There are not two American soda companies. There are three, and the third one owns most of the brands people assume belong to the first two.
As of August 2026, Canada Dry, 7UP, Dr Pepper, Snapple, Mott's, A&W, Sunkist, Squirt, Crush and Schweppes are all Keurig Dr Pepper brands in the United States. None of them belongs to Coca-Cola or PepsiCo. That single fact resolves most of the confusion in this category.
The rest of the confusion comes from two things that look like ownership and are not: bottling agreements, and the fact that some brands have different owners in different countries. 7UP is the worst offender. Keurig Dr Pepper owns it in the US; PepsiCo owns it almost everywhere else. Both "7UP is a Pepsi product" and "7UP is not a Pepsi product" are correct, depending on where you are standing.
Here is the whole map, checked against each parent company's own filings and brand pages rather than against other people's lists.
Key takeaways
- Three parents, not two. The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP) split the American soda shelf between them.
- Keurig Dr Pepper owns the brands people misattribute most: Canada Dry, 7UP, Dr Pepper, Schweppes, Sunkist, A&W, Squirt, Crush, RC Cola and Snapple, all in the US.
- 7UP and Schweppes are geographically split. KDP owns them in the US. PepsiCo holds 7UP internationally.
- Distribution is not ownership. Coca-Cola bottles Dr Pepper in some markets. PepsiCo sells ready to drink Starbucks and Lipton products it does not own.
- KDP itself says it offers "more than 125 owned, licensed, and partner brands." Its own 10-K separates those three categories, and most brand lists on the internet do not.
- Poppi is now PepsiCo. Its rival Olipop is still independent, which is the cleanest live example of the third category: brands with no cola parent at all.
- KDP is splitting in two. After buying JDE Peet's in April 2026, it will separate into a coffee company and a beverage company, and Dr Pepper goes to the beverage side.
This article is based on primary sources: Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.'s Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed February 24, 2026, SEC CIK 0001418135) and its DEF 14A proxy filed April 24, 2026; The Coca-Cola Company's own brand portfolio pages; and PepsiCo's own brand pages. Where a brand is licensed or distributed rather than owned, I say so explicitly, because that distinction is the single largest source of error in soda ownership writing. Full source list at the bottom.
The master brand map
Sixty brands, grouped by who actually owns them in the United States. Brands with a link have their own full ownership investigation on this site.
| Brand | US parent | Category | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola | The Coca-Cola Company | Cola | |
| Diet Coke | The Coca-Cola Company | Cola | |
| Coca-Cola Zero Sugar | The Coca-Cola Company | Cola | |
| Sprite | The Coca-Cola Company | Lemon-lime | Competes directly with 7UP, different owner |
| Fanta | The Coca-Cola Company | Fruit soda | |
| Fresca | The Coca-Cola Company | Citrus | |
| Dasani | The Coca-Cola Company | Water | |
| smartwater | The Coca-Cola Company | Water | |
| Topo Chico | The Coca-Cola Company | Sparkling mineral water | |
| Powerade | The Coca-Cola Company | Sports drink | |
| BodyArmor | The Coca-Cola Company | Sports drink | Acquired 2021 |
| Minute Maid | The Coca-Cola Company | Juice | |
| Simply | The Coca-Cola Company | Juice | Not the same as PepsiCo's Simply NKD |
