Update 2/7/12: Based on the success of Dr Pepper Ten, other 10 calorie flavors are currently being tested in various markets. We have additional reviews on Sunkist Ten, 7Up Ten, A&W Ten, Canada Dry Ten, and RC Ten.
Original Review: Who needs zero calories when you can have 10? Dr Pepper Ten is hitting test markets across the U.S., seemingly targeted at males who apparently don't want anything to do with Diet Dr Pepper. Thanks to BevReview reader Erin Tapken, we obtained a sample for review!
Via a tip from our friends at Salute to Soda, we were pointed to John Sicher and his Beverage Digest cover story about Dr Pepper Ten in their January 14 issue, mentioning that Dr Pepper Snapple Group's "research shows 'many guys [aged 25-34] are not satisfied with the taste or image of diet sodas'." The takeaway is that Diet Dr Pepper has long been promoted as tasting very close to the flagship product, and I think folks who drink it would agree. It's also mentioned that Diet Dr Pepper has a "slightly lighter mouthfeel" than regular Dr Pepper, but Dr Pepper Ten is closer to the "full flavor and mouthfeel" of the real thing.
Um, OK.
Sounds like a lot of marketing babble, if you ask me. Let's look at this for what it really is. Dr Pepper Ten is their version of Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. It's pretty obvious. Zero and Max both use aspartame and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) as their artificial sweeteners, as does Dr Pepper Ten. This is in contrast to the diet products from these same companies, which solely use aspartame in Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and Diet Dr Pepper.
Coke has been quite successful with Zero, marketing it as a third primary product line alongside flagship Coca-Cola and Diet Coke. The marketing pitch that "it tastes like Coke" is pretty simple to understand and true, given that Diet Coke actually isn't based on the Coke formula (but rather shares a formula with the doomed New Coke).
2 designs for Coke Zero
The only real tweaking the company has had to do since the rollout is to change the packaging from the original white color to the current black scheme… which probably helped broaden the appeal of the drink with men.
The many, many looks of Pepsi Max
Pepsi, on the other hand, couldn't market themselves out of a box if their life depended on it. Pepsi Max has gone through a name change, no less than 4 packaging redesigns, and a short-lived flavor extension… and they still don't know how to promote the drink.
- "Hey, it has ginseng and will keep you awake!"
- "Hey, it's not really Diet Pepsi Max, it's just Pepsi Max, so guys will like it now!"
- "Hey, let's make the label black so it looks like Coke Zero!"
- "Hey, it's now the official soft drink of the NFL!"
- "Hey, let's waste money on pointless Super Bowl commercials!"
The funny thing is, Pepsi Max is actually a pretty good product that lacks branding focus and positioning with the rest of the Pepsi ensemble of flavors. I still don't think they know what they are doing with the drink.
Which leads us to Dr Pepper Ten, which has a unique problem of its own, albeit a good one. People are very passionate and supportive of Diet Dr Pepper. It's one of the strong anchors of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group portfolio, ranked #10 in sales for 2009 (Source: Beverage Digest), with regular Dr Pepper owning the #5 spot (behind Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, and Mountain Dew). The reputation of Diet Dr Pepper being very similar in flavor to the original is solid, and from taste tests, pretty well supported. So how do you launch a new version of a diet drink without alienating or cannibalizing your existing Diet Dr Pepper fans?
Video: Dr Pepper Ten Commercial (Source: Time.com)
Based on the marketing materials being used in the 6 test markets for Dr Pepper Ten (Austin, Denver, Colorado Springs, Des Moines, Kansas City, San Antonio), the pitch seems to be "it's for men only, stupid." Because nothing works better in a postmodern advertising climate than telling men exactly what they should be drinking in a condescending and brain-dead fashion. They absolutely love that!
Here's some copy from the official Dr Pepper website: "Introducing Dr Pepper Ten. 10 bold tasting calories with the same authentic 23 flavors of Dr Pepper. That's a whole lot of taste in one can. Try it today and see why Dr Pepper Ten is not for women."
By not going "zero calorie" but instead throwing in 10 calories worth of high fructose corn syrup (along with the previously mentioned aspartame and acesulfame potassium), this makes Ten a different product from Diet Dr Pepper, as well as Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. It also seems to be targeting the idea that it would taste a lot closer to the full-calorie version because it has 10 calories in it (vs. zero).
There is another hidden bonus that makes it more "manly," I guess. Just like Pepsi Max has the inclusion of ginseng (which they seem to forget about these days when advertising the drink), Dr Pepper Ten has a higher amount of caffeine (4.2 mg/oz) vs. regular Dr Pepper (3.4 mg/oz).
