Discontinued Dr Pepper Flavors We're Probably Not Getting Back

Over the years, Dr Pepper has introduced a wide range of unusual, limited-edition flavors like Fantastic Chocolate and Birthday Cake, but permanent additions to the flavor lineup have been a rare sight. Nonetheless, as the range of Dr Pepper products has shifted, the company has discontinued several sodas that were perhaps intended to have longer lives.

Dr Pepper is a business first and foremost, and low sales were a common reason for discontinuing these flavors. Some also followed trends in the soda industry that may have initially seemed promising, but the brand's attempts to cash in on certain fads fell flat — some sooner than others.

Thankfully, Dr Pepper continues to roll out creative soda varieties, both as limited-time offerings and permanent additions to its lineup. But the beginning of the road wasn't always the smoothest, as the first new flavor in company history — Dr Pepper Red Fusion — started strong but quickly bottomed out. Two others, Dr Pepper Ten and Dr Pepper Berries & Cream, followed suit. These are three flavors we probably shouldn't expect to see again.

Dr Pepper had been around for more than 115 years before introducing its first new flavor, Dr Pepper Red Fusion, in 2002. It had an electric red color and was said to be fruit flavored, though customer commentary from the era suggests that it mostly tasted like Dr Pepper with a mild hint of cherry. Some people had trouble tasting any difference between regular Dr Pepper and this version. But test markets showed enough promise for the company to roll it out as a permanent addition.

Red Fusion attempted to capitalize on a soda industry trend toward brightly colored beverages, which included contemporaries like Pepsi Blue, a berry-flavored drink the color of barbicide (which is another discontinued soda that is probably not coming back). Initially, Red Fusion sold well, and it seemed like Dr Pepper had a hit on its hands. 

But just as quickly as Red Fusion gained popularity, it fell to the wayside. Sales dwindled, and by 2004, Dr Pepper pulled the plug on its first variant. Making matters worse for the few steadfast Red Fusion fans out there, the successful rollout of Cherry Dr Pepper in 2009 means this bright red soda is likely to remain just a memory.

In 2011, Dr Pepper released Dr Pepper Ten, a diet variant of the regular flavor with only 10 calories per serving. It was part of a trend of diet sodas for men, which were packaged in dark colors and omitted the word "diet" because companies thought that men perceived bright colors and dieting as feminine. 

One of the fascinating facts about Dr Pepper is its questionable ad campaigns, such as Dr Pepper Ten's "It's Not For Women." The advertisement showed a man in an off-road vehicle being pursued by enemies on dirt bikes as he enjoyed "ten manly calories" from the gunmetal gray can. After defeating them with a Dr Pepper Ten-triggered trap, he told women to "keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks. We're good." This led to outrage at the explicit exclusion of women and confusion about what makes a soda masculine.

Dr Pepper Ten also faced fundamental problems. Low-calorie sodas proved to be a weak market, as consumers preferred either full- or no-calorie drinks. Within two years of its debut, strong initial sales of Dr Pepper Ten weakened considerably. Burdened by this and its legendarily controversial launch, Dr Pepper Ten finally expired in 2021. For anyone who misses the masculine colorways of Dr Pepper Ten, there is still the black-clad Dr Pepper Zero Sugar.

Dr Pepper Berries & Cream launched in 2006 with high expectations of success. The flavor was part of the company's Soda Fountain Classics line, which included the earlier release of Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper, so executives also expected this one to have a devoted following.

Some customers enjoyed the rich cream soda taste with a hint of raspberries, but the expected surge in sales never came to fruition. Dr Pepper discontinued Berries & Cream before its second anniversary, leaving the flavor behind — for a time.

Berries & Cream unexpectedly reappeared in 2022 as a promotional prize connected to the Dr Pepper rewards program. Only 582 winners were selected; however, after those supplies were exhausted, the flavor disappeared again. Fans were hopeful that the surprise comeback would become permanent, but it never did. The 2023 debut of a thematically similar flavor, Strawberries & Cream, likely means this discontinued Dr Pepper flavor is probably never coming back.