The Road to Dr Pepper, Texas: The Story of Dublin Dr Pepper, Paperback

The Road to Dr Pepper, Texas is the story of Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Co., a David-Goliath case study of the world's first Dr Pepper bottling plant and the only one that has always used pure cane sugar in spite of compelling reasons to switch sweeteners. The book traces the story from the founder's birth through the contemporary struggles of a tiny independent, family-owned franchise against industry giants. Owners of the plant have been touched by every major social, economic, and political issue of the past 114 years, and many of those forces threatened the survival of the plant.

The Dublin plant's 100th birthday in 1991 was a turning point because the national media created an identity so unique that it has taken on a life of its own. Thanks to the Travel Channel, Food Network, Texas Monthly, Southern Living, and others, the Dublin plant and museum attract tens of thousands of tourists every year, and Dublin Dr Pepper is consumed around the world through internet sales.

The Road to Dr Pepper, Texas tells how a small plant ignored most of the cherished rules of production and marketing-and succeeded-in spite of not speeding up production, not expanding its franchise area, not cutting production costs, and not adapting to changing times.

KAREN WRIGHT is a Dublin civic leader, founder and former publisher of The Dublin Citizen, and former director of Old Doc's Soda Shop and Dr Pepper Museum in Dublin. She does freelance writing, marketing and public relations with emphasis on historic preservation, and can be reached for interview at kawright@earthlink.net.