Dr Pepper Dark Berry Gets A Brand New Day – Only In Mexico

As Sporked‘s resident Doctor of Pepper-ology, I’ve covered plenty of the good doctor’s flavor variants over the past few years. From giveaway prizes like Fansville Chocolate and Icing On The Cake to wide releases like Creamy Coconut and Blackberry, the Dr Pepper laboratory has debuted plenty of 24-flavor sodas worth talking about.

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My favorite widely-released offshoot in recent memory has to be Dr Pepper Dark Berry. We haven’t seen this variant on American shelves in a few years, but Dr Pepper fans in a neighboring country will soon find it on shelves sporting a brand new Spider-Man: Brand New Day design. As someone who chose his pen name partly in reference to the red-and-blue wallcrawler, I’m doing my best not to take this exclusion personally.

What is Dr Pepper Dark Berry?

This fruity blue take on the OG pepper soda first hit shelves back in 2019 to promote Spider-Man: Far From Home. (That was the one with Jake Gyllenhaal as the bad guy.) In 2022, Dr Pepper revived the formula alongside a new zero-sugar variant to promote Jurassic World: Dominion. (That was the one with the swarms of evil corporate locusts as the bad guy.) While Dr Pepper never revealed exactly which fruits were emulated in the Dark Berry formula, it’s definitely different from the since-released Dr Pepper Blackberry–and in my opinion, better.

Where can I find Spider-Man: Brand New Day x Dr Pepper Dark Berry?

Per the official Instagram page, Spider-Man: Brand New Day Dr Pepper Dark Berry cans are rolling out to all Mexican retailers. Dr Pepper Dark Berry has actually been available year-round in Mexico for some time now, so this isn’t a return for the flavor per se–just a return to the superhero co-branding that graced the flavor’s debut originally.

Why isn’t Dr Pepper Dark Berry returning in the U.S.?

I haven’t spoken to anyone at Keurig Dr Pepper about this, but I have a theory: Dark Berry is too darn close to Blackberry. While the brand has stated the two drinks are different, they’re certainly similar. It’d be pretty silly for Dr Pepper to put a bunch of advertising money towards promoting a limited-edition berry variant when they also need to maintain the demand for their permanent berry variant. As for why Dr Pepper isn’t slapping Spider-Man all over the existing Blackberry flavor, I couldn’t tell you…