Dr Pepper is a product of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Bottlers owned by PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company and others are licensed to bottle and distribute Dr Pepper in some parts of he United States and the rest of the world.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark office reports that Dec. 1, 1885 was the first time Dr Pepper was served. In the 1980s, the company that first manufactured Dr Pepper became insolvent and was later a target for acquisition by The Coca-Cola Company. This move was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission. Dr Pepper was later merged with Seven Up to form Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. As a result of this merger, The Coca-Cola Company received most distribution rights outside of the United States for Dr Pepper. Dr Pepper/Seven Up was purchased by Cadbury Schweppes in 2006, packaged together with other brands and spun off into a new public company known as Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
