Coke Tries to Vault into Mountain Dew Territory

Posted May 6, 2005 4:08 pm

ATLANTA — The Coca-Cola Company is still working hard to figure out a solution to PepsiCo’s success with Mountain Dew, AdWeek reports.

With Mountain Dew having risen to fourth place in CSD sales last year – and its position looking stronger as the only full-calorie soda to actually gain share last year – it’s becoming even more imperative for Coke executives to find a foil to the drink, according to the magazine.

Coke has long been rumored to be on the verge of introducing Vault, a citrus-flavored soda with some ingredients that are also common to energy drinks, writes AdWeek, which said the marketing will be handled by the ad agency Mother.

The move also comes at a time when Coke has expanded its energy drink presence through a distribution deal with Rockstar Energy.

For years, Coke has tried to catch up to Mountain Dew, a high sugar, high caffeine brand whose success presaged the arrival of energy drinks, which add a few natural vitamin supplements to the mix. But sales of Surge and its brand extension, Citra, were disappointing — despite the devotion of a small “save Surge” fan club online.