Dr. Pepper is a carbonated soft drink, and it’s one of the most popular soft drinks in the world that you can find almost everywhere.
It started in the United States and later moved to other parts of the world after gaining popularity.
Since its foundation 138 years ago, Dr. Pepper has changed hands quite a lot due to mergers, acquisitions, and different stories.
Now, people wonder who owns Dr. Pepper since many soft drinks are under one or two brands, like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
It’s normal to wonder whether Dr. Pepper is a separate drink now or belongs to either of these brands. Let’s take a look at the answer.
Who Currently Owns Dr. Pepper?
Dr. Pepper has been owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper since 2008. The manufacturing rights for the European, Japanese, and South Korean markets belong to the Coca-Cola Company.
Canada and Oceania markets are led by PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr. Pepper only manufactures Dr. Pepper for the United States market.
They still own the brand but manage the manufacturing only in the US and leave the other markets for Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
The company had various owners over time. Keurig Dr. Pepper is the result of a merger between another former owner of Dr. Pepper and Keurig Green Mountain, the former name of Keurig Dr. Pepper.
Dr. Keurig Pepper is a publicly traded company, which means the company has many shareholders and a variety of owners that manage the decisions.
These are mostly index funds, but the actual table also includes some insiders. Here is a small breakdown of major holders.
| % of Shares Held by Insiders | 35.55% |
| % of Shares Held by Institutions | 56.42% |
| Number of Institutions Holding Shares | 1,046 |
The company’s majority owners are institutions, which means they have the majority on the board and the decisions to make for the company.
The names of the insiders are currently not open to the public, but the top major owner institutions are available.
| Holder | Shares | Date Reported | % Out | Value (in $) |
| Vanguard Group Inc | 70,578,072 | Mar 30, 2023 | 5.03% | 2,299,433,714 |
| Blackrock Inc. | 68,972,718 | Mar 30, 2023 | 4.91% | 2,247,131,278 |
| Capital International Investors | 51,595,718 | Mar 30, 2023 | 3.68% | 1,680,988,586 |
| FMR, LLC | 50,195,232 | Mar 30, 2023 | 3.58% | 1,635,360,750 |
| Capital World Investors | 40,839,377 | Mar 30, 2023 | 2.91% | 1,330,546,977 |
| Wellington Management Group, LLP | 39,827,389 | Mar 30, 2023 | 2.84% | 1,297,576,406 |
| State Street Corporation | 35,254,781 | Mar 30, 2023 | 2.51% | 1,148,600,829 |
| Capital Research Global Investors | 26,428,631 | Mar 30, 2023 | 1.88% | 861,044,846 |
| Price (T.Rowe) Associates Inc | 22,039,562 | Mar 30, 2023 | 1.57% | 718,048,970 |
| Boston Partners | 21,903,716 | Mar 30, 2023 | 1.56% | 713,623,107 |
Most of these institutional holders have mutual funds where people can invest. This means that indirectly individuals also own a big portion of Keurig Dr. Pepper.
Story Of Dr. Pepper
Dr. Pepper was first created in 1885 by a pharmacist in Texas and started to serve it in the United States.
The US was also the first country Dr. Pepper was marketed, which started in 1904. Over time, it started to be marketed and sold across other continents like Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Dr. Pepper added new flavors to its flavors line and distributed them to their markets.
During the 1980s, Dr. Pepper became insolvent, and an investment group took the company private, taking over its manufacturing rights.
Sometime later, Coca-Cola tried to acquire the manufacturing rights of Dr. Pepper, but it failed.
Later on, the same company acquired Seven Up and merged the two drinks, creating Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.
This led to them leaving the international manufacturing and branding rights to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Coca-Cola took Dr. Pepper’s rights, and PepsiCo took Seven Up.
Dr. Pepper changed hands a couple more times in its history, and now it’s owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper.
This company is a predecessor of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which bought the Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. brand.
Read: Who Owns Aldi?
What Is Keurig Dr. Pepper?
Keurig Dr. Pepper is the current manufacturer of Dr. Pepper in the United States, and it was formed in 2018 after a merger.
The merger was between Keurig Green Mountain and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which was formerly the Dr. Pepper/7Up Inc.
They are a publicly traded American drink conglomerate offering 125 hot and cold beverages.
The acquisition of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group cost $18.7 billion to Keurig Green Mountain, and this also gave the manufacturing rights of Dr. Pepper only to the United States.
Coca-Cola manufactures Dr. Pepper in the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea. PepsiCo has Canada and Oceania manufacturing rights.
Keurig Dr. Pepper went through two name changes, one in 2014 and one in 2018.
Their first name was Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and through acquisitions, they expanded to new markets, created new drinks, and eventually ended up owning the rights to their current lineup.
Conclusion
Dr. Pepper is a soft carbonated drink that was first manufactured in 1885 in the United States, and that was also the first place it was marketed in 1904.
Over time, it grew to more continents, and it now serves almost all parts of the world. It’s now owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper, and they manufacture it in the United States.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo own manufacturing rights on other continents. Coca-Cola manufactures it in the UK, Japan, and South Korea, and PepsiCo manufactures it in Canada and Oceania.
And Dr. Pepper’s brand name is overall owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper which is a publicly-traded company on Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
FAQ
Is Dr. Pepper owned by a private company?
No, the company that owns Dr. Pepper is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in the United States. Over 50% is owned by institutional investors.
Does one person own Dr. Pepper?
No, since Keurig Dr. Pepper is a publicly traded company, many people have a stake in it by owning its shares on Nasdaq. That’s why it’s not owned by one person.
Sources
https://www.drpepper.com/s/corporateinfo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Pepper/Seven_Up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keurig_Dr_Pepper
https://money.cnn.com/quote/shareholders/shareholders.html?symb=kdp&subView=institutional
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KDP/holders/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Pepper
Amit Gupta is an experienced expert in digital marketing and co-founder of DrFranchises. With more than 11 years of knowledge in franchise digital marketing, SEO, email marketing, and social media marketing, Amit has helped many brands achieve incredible success online. As a passionate entrepreneur and owner of 7 franchises, he continues to study franchise models, looking at costs, revenue, and profitability to guide brands toward profitable growth. When he’s not working on digital marketing, Amit enjoys spending time playing with his beloved dog.