Lifted straight from those Coke Zero commercials, Dr Pepper has filed a lawsuit against… Dr Pepper. Seriously. The parent company has filed a lawsuit against Dublin Dr Pepper – the tiny plant in Texas that uses cane sugar in their recipe.
The Dublin Dr Pepper plant is actually a franchise and their franchise agreement only allows their distribution range to be 35km radius of Dublin, Texas. Dublin Dr Pepper, being so popular, has been bootlegged outside that range and popped up in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Dr Pepper, the parent company, reasons that they need to protect the other Dr Pepper franchise plants and bottlers who play by the rules. “We owe it to our other bottlers to stop these unauthorised practices.” Which, I guess, makes some sort of sense in a big business corporation mindset.
But also really sucks because Dublin Dr Pepper is delicious.
Dublin Dr Pepper has grown to mythical status over the years, it’s the oldest Dr Pepper plant, having started in 1891 and is the only plant that uses imperial cane sugar in their recipe in America. Think Mexican coke but even rarer outside of Texas. The plant was surprised by the lawsuit (dude, it’s like if your dad sued you) but believes the lawsuit won’t succeed. I mean, if you go beyond what the company requires and everyone loves you, you’d probably have some confidence too. I’m going to find some Dublins today and kick back a few, who’s with me? [Houston Press]
Image: Amit Gupta/Flickr