Dr Pepper Passes Pepsi as the Second Favorite Soda Brand in the U.S.
Pepsi previously held the position since 1985
Dr Pepper is officially the second favorite soda in the country!
According to new analytics data provided by Beverage Digest, Dr Pepper surpassed longstanding runner-up Pepsi to become the second most popular soda in the U.S. in 2023 behind top favorite Coke.
Dr Pepper secured the second-most favorite by a slight margin over Pepsi, which previously held the position since 1985, per CNN. Both drinks, however, tied with a soda market rate of 8.3%.
This wasn’t enough though to beat Coke — which holds steady at the top position with 19.2% of the soda market captured in the country last year. Other brands owned by Coca-Cola rounded out the top five, with Sprite in fourth position at 8.1% and Diet Coke in fifth at 7.8%.
Dr Pepper was founded in Waco, Texas, a year before Coca-Cola was created in 1985 and Pepsi in 1893. The brand’s increasing popularity is due to its many flavors, investments in strategic marketing and distribution efforts, Digest reported.
Editor of Digest Duane Stanford told CNN following the results, “Dr Pepper has been gaining, [Pepsi] has been declining, and they’re meeting in the middle.”
Dr Pepper’s new entry in the top two favorite sodas comes after the release of the brand’s range’s 24th flavor, Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut, in May.
The limited-time flavor, available in regular and zero sugar versions, has “layers of tropical coconut flavor and a delicious, creamy finish” and is the “only coconut-cream-flavored dark soda on the market,” per a press release.
In an exclusive first look and taste of the new summer-inspired drink, PEOPLE noted a distinct tropical scent upon opening the regular and zero sugar cans, providing a nice balance of the coconut flavor, which is reminiscent of a virgin piña colada, with the taste of the beloved soda.
