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In 2015, CNN’s Gary Tuchman visited a Fort Worth woman named Elizabeth Sullivan, age 104, to uncover her secret to longevity. Sullivan was happy to tell him: three cans of Dr Pepper a day.
“Doctors told me that if I drink it, I will die—but they died first,” she said.
Sullivan’s health advice is open to question, but she was ahead of a trend. After decades of being a footnote in the soft drink category, Dr Pepper has become a headline.
Recent figures from Beverage Digest show last year Dr Pepper surpassed Pepsi to become America’s second-favorite soft drink, behind Coca-Cola. In terms of volume sales, Dr Pepper now controls 8.34% of the U.S. soft drink category compared to Pepsi’s 8.31%, according to the trade publication.
The question is, how did Dr Pepper pull it off? Some have pointed to the brand’s lighthearted advertising campaigns, such as Lil’ Sweet and Fansville, but the answers are more complicated.
The changing face of PepsiCo
One factor behind Dr Pepper’s rise has been Pepsi’s decline.
Indeed, while Dr Pepper’s market share of the carbonated soft drink category has increased 2.33 percentage points since 1998, Pepsi’s has decreased by more than double that amount—5.72 points.
Pepsi’s tone-deaf Kendall Jenner commercial from 2017 didn’t do the brand any favors, but its downward trajectory is more about a shift in strategy amid changes in consumer preferences than any particular marketing misstep.
The sugar-heavy soda business is shrinking. Between 1998 and 2023, the volume of carbonated soft drinks bought and sold in the U.S. declined 24%.
PepsiCo is aware of this and has been diversifying its portfolio of beverages to better position itself for the future. In 2020, for example, PepsiCo purchased Rockstar Energy beverages for $3.85 billion. It’s also put a significant amount of time and effort into promoting Gatorade.
In a statement to ADWEEK, Greg Lyons, chief marketing officer of PepsiCo’s North American beverage segment, noted that he and his team are constantly monitoring shoppers’ attitudes and behaviors for growth opportunities.
“We’re continuing to prioritize the business to meet the growing consumer demand for healthier, functional, sugar-free options,” said Lyons. “We remain focused on Pepsi and Pepsi Zero Sugar in the U.S. and internationally, putting Zero Sugar at the center of the portfolio transformation, which in turn lifts our trademark.”
