Dr Pepper Eyes World Dominance, Passes Pepsi as No. 2 Soda

Coke or Pepsi? No.

Coke or Dr Pepper? Yes.

Soda brands across the U.S. have competed for the carbonated spotlight for more than a century. Coke remains supreme, both in the U.S. and worldwide, but last year, Dr Pepper retained 8.34% of the soda market while Pepsi fell just behind at 8.31%, according to Beverage Digest's data.

In 2004, Dr Pepper was tied with Sprite at No. 5 but has slowly climbed the ladder over the last decade and surpassed both Mountain Dew and Diet Coke.

The rise of the brand can obviously be attributed to us Texans carrying the soda on our backs for generations. We can all pat ourselves on the back for that one, but there's no question that effective marketing and social media fads helped Dr Pepper finally move past Pepsi.

Last month, Mississippi Memaw baffled TikTok by ordering a Dr Pepper with pickles, which we tried also. You'd think this would be the time bullying would be considered OK; however, even with over five million views on the platform, the responses are shockingly positive.

Some users praised her and claimed they "found their people". Others suggested other dill-infused combinations like pickles and Kool-Aid, peanuts and Coke and even a drink made of every fountain drink.

For the summer, Dr Pepper introduced Creamy Coconut, which was another hit, obviously due to its compatibility with rum. It's likely a play on the dirty Dr Pepper trend that has people mixing half and half, coconut syrup and Dr Pepper together.

It seems Dr Pepper is playing into the interests and trends of Gen Z and Millennials, who create the pulse of what's hot and what's not. And what's hot? New and fun drinks.