Lawsuit Puts An End to Dublin Dr Pepper — is a Sip Now Worth $10,000?
I guess it was a great 100+ years while it lasted, am I right Dublin Dr. Pepper? Or now, shall I say — the folks at Dublin Bottling Works?
As the end result of a lawsuit brought on by Dr Pepper Snapple (the Dr Pepper provider most of us are familiar with), the much smaller Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Co will hault its distribution of the popular soft drink, something they’ve been doing since 1891.
The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Co has agreed to sell its distribution rights to Dr Pepper Snapple for “an undisclosed sum.” The movecomes as a result of an accusation that Dublin Dr Pepper “diluting the Dr Pepper brand” through its labeling, as well as selling their product beyond their approved territory, which is just 44-mile radius around Dublin, a town with a mere 3,800 citizens.
The settlement means that Dublin can no longer bottle or make any “Dr Pepper soda products,” but according to sources, the newly formed Dublin Bottling Works will continue to produce soft drinks made with pure cane sugar.
To put the size of the two company’s into perspective, Dublin Dr Pepper sells less than 1% of Dr Pepper’s overall annual volume. According to the Wall Street Journal, Dublin Dr Pepper has about $7 million in annual revenue while the Dr Pepper Snapple company has more than $5 billion annual revenue across a portfolio of brands that includes Snapple tea, Sunkist soda and Mott’s apple juice.
If current eBay and Amazon prices are any indication, the last floating cans, bottles and cases of Dublin Dr Pepper will be spiking in value real soon. In fact, all 6-pack cases of glass bottles listed on Amazon are $100+.
A few crazy eBay listings have already popped up as well, with one bold auctioneer asking for $10,000.
How much would you pay to keep a few bottles of the classic soda on deck? Or for those who’ve yet to try it, how much would you pay to burst your Dublin Dr Pepper virginity?
