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Mountain Dew

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Mountain Dew
Current Mountain Dew Logo
TypeCitrus soft drink
ManufacturerPepsiCo, Inc.
Country of origin  United States
Introduced1964 (nation-wide)
VariantsDiet Mountain Dew
Caffeine Free Diet Mountain Dew
Caffeine Free Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew Code Red
Diet Mountain Dew Code Red
Mountain Dew LiveWire
Mountain Dew Pitch Black
Mountain Dew Pitch Black II
Mountain Dew Baja Blast
Mountain Dew MDX
Mountain Dew AMP
Mountain Dew Game Fuel
Websitewww.mountaindew.com Edit this on Wikidata

Mountain Dew is a caffeinated, sweet, citrus-flavored soft drink produced by PepsiCo, Inc. The main formula was invented in Marion, Virginia, named and first marketed in Johnson City, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee in 1948, then by the Minges family in Fayetteville, North Carolina and across the United States in 1964.[1] When removed from its characteristic green bottle, Mountain Dew is bright yellow-green and semi-opaque.

Ingredients

Mountain Dew lists its ingredients as:

Mountain Dew (and its energy drink counterpart known as AMP) often incurs the disapproval of some health experts[2] due to its relatively high caffeine content for a soft drink (or energy drink). However, Mountain Dew marketed in Australia and Canada (see Dew Fuel/Mountain Dew Energy varieties below) — as well as several U.S. states — has no caffeine added at all (Health Canada states that caffeine cannot be in non-cola food products[3]). Nevertheless, Mountain Dew contains tartrazine (“FD&C Yellow No. 5” in the US), which could lead to allergic reactions in some people. This has also led to a false urban legend that the Yellow No. 5 in Mountain Dew reduces the sperm count of male drinkers.[4] Mountain Dew, like many citrus flavored sodas, contains citric acid and sodium benzoate.

Recent reports to the Food and Drug Administration indicate that some soft drinks may contain high levels of benzene that are above the FDA's limit for public drinking water.[5] The source of the benzene appears to be from a reaction of ascorbic acid or erythorbic acid, and sodium benzoate. Mountain Dew contains erythorbic acid and sodium benzoate. However, calcium disodium EDTA and sugars have been shown to inhibit benzene creation, and Mountain Dew has not been found to have toxic levels of benzene; though benzene is present in the drink. There has been a call, recently, for soft drink companies to address the toxic chemical reaction that takes place in many similar beverages.[6]

Diet Mountain Dew contains aspartame. Mountain Dew's brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is another source of contention. More than 100 countries ban BVO for its adverse health effects. However, the exact quantity of bromine put into fat cells from BVO is questioned.

Marketing and promotion

File:Julian Beever Mountain Dew art photo by David Shankbone.jpg
Mountain Dew advertisement in Union Square, New York City by Julian Beever.

Mountain Dew's name is a previously-existing euphemism for moonshine, which likely traces back to Ireland (see the Irish folk song "The Rare Auld Mountain Dew"), and has generally been marketed to highlight its potency. It was originally marketed as "zero proof moonshine" and had pictures of hillbillies on the bottle until 1973.

Bascom Lamar Lunsford's original recording of "Old Mountain Dew," an Appalachian old-time song, was used as the first advertising theme for the newly created Mountain Dew soda.

Today's target demographic is radically different. The drink is mainly marketed to people in the 12-30 year old demographic group, creating a connection to outdoor activities like extreme sports and to the video game culture.[7] The name Mountain Dew was first trademarked by two brothers, Barney and Ally Hartman, who ran a bottling plant in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Mountain Dew is the main sponsor of the Dew Action Sports Tour extreme sports tournament and the Summer and Winter X Games. It is also the main sponsor of the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge, a series of free races open to anyone, comprised of an East and West circuit.

MxPx recorded a song for a Mountain Dew commercial in 2002.

It was also marketed in the 2007 version of Transformers (film) when the energy of the Allspark brings to life Earth technology. In this case, a Mountain Dew machine which turns into a rabid killing machine.

In 2007 Green Label Art also released a limited edition series of bottles featuring 12 different designs from various artists (regular Mountain Dew was inside the bottles themselves). Originally handed out at select promotional events, the company has announced via their website (www.greenlabelart.com) they are looking into distribution for a wider area.

