Mountain Dew,[3] stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Bridgforth[4] in 1958. The rights to this formula were obtained by the Tip Corporation of Marion, Virginia.[5] William H. "Bill" Jones of the Tip Corporation further refined the formula, launching that version of Mountain Dew in 1961.[6] In August 1964, the Mountain Dew brand and production rights were acquired from Tip by the Pepsi-Cola company, and the distribution expanded across the United States and Canada.[7]
Between the 1940s and 1980s there was only one variety of Mountain Dew, which was citrus-flavored and caffeinated in most markets. Diet Mountain Dew was introduced in 1988,[8] followed by Mountain Dew Red, which was introduced and discontinued in 1988. In 2001, a cherry-flavored variant called Code Red debuted. Expansions of the product line have continued to this day, including specialty offerings, limited time productions, region-specific and retailer-specific flavors of Mountain Dew.
Production was extended to the United Kingdom in 1996,[9] but was phased out in 1998. A similarly named but different-tasting product, with a recipe more similar to the original American product[10] has been sold in the U.K. under the name "Mountain Dew Energy" since 2010 and in Ireland since the spring of 2011, but in 2015 it was changed to "Mountain Dew Citrus Blast" to shift away from the energy drink marketing. As of 2017, Mountain Dew represented a 6.6% share of the carbonated soft drinks market in the U.S.,[11] and is the leading soft drink brand in several states including almost the entire Midwestern United States.[12] Its competition includes the Coca-Cola Company's Mello Yello and Surge, and Keurig Dr Pepper's Sun Drop; Mountain Dew accounted for 80% of citrus soft drinks sold within the U.S. in 2010.[13]
Origin
Tennessee bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman developed Mountain Dew as a mixer in the 1940s.[14] The brothers, who had previously managed an Orange-Crush plant in Georgia, created the beverage in Knoxville, Tennessee after they were unable to find Natural Setup, their preferred lemon-lime soda for mixing with Old Taylor Kentucky Bourbon in the 1930s.[15] Originally a 19th-century slang term for whiskey, especially Highland Scotch whisky, the Mountain Dew name was trademarked for the soft drink in 1948.[14][16] Formulated by William Henry "Billy" Jones, the original 1940s recipe was a clear, highly carbonated lemon-lime drink similar to 7 Up or Sprite.[15] The Hartmans debuted the product in 1946 using a "hillbilly" marketing campaign featuring labels drawn by John Brichetto that depicted a barefoot mountaineer with a rifle and moonshine jug.
Packaging
"Mountain Dew" was originally Southern and/or Scots-Irish slang for moonshine (i.e., homemade whiskey or poitín), as referenced in the Irish folk song "The Rare Old Mountain Dew", dating from 1882. Using it as the name for the soda was originally suggested by Carl E. Retzke at an Owens-Illinois Inc. meeting in Toledo, Ohio,[21] and was first trademarked by Ally and Barney Hartman in the 1940s. Early bottles and signage carried the reference forward by showing a cartoon-stylized hillbilly. The first sketches of the original Mountain Dew bottle labels were devised in 1948 by John Brichetto, and the representation on product packaging has changed at multiple points in the history of the beverage.[22]
Logo
PepsiCo (then The Pepsi-Cola Company) acquired the Mountain Dew brand in 1964, and shortly thereafter in 1969 the logo was modified as the company sought to shift its focus to a "younger, outdoorsy" generation. This direction continued as the logo remained the same through the 1970s, the 1980s, and the early 1990s. In 1996, PepsiCo began using a strategy it was already using with its flagship cola Pepsi, changing Mountain Dew's logo every few years.
Ingredients
In its primary market of the United States, the ingredient composition of Mountain Dew is listed as: "carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup (in much of the U.S.), concentrated orange juice, citric acid, natural flavors, sodium benzoate, caffeine, sodium citrate, erythorbic acid, gum arabic, Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and yellow 5."[29] The ingredient makeup of Mountain Dew varies based on the country of production. For example, in Canada, the sweetener listed is "glucose-fructose"[30] (another name for high-fructose corn syrup), and until 2012, it was caffeine-free by default.[31] Formerly, the composition included brominated vegetable oil, an emulsifier banned in foods throughout Europe and in Japan. As of 2020, this ingredient has been removed.[32]
Promotions
Mountain Dew Amp
Mountain Dew Amp is an energy drink distributed by PepsiCo under the Mountain Dew brand, originally launched in 2001. From 2007 to 2008, several additional flavors of Amp were introduced. In 2012, Amp's labeling and ingredients changed, as did the flavor and appeal, according to fans. The Mountain Dew branding was also removed from cans during this change, though it has since been reintroduced.
Taco Bell's Mountain Dew Baja Blast
In spring 2014, Mountain Dew began distributing its Baja Blast flavor in standard 12-ounce cans, 20-ounce bottles and 24-ounce cans for sale at supermarkets and retail businesses in the U.S. This was to celebrate the drink's 10th anniversary and would be the first time the drink has been sold at retail.[43] The new retail product bore the Taco Bell logo. Taco Bell's chief marketing officer, Chris Brandt, said the exclusive drinks have helped increase the company's beverage sales, even as soda sales have declined in the broader market. He noted that people are more likely to buy drinks when they are available exclusively at the chain.[44]
In popular culture
The computer worm Code Red was named because the person who discovered the worm was drinking this version of Mountain Dew at the time.[102]
In the musical Be More Chill, green Mountain Dew activates the "squip", a tiny super-computer in a pill that tells the user what to do, in order to help them achieve their goals. Mountain Dew Red shuts them off. In the musical, it is said that this is the reason for Mountain Dew Red being discontinued.[103]
Bakar’s song "Hell N Back" includes the lyric “ She liked petty crimes, she had green eyes like Mountain Dew.”[104] Sabrina Carpenter's 2024 hit song "Espresso" included the lyric "I know I Mountain Dew it for ya".[105]
See also
External links
- Mountain Dew nutritional facts and other information on the PepsiCo website (archived)
References
- Tabler, Dave. Yahoo— Mountain Dew! Appalachian History, 2018-08-24, retrieved 2024-10-15^
- John, Daniel. New Mountain Dew logo is a nostalgia-tinged hit Creative Bloq, 2024-10-13, retrieved 2024-10-15^
- MOUNTAIN DEW - Trademark Details