| fairlife | The Coca-Cola Company | Dairy | |
| Gold Peak | The Coca-Cola Company | Tea | |
| Peace Tea | The Coca-Cola Company | Tea | |
| Fuze | The Coca-Cola Company | Tea | |
| innocent | The Coca-Cola Company | Juice and smoothies | Mainly Europe |
| Costa Coffee | The Coca-Cola Company | Coffee | |
| Pepsi | PepsiCo | Cola | |
| Diet Pepsi | PepsiCo | Cola | |
| Mountain Dew | PepsiCo | Citrus soda | |
| Starry | PepsiCo | Lemon-lime | Replaced Sierra Mist in 2023 |
| Mug | PepsiCo | Root beer | |
| Gatorade | PepsiCo | Sports drink | |
| Propel | PepsiCo | Sports water | |
| Aquafina | PepsiCo | Water | |
| bubly | PepsiCo | Sparkling water | |
| Brisk | PepsiCo | Tea | |
| SoBe | PepsiCo | Tea and juice | |
| Rockstar Energy | Celsius Holdings | Energy | PepsiCo bought it in 2020 and sold it to Celsius on August 28, 2025 |
| Muscle Milk | PepsiCo | Protein | |
| poppi | PepsiCo | Prebiotic soda | Acquired May 19, 2025 for $1.95B |
| Lipton (ready to drink) | PepsiCo | Tea | Joint venture. PepsiCo does not own the Lipton trademark |
| Pure Leaf | PepsiCo | Tea | Same joint venture structure |
| Starbucks (ready to drink) | PepsiCo | Coffee | Partnership. Starbucks owns the brand |
| Dr Pepper | Keurig Dr Pepper | Soda | Founded 1885, predates Coca-Cola's national expansion |
| 7UP | Keurig Dr Pepper | Lemon-lime | US only. PepsiCo owns 7UP internationally |
| Canada Dry | Keurig Dr Pepper | Ginger ale and mixers | The most misattributed brand in America |
| Schweppes | Keurig Dr Pepper | Mixers | US rights only. Other owners elsewhere |
| Snapple | Keurig Dr Pepper | Tea and juice | |
| Mott's | Keurig Dr Pepper | Juice and apple sauce | |
| A&W | Keurig Dr Pepper | Root beer | The soda, not the restaurant chain |
| Sunkist | Keurig Dr Pepper | Orange soda | Trademark licensed from Sunkist Growers |
| Squirt | Keurig Dr Pepper | Grapefruit soda | |
| Crush | Keurig Dr Pepper | Fruit soda | |
| RC Cola | Keurig Dr Pepper | Cola | The third cola, owned by neither cola giant |
| Vernors | Keurig Dr Pepper | Ginger ale | |
| Big Red | Keurig Dr Pepper | Red cream soda | |
| Sun Drop | Keurig Dr Pepper | Citrus soda | |
| IBC | Keurig Dr Pepper | Root beer | |
| Cactus Cooler | Keurig Dr Pepper | Orange pineapple soda | |
| Stewart's | Keurig Dr Pepper | Fountain sodas | |
| Yoo-hoo | Keurig Dr Pepper | Chocolate drink | |
| Hawaiian Punch | Keurig Dr Pepper | Fruit punch | |
| Clamato | Keurig Dr Pepper | Tomato clam juice | |
| Nantucket Nectars | Keurig Dr Pepper | Juice | |
| Mistic | Keurig Dr Pepper | Juice | |
| Bai | Keurig Dr Pepper | Flavoured water | |
| Core Hydration | Keurig Dr Pepper | Water | |
| Peñafiel | Keurig Dr Pepper | Mineral water | Mexico |
| GHOST | Keurig Dr Pepper | Energy | Named in KDP's 2025 10-K |
| Keurig | Keurig Dr Pepper | Brewing systems | Moving to the coffee company in the split |
| Olipop | Independent | Prebiotic soda | Founder-led, no corporate parent |
| Celsius | Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH) | Energy | PepsiCo holds preferred stock and distributes it, but owns no common stock |
| Alani Nu | Celsius Holdings | Energy | Acquired April 1, 2025 |
| Liquid Death | Independent | Water | |
| Fiji Water | The Wonderful Company | Water | Privately held |
Is Canada Dry a Coke or Pepsi product?
Neither. Canada Dry is a Keurig Dr Pepper brand in the United States, and has been since the 2018 merger that created KDP, having previously belonged to Dr Pepper Snapple Group and before that Cadbury Schweppes.
