Mountain Dew

Product Type:Carbonated Soft Drink: Diet; Container: 20 oz PET
BevNET Review: While it looks quite different than the lime green color that Mountain Dew is known for, the first “diet only” flavor extension to hit the Mountain Dew line is surprisingly enjoyable. Like most flavor extensions done by Pepsi nowadays, this variety is “limited edition” for twelve weeks, so you’ll have to try it quick if you’re interested. As for the flavor, the base of Ultraviolet definitely tastes like Diet Mountain Dew, but they’ve punched it up with an additional flavor that tastes something like a cross between berry and grape flavor. It’s sweetened with aspartame and ace-k, a blend of sweeteners that gives the product a sweet flavor and less aftertaste than using straight aspartame. And of course, there’s added caffeine and carbonation, two things that are key to all Mountain Dew products. Packaging is trademark Mountain Dew (12 oz. can or 20 oz.PET bottle), with their updated “Mtn Dew” logo placed front and center on a minimalist designed logo (we still don’t get the point of the abbreviation). There’s also the pale purple color of the liquid, which we find to be a bit off-putting. Ultimately, that impacts the marketability of the product, which is going to be competing against more brightly colored flavors in the Mountain Dew line. We think that will make it hard for this product to stand out and catch the buyer’s eye. However, Pepsi is hoping that the Diet Dew drinker takes notice, especially since they currently only have one choice when it comes to diet flavors. In that sense, we’re feeling a bit of desperation on the part of Pepsi, who, having saturated the market with regular Dew extensions, is now trying its hand at a diet entry. We can’t fault them for trying, but this latest entry only further muddles the brand’s focus on the core product and consumer. Overall, it’s worth a try as it does taste good, but we think that twelve weeks will be more than sufficient time for this brand to be out in the market. Reviewed on: 8/11/2009