Let's not forget that other "hybrid" type drinks have been tried in previous years. Did we not learn from 2004's short-lived Coke C2 and Pepsi Edge? Granted, those beverages were more half-calorie type products vs. the very small calorie option with Dr Pepper Ten, but has the market changed enough to welcome this type of product back? Who knows what's next?
But let's move beyond the marketing and positioning of Dr Pepper Ten. I'm sure the audience will dictate if the direction picked was successful or not. Let's get into the drink itself!
First off, kudos to the package design folks for not using black as the primary color. Instead, we're given a label that sits on something like a gunmetal grey. Still a dark color and not light/fluffy like a diet drink for women. We're greeted by the standard Dr Pepper logo which now is accented by an all-caps "TEN", sitting above the tagline of "10 bold tasting calories." Elsewhere on the 20 oz bottle we reviewed was the phrase "Same 23 authentic flavors." The standard Dr Pepper plastic bottle shape and design are also in play here with Ten.
Upon opening the bottle, you find that the drink smells like traditional Dr Pepper, perhaps a bit more on the cherry side, to be honest. The look and color of the drink is about the same as regular Dr Pepper.
Now, as far as taste, to better judge the flavor, we compared regular Dr Pepper, Dr Pepper with Real Sugar, Diet Dr Pepper, and Dr Pepper Ten. The results were rather surprising. In short, we found that Dr Pepper Ten actually tasted LESS like Dr Pepper than its Diet sibling. In fact, the flavor was rather bland and lacking the unique subtleties that you usually associate with the drink.
Both Dr Pepper Ten and Diet Dr Pepper have the negative aftertaste typically associated with diet beverages, but Ten was far worse. It was quite overpowering. In contrast, the flavor of Diet Dr Pepper was far more inline with the taste profile of regular Dr Pepper (and Pepper with Real Sugar, for that matter). The different use of sweeteners is probably to blame here, with Diet's use of aspartame coming closer to the original than Ten's aspartame/Ace-K combo. This revelation is somewhat interesting given that there's also some HFCS thrown in for good measure, so you'd think that the taste would be better.
Dr Pepper Ten starts out fine with that first sip, but then the expected flavor never arrives (unlike Diet Dr Pepper), instead trailing right into the negative aftertaste. While there is something there that tastes like Dr Pepper, it definitely feels like those 23 flavors aren't kicking on all cylinders.
We're big Dr Pepper fans, so this was disappointing. Stick with the far-superior Diet Dr Pepper.
Dr Pepper Ten
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, aspartame, sodium benzoate, caffeine, natural and artificial flavors, acesulfame potassium, sodium phosphate
A 20 oz bottle contains 20 calories, 100 mg sodium, 5g carbs, and 4g sugars.
I tried 10 and like it a lot better than Diet Dr Pepper. Most diet sodas leave a definite aftertaste that has become more noticeable as I get older. 10 does not for my taste. I am a fan and hope it spreads to my home market not just San Antonio where I am visiting.
I was given a free 2 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper 10 when I bought a roasted chicken at my local supermarket. As I was in a rush I did not scan the ingredients and only discovered that this product contained aspartame when I arrived at my house.
This beverage tastes the same as Diet Dr. Pepper and is polluted with the same beverage's wretched false sweetener aspartame.
I will stick to my Texas made Dublin Dr. Pepper which uses real sugar. As a man I also find the marketing campaign the height of idiocy.
I usually can't tolerate the flavor of ANY diet soda – no matter what they're 'sweetened' with – the only exception being diet Irn Bru. Alas, Irn Bru costs me a fortune, as it's an import from Scotland and I'm in San Francisco! Yes, even diet DP – which so many folks assured me was the best diet soda around – makes me want to hurl…. But, what the heck, I thought I'd give the ten-calorie DP a try because I'm ever the optimist.
I found it FAR more palatable than diet DP and while it still has some of that funky/nasty aftertaste that I associate with artifical sweeteners, it wasn't nearly as overpowering as usual. In fact, after a few swigs from the bottle, I got used to it and was willing to keep drinking.
Given a choice between it and regular DP, I'd go for the regular sort, of course, but I've got 40lbs to lose and a sweet-tooth that's very hard to ignore, so compromise is necessary.
And, as is clear by my user name, I'm not a guy. But I could give a d*mn about the gendered marketing campaign…
I thought Dr. Pepper 10 was terrible. But I don't like any diet drinks with aspartame.
Love the 10!!! New favorite diet drink!!! Chosen by me over Max, Zero, Diet Dr. P and Diet Mtn. Dew.
Anyone notice the 10 calories per 8 fluid ounces but 20 calories in a 20 oz bottle. Isn't that actually 1 calorie per one fluid ounce? If it were the 10 calories per 8 fluid ounces would that not be 24 calories in a 20 oz bottle would it not?