The reason this question gets asked roughly 12,000 times a month in various phrasings is that Canada Dry shows up in Coca-Cola coolers and Pepsi vending machines, because independent bottlers and food service distributors carry brands from multiple parents. What is in the cooler tells you who delivers the drink, not who owns it. Full detail in the Canada Dry ownership investigation.
Is 7UP a Pepsi product?
In the United States, no. Everywhere else, essentially yes.
This is the genuine split that makes the question unanswerable without a location. Keurig Dr Pepper owns and controls 7UP in the US market. PepsiCo holds the 7UP rights internationally and runs the brand across most of the rest of the world. The split is a historical artefact of how the brand's international and domestic rights were sold separately decades ago, and it has never been unwound.
So an American looking at a 7UP can is holding a Keurig Dr Pepper product. Someone in Britain, India, or Mexico looking at a nearly identical can is holding a PepsiCo product. Both people are right and they will argue forever. The full 7UP ownership story traces how the rights got separated.
Who makes Canada Dry ginger ale?
Keurig Dr Pepper makes it, though "makes" deserves unpacking, because in the soda industry the parent company usually does not physically fill the can.
KDP owns the Canada Dry trademark and the concentrate formula. It manufactures the concentrate, sets the brand strategy and collects the brand economics. The actual filling, carbonation, canning and delivery is frequently done by third party or affiliated bottlers under contract, some of which also bottle for Coca-Cola or PepsiCo in the same plant on different lines.
That is why "who makes it" and "who owns it" can feel like different questions. The answer that matters for ownership is Keurig Dr Pepper.
Is Dr Pepper a 7UP product?
No, and neither owns the other. They are sibling brands under the same parent.
Both Dr Pepper and 7UP are Keurig Dr Pepper brands in the United States, which is why they appear together constantly in the same fountain machines and the same multipacks. Dr Pepper was created in 1885 in Waco, Texas; 7UP was created in 1929. They spent most of the twentieth century as separate companies and only ended up under one roof through decades of acquisitions, arriving together in the Dr Pepper/Seven Up combination that eventually became part of KDP.
The related query "is Canada Dry a 7UP product" has the same answer for the same reason: sibling brands, common parent, no ownership relationship between them.
The two traps: geography and distribution
Nearly every wrong answer about soda ownership comes from one of these.
| Trap | What it looks like | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic split | "7UP is a Pepsi product" | True outside the US, false inside it. Same for Schweppes, which has different owners in different regions |
| Bottling agreement | "Coca-Cola makes Dr Pepper" | Coca-Cola bottles and distributes Dr Pepper in certain markets under contract. It does not own the brand |
| Licensed trademark | "Sunkist soda is owned by the orange people" | KDP licenses the Sunkist name from Sunkist Growers, a farmer cooperative, for the soda |
| Partner brand | "Keurig owns Starbucks" | KDP makes Starbucks K-Cups under licence. Starbucks owns Starbucks |
| Joint venture | "Pepsi owns Lipton" | The ready to drink tea is a joint venture. The Lipton tea trademark is not PepsiCo's |
Keurig Dr Pepper is unusually explicit about this in its own 10-K, which describes "more than 125 owned, licensed, and partner brands." Three categories, one portfolio. Most brand lists flatten all three into "owns," which is how a Krispy Kreme K-Cup becomes evidence that KDP owns Krispy Kreme. It does not.
The three parents at a glance
| The Coca-Cola Company | PepsiCo | Keurig Dr Pepper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing | NYSE: KO | NASDAQ: PEP | NASDAQ: KDP |
| Formed | 1892 | 1965, Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay merger | July 9, 2018, Keurig and Dr Pepper Snapple merger |
| Also owns | Costa Coffee, fairlife | Frito-Lay, Quaker, Doritos, Cheetos | Keurig brewing systems, JDE Peet's coffee brands |
| Structural note | Concentrate model, largely separate bottlers | Owns much of its own bottling and a huge snack business | Splitting into two companies |
The asymmetry worth noticing: PepsiCo is not really a beverage company, it is a snack company with a large beverage arm. Keurig Dr Pepper is about to stop being a coffee-and-soda hybrid. Only Coca-Cola is a pure beverage business, and even it owns a coffee chain.
