such as production and direct sales limitations). Or some sort of co-branding. I wouldn’t be surprised is the big company will soon offer the Dublin product as their own ‘classic’ brand of Dr. Pepper. I’d also like to know who runs that company.
We have a root beer store in Seattle, Wa and I was surprised to see Dublin Dr. Pepper on the shelves (today). On the bottle, I noticed the url for two websites. One was for Dublin Dr. Pepper (which now has links to the old Dublin site and the official Dr. Pepper national brand site) and the other was the official Dr. Pepper national brand site.
Has Dr. Pepper/7UP bought it or is this how the bottles were always marked? I could kick myself for not buying a bottle, but it was $4. I did, however, pick up Route 66 Beer, which has been voted third best root beer overall in Seattle.