Coca-Cola announced that they are bringing back Mr. Pibb and it has even more caffeine. The revamped version also includes updated packaging that uses the original color scheme but now has bold stripes and an exclamation point.
Mr. Pibb was originally sold under the name Peppo in 1972 to compete with Dr. Pepper. The name was changed to Mr. Pibb after Dr. Pepper sued Coca-Cola for copyright infringement. Mr. Pibb was discontinued in 2001 and replaced with Pibb Xtra, which had a cinnamon forward spicy cherry flavor.
The re-formulated 2025 Mr. Pibb has 30 percent more caffeine than Pibb Xtra. Each 12 ounce can has 54 milligrams of caffeine (the same as Mountain Dew). Mr. Pibb Zero Sugar will also be available. The drinks will be sold in 20-ounce bottles, 12-ounce cans, and 2-liter bottles. For now, it will only be available in select stores in Florida, Chicago, Las Vegas, Michigan, and California, but distribution will expand in 2026.
So why is Mr. Pibb being resurrected? For many years, Dr. Pepper has counted on bottlers controlled by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc. A 2018 merger created Keurig Dr. Pepper. Keurig has been building up its own bottling and distribution to eliminate its dependence on competitors in some markets. The company said it has taken back distribution in about 30 markets through various transactions since the Keurig/Dr. Pepper merger.
Keurig Dr. Pepper had been seeking to end a relationship with Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, which bottles and distributes Dr. Pepper across 10 states (Reyes is a privately held food and beverage distributor that includes Reyes Beverages Group, the largest beer distributor in the US, and Martin Brower, the country’s largest distributor of McDonald’s products).
Keurig filed a lawsuit in Texas (where one of the company’s two headquarters is located) seeking to terminate its partnership with Reyes, contending that under Texas law, once the agreement with Reyes expires, Keurig has the right not to renew it. In July, a judge ruled that the license agreement between Dr. Pepper and Reyes Coca-Cola would be terminated effective October 27, allowing Dr. Pepper to do direct store delivery of its brands.
As a result, retailers with soda fountains that traditionally offer Dr. Pepper will lose their access to the flavoring syrup needed to make it, and typically, in those cases, Coca-Cola swaps Dr. Pepper with Mr. Pibb.