Why pay for the good stuff when you can buy a cheap knock-off? That must be the theory behind the introduction of off-brand Dr Pepper imitations. Stores throughout the country are now selling their own versions alongside the original, and, apparently, people are buying enough of the stuff to make it worth their effort.

Of course, stores and other distributors have marketed their own sodas for years. Generic colas, root beers, and fruit-flavored beverages are common, and aren't really any different from generic pasta, canned vegetables, or charcoal. But there are so many different name-brand colas, root beers, and orange sodas on the shelf that you can't really say that the store has chosen to copy something original -- determining the original in many of these cases would be pretty difficult.

Dr Pepper, though, is an original. It doesn't taste like cola or root beer or any mass-marketed fruit drink -- it tastes like, well, Dr Pepper. The stores seem to have picked up on this, and have therefore chosen the name of their beverage very carefully. In the lists that follow, you may notice a pattern emerging.

The Original

Dr Pepper	Dr Pepper older design	Diet Dr Pepper	Caffeine Free Dr Pepper	Caffeine Free Diet Dr Pepper	Dr Pepper Red Fusion	Cherry-Vanilla Dr Pepper	Diet Cherry-Vanilla Dr Pepper	Dr Pepper from Canada	Dr Pepper from Dublin, Texas (made with sugar)

The Competition

Within this site are pictures of 90 imitation Dr Peppers I've been able to come across so far. To reduce loading time, the list has been split into multiple pages. The list of Doctors includes all clones with the word "Doctor" (or Dr, or Dr., or Doc) in their name, and all the others fall under the title Non-degreed; most have names that suggest a connection to Dr Pepper that aren't as blatantly obvious as the ones on the first list. Details included in the lists are the distributor and brand name (if applicable), name and city of the store where the can was purchased, and any additional comments that seem relevant. Feel free to pass along details on any I may have missed.

The Doctors | The Non-degreed

If you would like to see all of the images together, click here. It will take a while to load, so while you wait, why not enjoy a nice, cold can of your favorite carbonated beverage?

For more information: In Need of a Dr | Reviews of This Site | Links | A Few Final Words

Text and presentation copyright Dave Schul (dave@roadmaps.org), 1997-1005. "Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" is a trademark of Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

Last updated/new varieties last added September 15, 2005