1.1 Overview
From the invention of the first soft drink more than 200 years ago to some of the industry's most beloved beverage brands, Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) has a proud legacy of innovation, bold and distinct flavors, and entrepreneurial spirit.
On May 7, 2008, DPS became a stand-alone, publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange as the result of a spin-off by Cadbury, plc which held the Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages business group of entities.
One of North America's leading refreshment beverage companies, DPS markets more than 50 brands of carbonated soft drinks, juices, teas, mixers, waters and other premium beverages. The company's strategy, brands and people have made it a strong, sustainable and profitable business.
The company's integrated business model enables the company to manage the entire value chain from innovation to the store shelf.
1.2 History
The Company now known as DPS has evolved from a combination of discovery, invention and collaboration. This rich history includes the very birth of the soft drink in 1783, when Jean Jacob Schweppe perfected the process for carbonating water and created the world's first carbonated mineral water.
Dr Pepper and Snapple, the flagship brands of DPS, have origins that share Schweppe's entrepreneurial spirit. Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist in Waco, Texas, invented
Dr Pepper in 1885. It was served at the drug store where Alderton worked and the first
Dr Pepper fans asked for a "Waco." The oldest soft drink in the United States, it was later named Dr Pepper, according to legend, after Dr. Charles Pepper, a friend of the drug store owner.
Nearly 100 years later, three New York-area health food storeowners created a unique apple soda they named Snapple. They began selling the original Snapple in health clubs in 1973. Throughout the 1970s, the company that owned Snapple was known as The Unadulterated Food Corporation, later becoming Snapple