• Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:38 AM

Dr Pepper Snapple is reformulating 7UP to give it a "crisper" lemon and lime taste, Anjali Cordiero reports. The "restaged" flavor will hit shelves in September, according to the company's CMO, Jim Trebilcock, who says sales of the drink grew last year. "We wanted to see if we could accelerate it," he says.

News of the restaging is actually buried in Elaine Wong's Brandweek Q&A with Trebilcock and svp of marketing Andrew Springate; she led with the news of two new Snapple flavors created by the finalists on "The Celebrity Apprentice."

"About a year ago, [the brand] was floundering and it wasn't very differentiated," Springate admits. After "listening to our drinkers," the result was a reformulation and new graphics and marketing that culminated in the tie-in with Donald Trump's TV show. Snapple sales were up 15% in the first quarter, Trebilcock reports.

Dr Pepper, which introduced a Cherry version last year, also grew and the uptick continues. The three big drivers in the category, the executives maintain, are health, wellness and taste.

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