Big Red (soft drink) by mixing orange and lemon oils with the traditional vanilla used in other cream sodas. Big Red is produced and distributed by various independent soft drink bottlers including Keurig Dr Pepper, CCE, and Pepsi Bottling Group under license from Big Red, Inc., based in Austin, Texas. Big Red was the sixth-highest selling soft drink company in the United States from 2002–2004, after Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper/7Up, Cott and National Beverage Company. As a preeminent red creme soda in the South, it is a staple of many Juneteenth celebrations. In 2007 Big Red Ltd. was purchased by Gary Smith, with backing
Independent soft drink Mexico. Independent soft drink An independent soft drink is a soft drink generally made by smaller privately run businesses or smaller corporations who use alternative marketing strategies to promote their product. The label was arguably started in the early 1970s in response to Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola's mass media campaigns for the edge in the beverage market. Several groups decided to protest by making and in some cases publicly distributing their homemade brew. Jones Soda is one of the more commonly known "independent" companies, founded in 1987, as well as Jarritos, a popular "independent" soft drink company based from Guadalajara,