Type | Cherry soft drink |
---|---|
Manufacturer | PepsiCo |
Country of origin | United States |
Introduced | 2001 |
Variants | Mountain Dew Code Red Zero |
Related products | Mountain Dew |
Mountain Dew Code Red is a cherry-flavored carbonated soft drink that was introduced in 2001 as a flavor extension of the original Mountain Dew. This addition marked the first time that the brand had ventured beyond its flagship flavor on a large scale. In 1988 Mountain Dew Red was sold in some areas of Alabama, but later discontinued that same year. These two soft drinks did not share the same formula or taste. Despite the saturated market of soft drink flavors, Code Red saw great success and is considered a major player in the cherry-flavored beverage market.
In March 2001, the Mountain Dew website hosted an online racing game. The top-scoring winners received a box containing a "you won" letter, six pack of bottles and a Code Red shirt, before this version was officially released. [1]
PepsiCo considered calling the variant Wild Cherry Mountain Dew, but branded it as Code Red as urban and ethnic focus groups preferred. In May 2001, Mountain Dew Code Red was released to stores in the United States. [2] In its first year of production, Code Red increased overall sales of Mountain Dew by 6%. [3]
Diet Mountain Dew Code Red was introduced in 2002. [4] It was replaced by Mountain Dew Code Red Zero in 2022. [5]
The Mountain Dew flavor DEW-S-A, released for a limited time in 2017 and 2021, was a combination of red, white and blue Mountain Dew flavors, with Code Red serving as the red flavor in the mix. [6]
An energy drink version of Code Red was released in 2022. [7]
During an overnight work session, researchers named the computer worm Code Red after the Mountain Dew variant they were drinking at the time.
Mountain Dew Code Red was promoted in December 2010 with a television advertisement featuring rapper Jay Electronica performing his song "The Announcement". The campaign proved to be a successful marketing strategy, contributing to the product's widespread popularity amongst consumers. [8]
German rapper Sierra Kidd released a song in 2015 titled “Mountain Dew Code Red” in reference to the drink. The lyrics to the song only contain one line that mentions the drink: “Mountain Dew Code Red 808’s ey”.
Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries, is a soft drink brand, produced and 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 in 1958. The rights to this formula were obtained by the Tip Corporation of Marion, Virginia. William H. "Bill" Jones of the Tip Corporation further refined the formula, launching that version of Mountain Dew in 1961. 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.
Ale-8-One, colloquially Ale-8, is a ginger- and citrus-flavored soft drink bottled by the Ale-8-One Bottling Company in Winchester, Kentucky, United States. It is distributed primarily to brick and mortar retailers in Kentucky.
Surge is a citrus-flavored soft drink first produced in the 1990s by the Coca-Cola Company to compete with Pepsi's Mountain Dew. Surge was advertised as having a more "hardcore" edge, much like Mountain Dew's advertising at the time, in an attempt to lure customers away from Pepsi. It was originally launched in Norway as Urge in 1996, and was so popular that it was released in the United States as Surge in 1997. Lagging sales caused production to be ended in 2003 for most markets.
Bawls is a non-alcoholic, highly-caffeinated soft drink.
Pepsi Max is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi and Diet Pepsi, except for Norway, where it is the main Pepsi flavor. Pepsi Max is available primarily in Asian, European and Australia/New Zealand markets. While Pepsi Max was released in April 1993, it did not become available in the United States until 2007.
Sun Drop is a citrus-flavored soft drink produced by Keurig Dr Pepper with a yellowish-green color. Among soft drinks, it is known for its high caffeine content. Orange juice is an ingredient in the drink, and remaining pulp matter from the orange juice provides some of the soft drink's taste and appearance. Sun Drop competes primarily against the Coca-Cola Company's Mello Yello and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew.
Mello Yello is a highly caffeinated, citrus-flavored soft drink produced, distributed and created by the Coca-Cola Company that was introduced on March 12, 1979, to compete with PepsiCo's Mountain Dew.
Pepsi Wild Cherry is a cherry-flavored cola first introduced in 1988 by PepsiCo. Two sugar-free versions are also available, with zero calories, named Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry and Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry, and a vanilla-flavored version Pepsi Cherry Vanilla is also available. Alongside the beverages, a lip balm version is also available. Pepsi Wild Cherry is currently sold in the United States and Canada as a regular, permanent product.
Mountain Dew LiveWire is an orange-flavored variant of the carbonated soft drink Mountain Dew. It was introduced in 2003.
Coca-Cola Cherry is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international markets.
Vault was a sweetened energy drink and carbonated beverage that was released by The Coca-Cola Company in June 2005 and marketed until December 2011. It was touted as an artificially flavored hybrid energy soda. Coca-Cola was marketing Vault as a combination with the slogan "Drinks like a soda, kicks like an energy drink," as well as "The Taste. The Quench. The Kick." "Get it done, and then some", "Chug & Charge", and "Get to it!".
Mountain Dew Amp is an energy drink brand produced by PepsiCo. At the time of its introduction in 2001, Amp Energy was initially distributed under the Mountain Dew soft drink brand. Beginning in 2009, it was produced and labeled under its own stand-alone trademark name, but in 2018, reverted to using Mountain Dew branding. The beverage is packaged in both 16-ounce and 24-ounce cans, and is sold in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Lebanon. As of 2009, Amp Energy was the number four energy drink brand in the U.S. in terms of overall retail sales.
Slice was a line of fruit-flavored soft drinks originally manufactured by PepsiCo and introduced in 1984 but discontinued by PepsiCo in North America in the late 2000s. Slice was reintroduced in the United States and Canada as a brand of organic food by "New Slice Ventures LLC", which acquired the trademark rights in those countries.
Mountain Dew Baja Blast is a tropical lime-flavored soft drink created for Taco Bell restaurants. Since the original flavor's launch in 2004, the Baja Blast brand has since expanded to include new flavors, alcoholic beverages, and energy drinks, as well as merchandise. The drink's name is derived from the Mexican state of Baja California.
Pepsi-Cola Soda Shop Made with Real Sugar, originally named Pepsi Throwback and Pepsi Made with Real Sugar and still branded that way in some international markets, is a soft drink sold by PepsiCo. The drink is flavored with cane sugar and beet sugar instead of the sugar substitute high-fructose corn syrup that has been used in the standard version of Pepsi within North America since the 1980s.
Starry is a lemon-lime soft drink distributed by PepsiCo. Distribution began in January 2023. The brand is aimed at competing against Sprite and 7 Up. In January 2023, Starry replaced Sierra Mist as Pepsi's lemon-lime flavored drink, in part because Sierra Mist failed to gain market share in the growing category. Starry contains no caffeine, and as of April 2023, is available in Regular and Zero-Sugar varieties.
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