About 6 months ago, back in the days when I could access the internet here in Xinjiang and certain websites weren’t blocked, I mentioned on Twitter that Coke just opened a new bottling plant in Xinjiang. At the time I didn’t really think much of this announcement and had doubts whether I would even notice any change, but I was wrong.

I’m not sure about the rest of China, but from what I’ve seen here in Xinjiang, Pepsi is king. KFC, the biggest fast food restaurant, only serves Pepsi and many small grocery stores sell nothing else. But that’s all beginning to change now and my guess is that it has something to do with this new bottling plant that opened up.

All of the sudden, my beverage choice at the local store has multiplied. No longer are my choices limited to just Pepsi or Coke, now I have the option of drinking Coke Zero or Diet Coke, the first “diet” drinks to hit our shelves.  Also added to the mix is Vanilla Coke, personally a more welcome alternative.

Of course, all of this would be irrelevant to me if Dr. Pepper would just invest some money in China. What’s the holdup, guys?