Why Dr Pepper Comes In Both Coke And Pepsi-Shaped Bottles

Dr Pepper fans may be surprised to learn why their favorite soft drink can be found in different-shaped bottles. Sometimes, Dr Pepper comes in a Coca-Cola shaped bottle, while other times, it will come in a Pepsi shaped bottle. There's even a third option, where the bottle is entirely different.

It all depends on which company bottled the Dr Pepper, and that is done by both Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Keurig Dr Pepper also bottles much of its own product, resulting in three different shaped bottles, though the drink and the amount of it in those bottles will always be the same. 

In the past, Dr Pepper didn't bottle any of its own products and instead licensed out to Coca Cola and Pepsi for bottling and distribution. But after Keurig Green Mountain acquired Dr Pepper Snapple Group, it began bottling operations in-house. However, there are still places in the U.S. and internationally where Coca-Cola and Pepsi are licensed bottlers.

While some Dr Pepper drinkers claim that they can taste the difference between versions bottled by Coca Cola and Pepsi, Keurig Dr Pepper has denied that there is any difference, claiming that all bottlers use the same concentrate made from a secret blend of 23 ingredients that makes the sweet drink different from any other soda on the market. So any differences in flavor have to either be psychological or possibly due to the water used or something else that can be attributed to differences in the bottling facilities, but the recipe itself doesn't change.

What can make a huge difference in flavor when drinking Dr Pepper (or any other carbonated beverage) is whether it came from a can, bottle, or from a soda fountain, also known as a postmix machine. That's because bottlers must follow strict protocol for the syrup-to-water ratio for cans and bottles to ensure consistency from one can or bottle to the next. When it comes to fountain drinks, the syrup-to-water ratio is easy to adjust and that can result in a sweeter or stronger drink based on who has done the adjusting. There is a more subtle difference in flavor when it comes to cans versus bottles too. The slight variance is due to the different bottling materials that really do affect the flavor, leading die-hard Dr Pepper drinkers to take sides when it comes to whether they want their drink in a can or a bottle.