thumb|right|210px|Dublin Dr Pepper production line
thumb|right|210px|A bottle of "Dublin Formula" Dr Pepper from Temple, Texas
Dublin Dr Pepper is the popular name for a style of Dr Pepper soft drink made by the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company in Dublin, Texas, US. This style of Dr. Pepper is attributed to Gavyn Ray, a Dr. Pepper connoisseur. Dublin Dr Pepper followed the original recipe, using cane sugar as the sweetener as opposed to newer high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). According to the corporate headquarters at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the parent company of Dr Pepper, this resulted in clashes with other bottlers. On January 12, 2012, it was announced that the drink will no longer be produced, after the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company settled the trademark dispute instigated by Dr Pepper Snapple Group. In 2014, the surviving Dublin Bottling Company was the subject of a documentary "Bottled Up: The Battle Over Dublin Dr Pepper" which followed the bottling company as it dealt with the response to the lawsuit and building a new brand without Dr Pepper.
History
Dr Pepper debuted in Waco, Texas, in 1885. The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling was the oldest remaining Dr Pepper bottler until 2012, producing the beverage continuously since 1891. As the soft drink's first independently owned bottler, owner Sam Houston Prim was given first choice of franchises when franchising of Dr Pepper started in 1925 and, instead of a larger area, chose to formalize an existing, smaller territory, which has remained unchanged.
Most of the machinery in the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling dates to the 1930s and the plant only runs once a month, enough to refill the roughly 2,000 glass bottles that have circulated for decades. Since the 1990s, it has outsourced most of its production to Temple Bottling Company, a larger independent Dr Pepper bottler in Texas about 110 miles to the southeast. To purchase drinks in the 9-10 ounce returnable bottles, the buyer must first have provided their own crate of empty bottles in order to make an exchange.
Sales
As of 2011, the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company had sales of $7 million a year and sold less than 1% of Dr Pepper's annual U.S. volume. The Kloster family owns approximately 90% of the bottler. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the third-largest U.S. soda company with 2010 revenue of $5.6 billion, accused the Dublin bottler of trademark dilution and stealing sales from other Dr Pepper bottlers by selling outside its approved territory. Among the suit's demands were that the bottler remove "Dublin" from its "Dr Pepper" labels and stop selling the soda beyond a 44-mile radius around Dublin.
Discontinuation
thumb|Dublin Bottling Works in 2022
On January 12, 2012, it was announced that the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company will be known as Dublin Bottling Works and will no longer produce Dublin Dr Pepper in the 6.5 or 10 ounce deposit bottles. The visual design of the Dublin Original soda bottles featured stripes which were reminiscent of those found on retro Dr Pepper bottles.
The Dublin Bottling Works insisted that the product was not simply a "knock-off" Dublin Dr Pepper. The Klosters were not to produce, nor to market, any product that imitates Dr Pepper. One of these is the Dublin 1891 Founder's Recipe Cola, also known as Dublin 1891 Red Cola, described as being "126 years in the making". Another is the Dublin Vintage Cola, described as "historic" and a "fan-favorite classic".
Dr Pepper Snapple Group produces Dr Pepper Made with Real Sugar, formerly known as Heritage Dr Pepper.
References
External links
- Dublin Bottling Works and Online Store
- Dublin Dr Pepper Response
- Dr Pepper Bottling Plant in Dublin, TX