Why Dr Pepper Fans Might Notice It Missing From Coca-Cola Fountains Soon
The competition between soda brands runs deep. So deep in fact, that for two of the most popular brands, it's ended up in a court of law. A judge in Texas has ruled that Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., the company that owns Dr Pepper, can end its distribution partnership with Reyes Coca-Cola, the bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products and Dr Pepper, in California and Nevada. As a result, drinkers of Dr Pepper and its many varieties on the West Coast may soon start to notice a lack of the Doctor being in the house, as Coca-Cola fountains will lose access to the Dr Pepper syrup.
"We look forward to bringing this distribution of the Dr Pepper trademark into Keurig Dr Pepper's DSD system this fall, further building scale in our routes to market," said Keurig in a statement about the ruling, according to Bloomberg. The move to end the partnership is part of Keurig's effort to push Dr Pepper to the forefront of the soda wars, cutting ties with a competitor and bringing the control of its distribution back under its own system.
The ruling states that the license agreement between Dr Pepper and Reyes Coca-Cola "is and shall be terminated effective Oct. 27, 2025." A spokesperson for Reyes Coca-Cola bottling noted in a statement that the brand is evaluating all of its options, "including the possibility of an appeal."
This isn't the first time a major soda brand has found itself in a legal battle
Keurig Dr Pepper has been looking to end its license deal with Reyes Coca-Cola since last year, according to a lawsuit filed in Texas in September 2024. However, this isn't the first time a soda brand has found itself in a courtroom. Coca-Cola faced a class-action lawsuit in July 2025, with the suit alleging that the company was misleading shoppers by using the phrase "100% Natural Flavors" on certain brands, while still using synthetic flavor enhancers. The lawsuit opened up a larger conversation on the issue of "greenwashing," where brands use certain words and claims to make it seem like a product is cleaner or healthier than it actually is.
Poppi, a soda brand that Tasting Table has ranked, advertises itself as a "gut-healthy" soda option. It faced a lawsuit in 2024 as a result of its healthy promise for containing just two grams of inulin fiber from the agave plant. The lawsuit claimed that a can of Poppi doesn't have enough inulin to actually be considered a gut-healthy beverage, calling the advertising false and misleading.