Varieties

An old 10 US fluid ounce Johnson City, Tennessee Mountain Dew bottle (date unknown): "It'll tickle yore innards!"
File:BajaBlast1.jpg
Mountain Dew Baja Blast
File:GAME FUEL version of Mt. Dew.jpg
Halo 3 Game Fuel
  • Mountain Dew (1948) — Citrus flavored soda.[8] PepsiCo's original and most signature flavor in the Mountain Dew family.
    • Caffeine-Free Mountain Dew — Non-caffeinated Mountain Dew. Available throughout various parts of the United States and Canada. In Canada it is simply labeled as “Mountain Dew.” (see Dew Fuel for more information)
    • Diet Mountain Dew (1984) — No-calorie Mountain Dew.[9] Formerly known as “Sugar-Free Mountain Dew” until 1986.[10] In 2006, Diet Mountain Dew was reformulated with a new "Tuned Up Taste" - it is now sweetened with a blend of sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium. The previous formulation only used aspartame.
      • Diet Mountain Dew Fountain — As indicated on the official Mountain Dew website, “Diet Mountain Dew Fountain is a variation of Diet Mountain Dew that uses treated water instead of carbonated water in its formula”.[11] Limited location availability.
      • Caffeine-Free Diet Mountain Dew — No-calorie, non-caffeinated Mountain Dew. Limited location availability. In Canada it is simply labeled as “Diet Mountain Dew.” (see Dew Fuel for more information)

Other Mountain Dew flavors

  • Red (1988) — Fruit Mountain Dew.[12] Red was the first Mountain Dew flavor variation. No longer available.
    • Diet Red (1988) — No-calorie fruit Mountain Dew. No longer available.
  • Blue Shock (2001) — Berry-citrus flavored Mountain Dew.[13] Blue Shock failed to sell in the test market, Chicago, and was later released nationwide only in Slurpee form exclusively at 7-Eleven stores. It was there that Blue Shock made one of the most successful Slurpee flavor launches ever. When Blue Shock became unavailable it was rumored by fans at various message boards that PepsiCo had sold the recipe to Faygo and that they were marketing it as "Moon Mist Blue." This rumor was proven false however when Blue Shock was brought back briefly for a limited time in March 2007, once again as a Slurpee flavor exclusively at 7-Eleven stores.[14] No longer available.
  • Code Red (2001) — Cherry Mountain Dew.[15] Not the same as the original Mountain Dew Red.
    • Diet Code Red (2002) — No-calorie cherry Mountain Dew. Available in limited areas only.
  • LiveWire (2003) — Orange Mountain Dew.[16] LiveWire was at one time a limited edition flavor for Summer before becoming permanent. Available in limited areas only.
  • Pitch Black (2004) — Black grape Mountain Dew. Limited edition flavor for Halloween. No longer available.
  • Baja Blast (2004) — Tropical-lime and pineapple flavored Mountain Dew. Available exclusively as a fountain drink at YUM! Brands' Taco Bell restaurants.[17]
  • Darth Dew (2005) — Tangy grape Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor that could be considered as “Pitch Black 1.5”.[18] Was available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as part of a promotion for the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode III. No longer available.
  • Pitch Black II (2005) — Sour grape Mountain Dew. Limited edition flavor for Halloween. “Sequel” to the original Pitch Black. No longer available.
  • Arctic Burst (2006) — A Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as part of a promotion for the theatrical release of Superman Returns. The Slurpee is blue in color and said to taste like blueberry. While the official name is "Arctic Burst", as seen on the actual Slurpee machine,[19] it has also been seen mislabeled under the name "Arctic Blast" in some official online advertisements.[20] No longer available.
  • Kryptonite Ice (2006) — A Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as part of a promotion for the theatrical release of Superman Returns. The Slurpee is green in color and the flavor seems to be tropical, like mango. No longer available.
  • Game Fuel (2007) — A limited edition Mountain Dew flavor currently promoting the release of the Xbox 360 game Halo 3.[21] The color of it is orange, and has a citrus-cherry taste. Originally set for an August 13 release, Game Fuel was available as early as August 10. Game Fuel will reportedly only be available for 12 weeks. Halo 3 was released on September 25.
  • "Clash" — A citrus-blueberry flavored Mountain Dew said to have been test marketed to members of a small test panel around February of 2007 and some what supported by bottle photos.[22] It has been described as tasting similar to Pepsi Blue. The current status of this flavor, if indeed real, is unknown.

