The story
Origins
Dr Pepper Snapple Group traces its origins to Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), a division of Cadbury Schweppes created through a series of acquisitions during the 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1995, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., adding the Dr Pepper and 7UP brands to its portfolio. In 1998, the company further expanded by acquiring Beverage America and Select Beverages from the Carlyle Group, both significant U.S. bottlers of soft drinks. In 2000, Cadbury Schweppes acquired Snapple, Mistic, and Stewart’s from Triarc Companies for $1.45 billion, followed later that year by the purchase of Royal Crown Cola from Triarc.
Between 2006 and 2007, Cadbury Schweppes consolidated much of its U.S. bottling operations by acquiring Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group and several regional bottlers, giving the company greater direct control over manufacturing and distribution. In October 2007, Cadbury Schweppes announced plans to separate its confectionery and beverage operations, with the latter becoming an independent publicly traded company.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group and distribution agreements
In May 2008, the beverage division was demerged, creating Dr Pepper Snapple Group. In 2008, the company acquired a minority interest in Big Red, Inc.
In February 2010, PepsiCo paid Dr Pepper Snapple Group $900 million for a 20-year license to distribute Dr Pepper brands in territories served by its newly acquired bottlers.
In June 2010, The Coca-Cola Company agreed to pay Dr Pepper Snapple Group $715 million for a 20-year license to distribute certain brands in the United States and Canada, with an option to renew for another 20 years. The agreement included adding Dr Pepper brands to Coca-Cola's Freestyle fountain machines.
Following the Coca-Cola agreement, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission required the company to implement safeguards to prevent access to Dr Pepper Snapple's confidential business information.
In 2015, the company acquired a minority stake in Bai Brands for $15 million and, in 2016, announced the full acquisition for $1.7 billion.
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Merger with Keurig Green Mountain
On January 29, 2018, Dr Pepper Snapple was acquired by Keurig Green Mountain in an $18.7 billion transaction. Following the merger, the combined company was renamed Keurig Dr Pepper and began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange. Under the terms of the agreement, Dr Pepper Snapple Group shareholders retained a 13% ownership stake in the new entity, with additional stakes held by Mondelez International, and JAB Holdings, which retained majority control. Larry Young, President and CEO of Dr Pepper Snapple Group at the time, transitioned from his executive roles and joined the Keurig Dr Pepper board of directors.
Post-merger
After the 2018 merger, Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s operations were folded into Keurig Dr Pepper, with its Plano headquarters retained as one of the new company’s main offices. Under Keurig Dr Pepper ownership, legacy brands such as Snapple and Dr Pepper continued to evolve, including the rebranding of Diet Snapple to Snapple Zero Sugar in 2022. By 2024, Dr Pepper had become the second-largest carbonated soft drink in the United States by retail sales, and in 2025 new flavor variants such as Dr Pepper Blackberry were introduced across the portfolio.
From Wikipedia’s article on Dr Pepper Snapple Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7