Beverages Things Go Better with Pepper

In 1881 Wade Morrison worked as a pharmacist at a drugstore in Rural Retreat, Va. He fell in love with the daughter of the store's proprietor, Charles Pepper, who was a physician. When the doctor discovered the romance, he put a halt to it. Morrison then fled to Waco, Texas, where he opened his own drugstore. It was there that Charles Alderton, who worked for Morrison, invented a tasty soft drink made from 23 flavors. Morrison, apparently still hoping to curry favor with his beloved's father, named the new pop Dr Pepper. It become one of the most popular thirst quenchers in the South and eventually captured about 7% of the U.S. soft-drink market. Morrison, meanwhile, gave up on Miss Pepper and married another woman.

Last week, in a corporate-style engagement, Coca-Cola agreed to buy Dr Pepper (1985 profits: $60.6 million) from Forstmann Little, a New York-based investment banking firm, for $470 million. The deal is a retaliatory salvo in an ongoing soft- drink war. Only five weeks ago, PepsiCo announced that it was buying Seven-Up for $380 million. That takeover will give Pepsi about 34% of the $30 billion soft-drink market. By acquiring Dr Pepper, Coke will increase its industry-leading share to 46%.