Why Are These Dollar General Dr. Pepper Bottles Half Empty Now?

Dr. Pepper soda (l) woman shares shopping encounter (c) Dollar general store (r)

A Dollar General customer noticed that the Dr. Pepper on sale at the store was missing a lot of liquid. What's going on?

You’ve probably noticed that you’re seeing Dr. Pepper more often than you used to. There’s a reason for that.

For decades, Dr. Pepper was seen as the third wheel in the cola wars between Pepsi and Coca-Cola. While many people enjoyed the drink, it was never really viewed as being on par with the other sodas.

In the past few years, however, this view has shifted. Dr. Pepper has rolled out several new flavors to keep customers interested, and aggressive advertising campaigns across sports and social media have made the beverage more of a household name. These campaigns have been so successful that, in 2024, Dr. Pepper surpassed Pepsi as the second biggest soda brand.

That doesn’t mean that the journey to the top has been smooth. For example, some customers insist that the brand has taste inconsistencies across different bottling plants.

Now, a woman has gone viral after lodging another complaint against the brand—specifically regarding just how much soda it puts in each bottle.

What’s Going On With These Bottles?

In a video with over 257,000 views, TikTok user Leah Cosby Hunt (@leah.cosby83) shows Dr. Pepper & Cream Soda bottles at a Dollar General location.

“Am I crazy?!” she asks in the video’s text overlay. “They look like they have been drank from!”

Comparing these bottles to the other ones in the refrigerator, it does seem like something is wrong. Soda from other brands has liquid that goes all the way to the top of the bottle. The soda in these Dr. Pepper bottles, however, barely makes it past the label.

This isn’t how the bottles are supposed to look. On the Dollar General website, the company advertises the same product with a stock image of three bottles. Each of these bottles is filled more than the ones shown in Hunt’s video.

Did Someone Actually Drink Out Of The Bottles?

To be clear, Hunt likely doesn’t need to worry that someone drank out of the bottles.

The first indication that this is not the case is that the seals on the bottle caps are intact. If someone had opened the bottles, the seals would have been broken. This would be visible when looking at all of the bottles.

The second indication that these haven’t been tampered with is the fact that they’re all underfilled at the same level. If someone had truly drank from all of the bottles, it’s unlikely that they would be able to do so to the same degree each time.

With that out of the way, what’s really going on here?

Under-Filled Soda Happens Sometimes

Dr. Pepper being underfilled is a problem, but it’s not exactly a rare one. Online, several users have complained about their sealed Dr. Pepper bottles containing substantially different amounts of the drink.

This isn’t unique to Dr. Pepper, either. Similarly, under-filled sodas have been produced by Barq’s, Coca-Cola, IBC Cream Soda, and more.

Naturally, this isn’t supposed to happen—though it can for a variety of reasons. According to Mettler Toledo, under-filling of a product can occur due to human error, incorrect settings, system blockages, or equipment maintenance issues.

There’s also a chance that the bottles somehow became warped. This would open up extra space and change how the soda sits in the bottle.

If you bought a Dr. Pepper and believe it to be underfilled, you can file a complaint with the company. Keurig Dr Pepper has an official “Product or Package Issue” reporting form for situations like this. Using this form, a customer can submit the bottle’s production code and photos for investigation. From there, the company can look into the issue and figure out how and why it happened.

Shoppers Are Divided

In the comments section, users weren’t sure what to make of Hunt’s situation.

“They definitely look like someone drank them,” said a user.

“It’s called Dr Pepper being cheap and putting less drink,” offered another.

“Same bottle size, less product. It’s happening to everything,” stated a third. “People keep buying it, so it will continue.”

“The bottom of the bottle is bloated so the liquid sank down into it,” shared a further TikToker. “look at the bottle on the end and the difference in the shape.”