Did You Know Only 2 People Know the Recipe for Dr Pepper? And That the Brand Cares? #DPSBalance

Disclosure:  This post is from a partnership with Dr Pepper Snapple Group and The Motherhood which they compensated me for my time.

It seems like the newest thing is cutting calories and reducing sugar in our favorite products and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group have jumped in and joined the bandwagon.  What are they doing exactly?  Well for 2015 the group has created their goals on reducing calories, smaller portions and improved nutrition.  Another goal is that they will be supporting local and/or national programs that encourage active lifestyles.

Did you know that the Dr Pepper Snapple Group sells more than 50 brands of carbonated soft drinks, teas, juices, mixers and other premium beverages?  Out of their 14 biggest brands, 13 of them are ranked #1 or #2 in their respective category!  They are huge in the non-cola market as well, with 40% share of the business!

I never thought about a soda or juice company actually caring about its consumers and trying to make a difference.  The Dr Pepper Snapple Group believes that healthy lives depend on balance, though balancing the calories consumed and burning them off through physical activity.  They are evaluating their existing portfolio of brands and taking the needed steps to help the people who enjoy their products achieve that balance.

“Our initiatives as a company to promote balance reflect a larger commitment by the beverage industry to deliver meaningful solutions to obesity.”

What are the current industry-led initiatives the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is following:

• They took full-calorie beverages out of schools voluntarily through the School Beverage Guidelines, which have reduced calories in beverage shipments to schools by more than 90%.

• The launch of Clear on Calories Initiative which put calorie counts on the fronts of all beverage containers.

• They are focusing on smaller package sizes, innovation and marketing and distribution of low-and-no-calorie beverages by 20% over then next 10 years.

• Launch of Mixify, which is a multi-year national consumer awareness and engagement program by the beverage industry to talk to teens about the importance of balancing what they drink and eat and what they do.

What is some of the the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group innovation?

• Good value for consumer’s dollars

• Knowledge that the products sold are made in a responsible and environmentally friendly way

• Keeping the tastes we all love, not changing them

• Packaging products ready for today’s on-the-go lifestyles so its convenient

• Offering beverage choices that have health benefits and are low in calories

What are some of their product ideas coming up?

• They’ve been testing Naturally Sweetened versions of Dr. Pepper, 7UP and Canada Dry sweetened with a blend of stevia and sugar (only 60 calories per 12 ounce serving)

• Expanding Schweppes and Canada Dry Sparking Seltzer waters due to the growth of the water segment

• Offering a full variety of full calorie and low-or-no calorie options for Snapple beverages.

• Introduced a line of bold new flavors from Mott’s that offer 40% less sugar than fruit juices still with 100% Daily Value of Vitamin C in three kid-preferred flavors.

Did you know that Dr Pepper TEN was introduced because the Dr Pepper Snapple Group found from consumer insights that they were missing out on the primarily male population who as they aged starting watching their weight?  Now that I think about that I never really see a man ordering or buying Diet soda products.  I can’t picture my own husband or dad ordering a diet soda. Isn’t it amazing how the difference of using TEN instead of Diet makes a difference.  Yes it may have calories but if a man is looking to switch to diet he doesn’t have to loose out on taste on their favorite drinks.  Honestly I have tried Dr Pepper TEN and I love it!

Introducing Dr Pepper TEN is just one way that the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has used research and development.  Each product is tested and goes through many rounds of tasting by consumers and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group expert tasting panel before it is introduced.

Here are some Q&A’s direct from a recent webinar with Dr. Pepper Snapple Group:

Some other sodas have experimented with different flavors like lime or cherry. Is Dr Pepper thinking about adding any different flavors to their line?

Yes, we work on long-term innovation, and we also look at new flavors, or what we call line extensions. We are looking at a couple of different options for next year! We try to stay on top of what flavors people are looking for.

Regarding product innovation, other brands have brought sports drinks to their portfolios. Does DPS have plans to launch a sports drink to their product line?

We don’t have a particular plan in mind to launch a sports drink, given the competitive set and our focus. However we are working on a number of projects that help to provide everyday hydration. We are very immersed in products that help with electrolytes and use ingredients that people are looking for in that area.

We also have some allied brands that we work with. We don’t own them outright, but we partner with and distribute. One of them is Vita Coco, which isn’t a sport drink per se, but has many hydrating electrolytes in them. We also work with a drink called HYDRIVE, which plays along those lines.

How many people actually know the entire formula for Dr Pepper?

Two!

You have clearly taken responsibility for improving your company and product as well as reducing your footprint on the environment. What will you have left for your next five years? It will be hard to beat what you have already accomplished, but do you have specific improvements that have been recognized and have made the list for the future?

As we head into our fifth year, we are stepping back and looking at where we have made progress and quite honestly, where we have struggled. We are particularly proud of our work on Let’s Play, and what we’ve done with water and wastewater. You’ll probably see a lot of those concepts continued into our next five years.

How many Snapple flavors have ever existed?

Over the course of our experience with Snapple, I think we have had almost 250 Snapple flavors!

Finally, what about the Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s commitment to active play?

To help address the decline of active play in communities across the U.S., Dr Pepper Snapple Group has launched the Let’s Play campaign to provide tools, spaces and inspiration to make play a daily priority.  To date the group has built or improved more than 2,000 playgrounds with KaBoom!, a non-profit dedicated to promoting active play.  5 million children have been given the opportunity to play.  The Dr Pepper Snapple Group employees have even volunteered to help out (more than 18,000 volunteer hours so far.)  The company is committed to providing kids the active play they need and even help older children who lack the opportunity to participate in organized sports due to the cost of equipment, uniforms and entry fees.  By the end of 2016, they will  have donated more than $26 million to Let’s Play since the program started three years ago.