Dr Pepper moves from the beverage side of the menu into food

Dr Pepper’s unique 23-flavor taste profile has created a very loyal fanbase, especially in the South. But the brand has mostly been confined to fountain drinks and, more recently, dirty sodas.

Now chefs and menu developers are moving Texas-born Dr Pepper onto the food side, where it’s showing up in sauces, seasonings, and other items. Last month, Fayetteville, Arkansas-based Slim Chickens introduced a dry rub that’s flavoring Dr Pepper Blasted Tenders, Tender Bites, and Wings. The seasoning mixture is applied to the chicken coating after it comes out of the fryer to preserve the crispy texture.

“Dr Pepper is a Southern original, Slim Chickens is a Southern original, and our guests have been pairing the two at the table for years,” said Christina Vaughan, president and COO of the 300-unit chain. “We just took this to the next level and combined them to create a sweet and savory dry rub for our tenders. The marketing works because it's two brands that are already speaking the same language. It feels less like a collaboration and more like a reunion.” Slim Chickens also serves Dr Pepper and Dr Pepper Zero as soft drink options.

Vaughan added that the soda’s iconic 23-flavor blend provides a sweet and tangy taste profile that pairs especially well with chicken.

Also in September, Round Table Pizza introduced a Dr Pepper-inspired menu featuring pizza, tots, and wings. All three use Dr Pepper-infused barbecue sauce as a topping, coating, or dip.

“It all started with an insight that came out of some research we were doing that showed that Dr Pepper sodas have a sweet, complex, peppery profile that guests associate particularly well with smoky, savory food. So that made Dr Pepper a natural territory for Round Table to explore,” said Corry Reid, VP of Marketing for the Los Angeles-based chain.

Round Table’s R&D and culinary team was already exploring sauce innovation and how it could be cross utilized on the menu, and when that insight came to light, they saw an opportunity to use a flavor profile that consumers already knew. “The breakthrough was to combine it with our barbecue sauce … that sauce then became the hero ingredient on the pizza and our wings, and also a dipping sauce for our bacon and cheese tots.” Reid added. “Dr Pepper brings a sweetness and complexity that complements the smoky and savory flavors in the pepperoni on the pizza and the bacon in the tots.”

Round Table’s Dr Pepper BBQ Pizza layers creamy garlic sauce and Dr Pepper BBQ sauce on the crust, then it’s topped with a three-cheese blend, bacon, and mini pepperoni, finished with an extra drizzle of the BBQ sauce and green onions. “That final drizzle of BBQ sauce over the pizza settles into the pepperoni cups, so you get these little pockets of smoky and sweet,” said Reid.

The Dr Pepper BBQ Classic or Boneless Wings are coated in the new BBQ sauce and topped with bacon, while the Bacon & Cheese Tots are served with a side of Dr Pepper BBQ Dipping Sauce. The Tots were developed specifically for this LTO, which runs through Jan. 3. Dr Pepper has been a Round Table partner in the beverage space, but this is the first time the product is being pulled over into the core menu, Reid said.

Portillo’s recently introduced a Dr Pepper Shake to its menu. Although it's served in a cup like the soft drink itself, it is more like a dessert. Created through a collaboration between Chicago-based Portillo’s and Dr Pepper, the limited-time item combines the chain’s thick vanilla shake with the branded soda. Guests can also order the combo as a Dr Pepper Cake Shake that uses the same base blended with a whole slice of Portillo’s signature chocolate cake. Both rolled out in August.

“Some flavor combinations are just meant to be,” Denise Lauer, CMO of Portillo’s, said in a statement. “The iconic flavor of Dr Pepper paired with the indulgence of Portillo’s handcrafted shakes delivers a creamy, craveable treat that’s unlike anything else on our menu.”

While menu collaborations are increasingly popular between restaurants and branded products, it seems that Dr Pepper is putting more muscle behind these partnerships. According to Jeff Tabor, chief customer officer at Keurig Dr Pepper, “at Dr Pepper, we’re always looking for unexpected, delicious ways to bring our one-of-a-kind flavor to an indulgent new occasion.” These extensions into pizza, chicken, tots, and shakes seem to be the start of a trend.

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Pat plans and executes menu, food and drink stories for Restaurant Business and hosts the weekly Menu Talk podcast. She provides in-depth coverage of chefs, trends and menu innovation.