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Dr Pepper Company is the oldest major
manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups
in the United States. It is America's unique flavor
and was created, manufactured and sold beginning in
1885 in the Central Texas town of Waco.
Dr Pepper is a “native Texan,” originating at
Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store. It is the oldest
of the major brand soft drinks in America. Like its
flavor, the origin of Dr Pepper is
out-of-the-ordinary. Charles Alderton, a young
pharmacist working at Morrison's store, is believed
to be the inventor of the now famous drink. Alderton
spent most of his time mixing up medicine for the
people of Waco, but in his spare time he liked to
serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. He
liked the way the drug store smelled, with all of
the fruit syrup flavor smells mixing together in the
air. He decided to to create a drink that tasted
like that smell. He kept a journal, and after
numerous experiments he finally hit upon a mixture
of fruit syrups that he liked.
To test his new drink, he first
offered it to store owner Morrison, who also found
it to his liking. After repeated sample testing by
the two, Alderton was ready to offer his new drink
to some of the fountain customers. They liked it as
well. Other patrons at Morrison's soda fountain soon
learned of Alderton's new drink and began ordering
it by asking him to shoot them a "Waco."
Morrison is credited with naming the
drink "Dr Pepper" (the period was dropped in the
1950s). Unfortunately, the origin for the name is
unclear. The Museum has collected over a dozen
different stories on how the drink became known as
Dr Pepper.
Dr Pepper gained such widespread
consumer favor that other soda fountain operators in
Waco began buying the syrup from Morrison and
serving it. This soon presented a problem for
Alderton and Morrison. They could no longer produce
enough at their fountain to supply the demand.
Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, had
also tasted the new drink and he, too, was
impressed. Alderton, the inventor, was primarily
interested in pharmacy work and had no designs on
the drink. He suggested that Morrison and Lazenby
develop it further.
Morrison and Lazenby were impressed
with the growth of Dr Pepper. In 1891, they formed a
new firm, the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company,
which later became Dr Pepper Company. Lazenby and
his son-in-law, J.B. O'Hara moved the company from
Waco to Dallas in 1923.
In 1904, Lazenby and O'Hara
introduced Dr Pepper to almost 20 million people
attending the 1904 World's Fair Exposition in St.
Louis. The exposition was the setting for more than
one major product debut. Hamburgers and frankfurters
were first served on buns at the exposition, and the
ice cream cone was introduced.
From 1910 to 1914, Dr Pepper was
identified with the slogan, "King of Beverages."
"Old Doc," a typical country doctor character with
monocle and top hat, became the Dr Pepper trademark
character in the 1920s and 1930s. During that era,
research was discovered proving that sugar provided
energy and that the average person experiences a
letdown during the normal day at 10:30a.m., 2:30p.m.
and 4:30p.m. A contest was held for the creation of
an ad using this new information. The winner of the
ad campaign came up with the famous advertising
slogan, "Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4." Dr
Pepper's slogan in the 1950s was "the friendly
Pepper-Upper," which led the brand into the 1960s
when it became associated with rock and roll music
and on Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV show.
With changing times came changing
slogans. To broaden its appeal across the nation, Dr
Pepper hailed itself as "the most misunderstood soft
drink," and then in the 1970s became "the most
original soft drink ever in the whole wide world."
In 1977, Dr Pepper advertising was marked by the
famous "Be a Pepper" campaign, and today Dr Pepper's
slogan is "Be You. |