What changed in the last 18 months
- April 1, 2025: Celsius Holdings acquired Alani Nu for $1,275.0 million in cash plus 22,451,224 shares.
- May 19, 2025: PepsiCo completed its $1.95 billion acquisition of poppi, moving prebiotic soda into the PepsiCo portfolio.
- August 28, 2025: PepsiCo sold Rockstar Energy to Celsius Holdings, taking preferred stock rather than cash. Energy is the one category where the three-parent map does not hold: the biggest names sit outside all three.
- Early 2025: Coca-Cola launched Simply Pop, its own prebiotic entry, rather than buying one.
- May 5, 2025: JAB Holding ceased to be a more than 5% shareholder of Keurig Dr Pepper, ending the anchor stake created in the 2018 merger.
- August 25, 2025: KDP agreed to acquire JDE Peet's and announced it would then separate into two companies.
- April 1, 2026: The JDE Peet's acquisition closed at about €15.7 billion, taking KDP's pro forma net sales to roughly $28 billion.
- Pending: The KDP separation into "Global Coffee Co." and "Beverage Co." Dr Pepper, 7UP, Canada Dry and Snapple go to the beverage company. Keurig goes to the coffee company.
When that split completes, this map gets a fourth column, because the company that owns Dr Pepper will no longer be the company that owns Keurig.
FAQ
Is Dr Pepper owned by Coca-Cola or Pepsi?
Neither. Keurig Dr Pepper owns it. Coca-Cola distributes it in some international markets under contract.
Is Canada Dry a Pepsi product?
No. Canada Dry is a Keurig Dr Pepper brand in the US.
Who owns Sprite and 7UP?
Different companies. Sprite is Coca-Cola. 7UP is Keurig Dr Pepper in the US and PepsiCo internationally. They are direct competitors in the same category.
Is RC Cola owned by Coke or Pepsi?
Neither. RC Cola is a Keurig Dr Pepper brand, which is why it is the only major cola not controlled by the two giants.
Which company owns the most soda brands?
By count of distinct US carbonated soft drink brands, Keurig Dr Pepper. By volume and revenue, Coca-Cola.
Is Olipop owned by Pepsi?
No. PepsiCo bought poppi, a different brand. Olipop remains independent and founder-led.
Sources
1. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., filed February 24, 2026: SEC EDGAR filing. Establishes KDP's named brand portfolio (Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Mott's, A&W, Peñafiel, GHOST, 7UP, Snapple, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Clamato, The Original Donut Shop, Core Hydration and the Keurig system), the "more than 125 owned, licensed, and partner brands" formulation, and the July 9, 2018 formation date.
2. DEF 14A Proxy Statement, Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., filed April 24, 2026: SEC EDGAR filing. Establishes the JAB exit date of May 5, 2025, the JDE Peet's closing in April 2026, the roughly $28 billion pro forma net sales, and the planned separation into Global Coffee Co. and Beverage Co.
3. The Coca-Cola Company brand portfolio: coca-colacompany.com/brands. Establishes the Coca-Cola brands listed above as company brands.
4. PepsiCo brand portfolio: pepsico.com/brands. Establishes the PepsiCo brands listed above, including poppi.
5. Keurig Dr Pepper brand portfolio: keurigdrpepper.com/brands. Establishes the full KDP brand list and, by including partner coffee brands alongside owned beverage brands, illustrates the owned versus licensed distinction discussed above.
6. PepsiCo press release, May 19, 2025: PepsiCo completes acquisition of poppi. Establishes the $1.95 billion purchase price and the completion date.