Oh, i guess they have in earlier posts. They were just a little off on their math, as was I. 20 oz – 16 oz = 4 oz left. They said 2 oz but it's actually 4 oz which is the 5 calories. So, it would be 25 calories in the 20 oz bottle. Not the 20 calories as advertised on the bottle.
I'm a normal guy and I do drink diet soda on occasion. For me, I don't care what the label looks like. It can have blue bunnies and unicorns all over it, say it's for women only, and be called Tab, and I'll still drink it if it's cold and available. When I buy soda, I buy what's on sale and that can be Pepsi, RC, Coke or the store brand. It makes no difference. I'm drinking the beverage because I'm thirsty, not because I'm looking for a sensual, gourmet experience.
Thanks for the review. I was going to try some 10 until i read this. I can't stand that aftertaste.
This stuff is HORRIBLE Avid Dr Pepper fan here especially cherry flav and I just poured 90% of a 2 liter down the sink this stuff is RANCID. The only good thing here was the bottle had a .55 cent coupon attached to it.
I absolutely LOVE Dr Pepper Ten, and I am not a man. I don't like diet drinks but i really don't like the super sugary taste of the regular sodas. This is a perfect inbetween and it's my new obsession. Who cares if it's only for men??
Dr Pepper 10 is a lot better then the regular diet version the aftertaste is all most non-existent the reviewers must of gotten a bad bottle some how. I wonder if will see a cherry version of ten in the future.
Also my 12oz can of ten says 1 serving per can with 10 calories per serving so that would translate to less then 20 calories from a single 20oz. The 2liter also uses a 12 oz serving size with 10 calories per serving so the 20oz label is likely wrong.
I quit drinking sodas 3 years ago. I was a Dr Pepper drinker and loved it, but I got on the health kick, weight, diet and everything. I have never felt or looked better. Then came Dr Pepper TEN with 10 Bold Tasting Calories! Great, I'll give it a try and I did. Loved it! I thought maybe I can have a soda from time to time. Wrong!!!!! After drinking 3 in a 2 week period I decided to check out the sweetner…."ASPARTAME". I will never drink another and feel like I wasa trying to kid myself about sodas in general.
To the blog author: I don't know who "we" signifies, but I have a real problem with their/your taste test.
Dr Pepper 10, IMHO, is the best diet soda to come along in 20 years. It ALMOST tastes like regular Dr Pepper. I don't detect the strong aftertaste your "test" uncovered, and I've downed at least four 12 packs in the past two months.
For years, I tried to convince myself I like Diet Dr Pepper, but when Caffeine-Free Diet Dr Pepper came along, I set Diet Dr Pepper aside permanently. (I don't really know why, but decaffeinated Diet Dr Pepper does not have the metalic aftertaste of Diet Dr Pepper. This coming from a huge caffeine fan.)
I hope the company gives Dr Pepper 10 a fair shot, because it's already become an everyday drink for me, though at some point, they need to lose the idiotic selling point about it being "for men only."
Sorry, Steve. I didn't see your reply to Vinny. But I would strongly suggest you round up your five panel members for a second try. AND, AS THE DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT COMMITTEEMEN SAID DURING THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL RECOUNT, DON'T LET THEM STOP UNTIL THEY GET IT RIGHT!(!?!)
please make stevia dr pepper!
This is not really that good. I find it too sweet and with a less complex taste than either Dr. Pepper or Diet Dr. Pepper. This should go the way of New Coke and the Edsel (a car model put out by Ford that was on the market for only 3 years, for you younger readers).
WTF……. how come noone eles is pissed off that it's only for men…. if it was a 10Cal drink then men shouldn't drink it. They like there fat crap. Hint's why they drink beer. and whats with the littering. Now if it was a 500cal drink then HELL yeah it's just for men.. not 10??? makes no sence!
There is a drink out there that uses Stevia and is called Dr. Zevia.
I agree with most of the commenters that Dr. Pepper TEN tastes great and very close to Dr. Pepper. It certainly helps to have ice with it and make sure the drink is chilled. Infinitely better than Diet Dr. Pepper in my opinion. Very close to being on the same level of greatness as Coke Zero. Pepsi Max is a bit too much with the extra kick, though sometimes that can be good too.
You know what we need? Barq's Zero. Please!
I'm actually a big fan of Dr. Pepper TEN, I would love for them to make Dr. Pepper Cherry TEN that would be a dream come true. It tastes way better then diet dr pepper to me. I bought 3 cases of it!
I'm sorry, I've been a Dr. Pepper fanatic for over 20 years now! It has been my drink of choice since I can remember. Dr. Pepper 10 tastes so incredibly close to the real thing. I'm not really sure how you think that it doesn't, but I digress. It's a great product and hopefully it'll be back on my shelf soon!
