Makers of the sugary-sweet, bright green soda Mountain Dew has created a breakfast alternative to your routine coffee. Pepsico, who owns Mountain Dew is debuting Mountain Dew Kickstart which is a caffeinated juice drink.
"For a long time before energy drinks, there was Mountain Dew," Jeff Klineman s editor of the BevNet online and print trade publications to the Los Angeles Times. "It was the official drink of gamers and truckers before Monster and Rockstar came along."
Elisa Baker who is Mountain Dew's spokesperson said to the LA Times that the company researched this a lot before deciding to move forward with the beverage.
"Our consumers told us they were looking for an alternative to traditional morning beverages," she said. "Kickstart combines the best of all worlds -- it tastes great, has just the right amount of real fruit juice and gives them a kick to help them start their day."
Simon Lowden, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo's Americas beverages said to the AP, "They didn't really see anything that fit their needs," he said.
The Associated Press reported that Kickstart has 5 percent juice and vitamins B and C in it.
Flavors include "energizing orange citrus," and "energizing fruit punch." The drink comes in a 16 ounce can similar to other energy drinks such as Monster.
Under FDA guidelines Kickstart isn't a soda because it has 5 percent juice content so it qualifies as a "juice drink."
"With the growth of energy drinks such as Monster and Red Bull expected to slow, Kickstart could also signal the emergence of a new category that plays off the promise of energy and other health benefits, said John Sicher, publisher of the trade journal Beverage Digest," reported The AP.
Kickstart uses artificial sweeteners to reduce the number of calories in the drink. It has a bout half the amount of calories than a regular soda with 80 calories.
The AP reported that the energy drink market has been a big seller in recent years. The energy drink market has increased by 17 percent in 2011 while soft drink consumption numbers declined.
"Although Kickstart may look like an energy drink, it has far less caffeine, at 92 milligrams for a 16-ounce can. A comparable amount of regular Mountain Dew would have 72 milligrams of caffeine while a can of PepsiCo's Amp energy drink has 142 milligrams, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest," reported the AP.
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