Brand portfolio

  • Mountain Dew AMP (2001) — A Mountain Dew flavored energy drink marketed to compete with Red Bull.
  • Mountain Dew AMP Overdrive (2007) — Cherry flavored Mountain Dew AMP. This is AMP's equivalent of Code Red.
  • Dew Fuel (2002–2007) — A caffeinated version of Mountain Dew offered in Canada.[23] Mountain Dew is not caffeinated in Canada due to Health Canada regulations[24] that only allow caffeine in 'dark-coloured' varieties of soft drinks such as cola and root beer. The reason Dew Fuel is allowed to bypass Health Canada regulations and be sold is due to the fact that it is marketed as a natural health product and not as a soft drink. It mainly replaced Canada's (Caffeine-Free) Mountain Dew on store shelves, although many places still sold both drinks. Dew Fuel was originally called “Mountain Dew Energy” until given its present name in 2006. In early 2007, Pepsi-QTG Canada cited that Dew Fuel is out of production. According to emails from Pepsi-QTG Canada's consumer relations,[25] there are currently no plans to reintroduce the product as it did not sell as well as hoped. There is no official announcement on their website, though the Dew Fuel homepage[26] has been taken down. No longer available.
    • Dew Fuel Sugar-Free (2002) - No-calorie Dew Fuel. The caffeinated version of Diet Mountain Dew offered in Canada. Was originally called “Mountain Dew Energy Sugar-Free” until 2006. No longer available.
  • Mountain Dew MDX (2005) — Mountain Dew flavored “Energy Soda.” Was code named “Mountain Dew X” during the beta test phase.
    • Sugar-Free Mountain Dew MDX (2005) — No-calorie Mountain Dew flavored “Energy Soda.”
  • Mountain Dew Sport (1990–1991) — Only test marketed in several states, as a Mountain Dew flavored sports drink. No longer available.
    • Diet Mountain Dew Sport (1990–1991) — Only test marketed in several states, as a no-calorie Mountain Dew flavored sports drink. No longer available.
  • Dew Iced (2007) — A Mountain Dew flavored Smoothie available exclusively at Cold Stone Creamery stores for a limited time.[27][28] Available in limited areas only.

Non-Pepsi bottlers

Only two non-Pepsi franchises exist in the United States for the production of Mountain Dew. At the time of Mountain Dew's acquisition by Pepsi, there were 56 franchise agreements, only 16 of which were not held by a Pepsi bottler. The two remaining agreements are permanent; however, the size of their territories are believed to be small enough to make them insignificant to Pepsi.[29]

  • West Jefferson Dr Pepper (WJDP) of West Jefferson, NC. The company does not ship outside its contracted territory, however several Web sites sell the product at a premium price. The premium price can be justified by the fact that WJDP is the last bottler in the U.S. to produce Mountain Dew with cane sugar[30] (instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup, or HFCS). WJDP is notable for producing all their non-diet products with cane sugar, most of which are Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (formerly Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.) products.
  • RC Cola Bottling of Winchester, Winchester, VA. The company produces Mountain Dew, but uses High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) like all Pepsi bottlers.

See also

References

  1. ^ "www.dewcollector.com/articles.shtml".
  2. ^ "www.redding.com/news/2007/jan/22/too-much-caffeine-could-be-jolt-to-your-well/".
  3. ^ "lois.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cr/C.R.C.-c.870/bo-ga:l_B-gb:l_16//en#anchorbo-ga:l_B-gb:l_16".
  4. ^ "www.snopes.com/medical/potables/mountaindew.asp".
  5. ^ "www.ewg.org/issues/toxics/20060404/index.php".
  6. ^ "www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/benzqa.html".
  7. ^ "mountaindew.com/about_dew/history/history04.php".
  8. ^ "www.mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/md.php".
  9. ^ "www.mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/dmd.php".
  10. ^ "www.usasoda.com/pepsidew.htm".
  11. ^ "www.mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/dmd.php".
  12. ^ "www.usasoda.com/pepsidew.htm".
  13. ^ "www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2002/05/27/daily35.html".
  14. ^ "slurpee.com/".
  15. ^ "mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/cr.php".
  16. ^ "mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/lw.php".
  17. ^ "mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/bb.php".
  18. ^ "www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/promo/news20050505.html".
  19. ^ "www.x-entertainment.com/updates/pics/superslurp/1.jpg".
  20. ^ "72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:WJuPKpB-0vcJ:www.dewslurpees.com/Index.aspx+www.dewslurpees.com&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us".
  21. ^ "www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/04/16/mountain-dew-to-make-halo-3-branded-beverage/".
  22. ^ "www.brinksmarket.com/dew/images/Mountain%20Dew%20Clash.jpg".
  23. ^ "www.dewfuel.ca".
  24. ^ "Canada Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870) Table VIII".
  25. ^ mailto:consumerrelations@en.pepsi.ca
  26. ^ "Dew Fuel Energy Drink - Feel The Urge".
  27. ^ "www.mountaindew.com/about_dew/product_info/index.php".
  28. ^ "www.coldstonecreamery.com/coupons/smoothie_0607.html?sssdmh=dm24.109250".
  29. ^ "www.dewcollector.com/articles2.shtml".
  30. ^ "www.glassbottlesoda.org/bottlers/wjefferson.shtml".
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