Mountain Dew Prices

Mountain Dew is on top of the world! The citrus-flavored soft drink is the market leader in its segment in the United States with an impressive 80% market share. The decision to target the drink at the active young market also contributed to its lofty status, specifically in its fourth-place status as among the top five bestselling soft drinks in the United States; Coke, Diet Coke, and Pepsi are the top three.

Even with the aggressive marketing programs on the part of The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Mountain Dew is still ahead of the pack. Its competitors are Surge and Mello Yello, both of which are considered regional soft drinks only, and Sun Drop.

Below are the latest Mountain Dew prices.

Overview

Barney and Ally Hartman, beverage bottlers in Tennessee, invented the original formula for Mountain Dew in 1940.  The duo developed it as a drinks mixer, particularly for whiskey, when they encountered difficulty in getting their preferred soda brand. The name itself was the 19th century common term for Highland Scotch whiskey but the Hartmans trademarked it in 1948.

Bill Bridgforth revised the formula in 1958. But the rights to the revised Mountain Dew formula was acquired by Tip Corporation, a Marion, Virginia-based company. William H. Jones, an employee of the Tip Corporation, changed the formula yet again resulting in the Mountain Dew drink launched in 1961.

Pepsi-Cola Company acquired the rights to the brand and its production from Tip Corporation in August 1964. The acquisition resulted in the increased market presence in North America for the brand.

Drink Profile

Mountain Dew is a carbonated soft drink with various flavors. For about 40 years (1940s-1980s), it came in a single flavor – a citrus-flavored, caffeinated soft drink that quickly took the consumers’ fancy.  Today, there are several flavor variations of the drink although the original is still the bestselling product.

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The actual ingredients in Mountain Dew differs depending on the flavor and country of its production and distribution. In the United States, its primary market, the ingredients include high-fructose corn syrup, carbonated water, concentrated orange juice, sodium citrate, gum Arabic. Sodium benzoate, caffeine, and brominated vegetable oil, among others. But in Canada, caffeine isn’t included while in the European and Japanese versions, there’s no brominated vegetable oil as it’s banned in food products in these areas.

These differences in ingredients will have a subtle effect on the overall taste profile for Mountain Dew. But the refreshing and reenergizing feeling after drinking a bottle of ice-cold Mountain Dew is a universal experience!

The flavors in the Mountain Dew lineup include the following.

• Mountain Dew, the original citrus-flavored soda with a yellow-green color tingles the palate at the first sip before the distinctive citrus blend dances in the mouth. The ice-cold drink sliding smoothly down the throat is the perfect antidote to a hot day.
• Diet Mountain Dew, launched in 1988 although its original name was Sugar-Free Mountain Dew when it was introduced in 1986, is the no-calorie version of the original drink. The sweeteners in it are aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium.
• Caffeine-free Mountain Dew is the non-caffeinated version.
• Mountain Dew Live Wire is the orange-flavored and –colored version introduced in 2003.

Interesting Facts

Mountain Dew has become a pop culture mainstay with the following interesting trivia.

• The name “Mountain Dew” is the slang used in the Southern United States, as well as in the Scottish and Irish, for homemade whiskey (i.e., moonshine). Carl E. Retzke originally suggested it but it was trademarked by the Hartmans. The soft drink, of course, is neither alcoholic nor homemade although it can also be mixed with alcohol and among the most popular in homes.
• The carton-stylized hillbilly is a reference to the origin of its name. This was popular for a time because of the image of a laidback rural life.
• The logo has been redesigned several times, especially after Pepsi-Cola Company, now known as PepsiCo, acquired the rights to the brand in 1964.
• The Hartman brothers asked several people for inputs about Mountain Dew – and Coca-Cola was among them. But the giant food and beverage company refused them, a mistake that it will regret in subsequent years when Mountain Dew soundly beat their Mello Yello and Surge brands until today. PepsiCo has the upper hand on this round.
• The Hartman brothers originally used Natural Set-Up, a lemon-lime soda, for mixing with their Old Taylor bourbon but it was difficult to get. The Mountain Dew drink was developed as a substitute.
• The original Mountain Dew doesn’t taste anywhere near the current version. In fact, it tasted more like Sprite and 7 Up so it was suitable for mixing with bourbon and whiskey.

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The lemon-lime taste of the current Mountain Dew is still among the best mixed in the soft drinks industry so it’s no wonder that it’s on top of the heap.