Dr Pepper Snapple

1.0 THE HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT, AND GROWTH OF THE COMPANY OVER TIME.

1.1 THE DR PEPPER SNAPPLE STORY

The original Dr Pepper soft drink was invented in 1885 by a young pharmacist named Charles Alderton. At the time, Alderton was working at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco Texas, which served carbonated soft drinks from a soda fountain. Using that resource, Alderton began to experiment with his own recipes and soon discovered that one particular drink, referred to as “the Waco,” was gaining popularity among his customers. As demand grew, Alderton and Morrison brought in a third partner to help with the manufacture and bottling of the soft drink.The partner was Robert S Lazenby, owner of the Circle “A” Ginger Ale Company. Alderton left the business shortly thereafter, but Morrison and Lazenby continued on to form what would come to be known as the Dr Pepper Company, named after a friend of Morrison. The company was introduced to the general public in 1904 at the World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis.

From its humble beginnings in Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store, the company Alderton and Morrison started has become one of the largest beverage manufacturers in North America. The current product portfolio of DPS is closely tied to the history of mergers and acquisitions of its one time parent company, Cadbury Schweppes plc (Cadbury Schweppes). Cadbury Schweppes emerged in 1969 from the merger of Cadbury plc, a British confectionary and soft drink company, and Schweppes, an international beverage brand. In the three decades that followed, Cadbury Schweppes gained the third largest share of the beverage market in North America through strategic acquisitions. Some notable acquisitions included the Duffy-Mott Company (later known as Mott’s), Canada Dry, Sunkist, Crush and Sun Drop in the 1980s. In 1993 the company bought the A&W Brands Squirt and Vernors as well as its signature root beer and cream soda flavors. Cadbury finally purchased Dr Pepper/Seven...