I was surprised when I read the negative review. I expected the experts to be as happy with DP10 as I am. My favorite diet drink for years has been DDP, but DP10 is enough better to make me look for it in store instead. I didn't expect 10 calories to make a difference, but I guess the addition of a few drops of corn syrup actually improve the taste and "feel" of the drink in your mouth. My only concern now is that I haven't been able to find DP10 on the shelves the last two times I've been to the store and I'm hoping it's just a supply lull and not an abrupt end for the product.
I'm living in the heart of the Midwest, and I don't have any problem finding Dr. Pepper 10 at any grocery chain I shop at.
I'm wondering where Tristan and Mike live, as they are saying they can't find it on the shelves. (Just in case, I think I'd better go down and grab five or six cases, in the event it becomes scarce here in St. Louis.)
I sure hope Dr. Pepper 10 isn't just a trial balloon product. It should replace Diet Dr. Pepper in the line of Dr. Pepper offerings.
Is this new or the Dublin recipe of Dr. Pepper – strange how they came with something new after shutting down an icon for Dr. Pepper!
I disagree with the review. Dr Pepper Ten tastes a lot better than Diet Dr. Pepper. Actually I just exchanged some Diet Dr. Pepper for Dr Pepper Ten because it tasted better.
I would urge everyone who reads this due to interest in ingesting any diet soda, to stop drinking diet soda today or using any form of artificial sweetner. Aspartame, which IS artificial sweetener, is probably the most toxic chemical you can ingest. If you value your health or your life in any way, shape, or form at all, if you even care one iota about what you put into your body then don't ever accept aspartame into your body, do the research yourself it is pure toxic sludge.
Kyle, you could ruin a wet dream(!!!!!)
Another product with Aspartame?!? NO THANKS.
I would rather drink medicine than Dr. Pepper 10. I bought a case of this crap and want my money back. Love Dr. Pepper.. but Ten tastes NOTHING like Dr. Pepper. All it does it make me hesitant to ever try any other product that Dr. Pepper comes out with. STOP SELLING CRAP!!!
I figured I'd chime in since so many others have and I just today ran across my first bottle. Honestly, I'm not even a fan of the original Dr. Pepper. I never really liked the flavor all that much. However, this stuff is pretty good. It sort of eases up on the strong flavor but doesn't give me that "THIS IS ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER" taste that makes me hate diet sodas. I don't think it would necessarily be my only drink, but it's certainly better than any diet soda I've had.
Why would you do this??
Regular sodas have high fructose corn syrup.
Diet sodas have aspartame.
This makes is so people who are trying to cut back on their toxic chemical intake can't really drink soda.
I thought the "TEN" Line would be actual sugar or fructose. But NO, it has BOTH. Why??
I hate diet drinks, but I love DR Pepper 10. It is very close to original Dr. Pepper. ( I wish Mt.Dew would do the same.) Marketing for this product is GENIUS! People are talking about it, and that is all that matters. People who get pissy because of the OBVIOUSLY tongue in cheek campaign have to get over themselves. Where I work, our lunch table is full of women and Dr. Pepper 10.
i want rc cola zero
dr pepper ten i want rc cola zero and drpepper zero and canada dry zero sodas
Aspartame is the fecal matter of E-Coli. It is toxic. It was developed to be a pesticide. The FDA rejected its use in food twice; then caved. It can kill rats. Contined consumption by humans causes severe tinitus, vision loss, and memory decline(among a large list of other health problems). Anything that tastes sweet to the tougue that is not some form of 'sugar' is probably bad for you. Antifreeze tastes like kool-aid, though don't test that statement. Sucralose is sugar treated with chlorine, so Splenda should be off your list as well. If you are on a diet drink WATER!
High Fructose Corn Syrup. The most fattening of sweeteners according to recent research. Dr. Pepper needed this like a hole in the head. Diet Dr. Pepper is a great drink and needed no help.
I'm from Dublin, TX and I don't buy Dr. Pepper anymore. Drink water. Live longer.
I really dislike the after taste. Nothing can beat the real Dr Pepper. I am type 2 diabetic and had to stop drinking DR Pepper which makes me really sad. I hope some day they can make a low sugar drink that doesn't taste like crap, and or can make you sick. The aspartame can be deadly to people, Google it if you don't believe me.
The manly idea is so stupid.
I tried a 2 liter that I had a coupon for. I found the flavor to be much better than diet dr pepper with no diet soda aftertaste. For me the 25% more caffeine is a nice bonus too. Assuming the price is about the same, it will replace diet dr pepper in my household.