Dew the Brew?

PepsiCo, the maker of Mountain Dew, is adopting an interesting new strategy to distinguish its popular soda brand from the competition – make it look (even though it doesn’t taste) like a beer.

Starting this summer, thirsty shoppers at select 7-Eleven and Kroger shops will find Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold – a malt flavored version, named after the birthplace of the original citrus-flavored Dew, Johnson City Tennessee.

Coming fresh on the heels of reports that Anheuser Busch is producing a series of local small batch brews named for the zip codes in which they were created, some have wondered whether PepsiCo is pioneering a new segment of “craft” soda. 

According to CSPNet.com, however, PepsiCo asserts that the “new product was more about giving loyal Mountain Dew drinkers something unique rather than any large, corporate move into "craft sodas."

 

And unique it is.  While malt flavored beverages are popular among Latin Americans and Middle Easterners, North Americans in the US have been slow to migrate to the flavor.  This will be a good opportunity for us to see how brand recognition and loyalty plays out in the launching of a new product.  Could it be that enthnocentrism has kept US consumers away from traditional malt brands like Goya? And that the good ol’ American Mountain Dew can woo us to malt flavored beverages?

Also, I wonder if the look and feel of an alcoholic beverage will raise the ire of social critics.  Candy cigarettes, for instance, have been the target of “bans” and “boycotts.”

Either way it shakes out, we have to give props to PepsiCo, for thinking outside the box – or should we say, can.  The brand personality of Mountain Dew as young, hip, and risk taking not only fits with this line extension, but almost calls for it. As cities contemplate regulating sugary beverage marketing, and reports that PepsiCo’s earnings have fallen, this comes as a positive move for both PepsiCo and the industry to try to revitalize the segment and improve brand sales.