Dr Pepper Is the Second-Most Popular Soda in America

Move over Pepsi, there’s a new second-favorite soda in town. 

New data by Beverage Digest, which looked at sales-volume data, shows that Dr. Pepper has officially overtaken Pepsi, which held the second-place spot since 1985, as the number two soda brand in America. 

According to the data, shared with the Wall Street Journal, Coke still leads by a very healthy margin, taking home 19.2% of the soda market in the U.S. by sales volume. Next came both Dr. Pepper and Pepsi, with 8.3%, but Dr. Pepper took it by a nose. According to the data, another Coca-Cola brand comes next, with Sprite earning 8.1% and then Diet Coke at 7.8%. 

“Dr Pepper has been gaining, [Pepsi] has been declining, and they’re meeting in the middle,” Duane Stanford, editor of Beverage Digest, told CNN about the new data. 

Much of Dr Pepper’s success is due to its internet-heavy marketing and virality, including May’s Dr. Pepper and Pickles moment, when people took to TikTok to show off the drink combination available at Sonic. 

“Don’t knock it till you try it. If you like pickles and you like Dr. Pepper, and you’re probably like, ‘Ew, gross. I would never ever drink that. But there’s a lot of people who do drink it,’ Mississippi Memaw shared in her TikTok. 

Over the last few years, the brand has also made it its mission to experiment with new flavors, including 2022’s limited-edition Dr Pepper Bourbon Flavored Fansville Reserve, and 2023’s Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream, which the company added to its permanent lineup. 

“Our expert team of flavor scientists are constantly innovating to bring to life new varieties that will surprise and delight treat seekers and our existing dedicated fans,” John Alvarado, senior vice president of Dr Pepper brand marketing, said in a statement at the time of its release. “Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream is an exciting evolution for our brand’s flavor portfolio as it joins our permanent lineup alongside popular varieties such as Dr Pepper & Cream Soda and Dr Pepper Zero Sugar.” 

Timothy Cofer, the CEO of Dr Pepper’s parent company Keurig Dr Pepper, called the new flavor a “standout success” during an analyst call in April, according to CNN. No word on how it tastes with pickles, but we’ll let you give that one a whirl and let us know later.