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Breakfast of Champions: Mountain Dew Rolls Out Breakfast Drink

Feb. 11, 2013 11:49am Becket Adams

Mountain Dew Introduces the World To Its Breakfast Drink

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NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) — If you don’t like coffee or tea, Mountain Dew has a new breakfast drink that might perk you up.

PepsiCo Inc. is rolling out a new drink called Kickstart this month that has Mountain Dew flavor but is made with 5 percent juice and Vitamins B and C, along with an extra jolt of caffeine.

The company, based in Purchase, N.Y., is hoping to boost sales by reaching Mountain Dew fans at a new time of day: morning.

PepsiCo said it doesn’t consider Kickstart to be an energy drink, noting that it still has far less caffeine than drinks like Monster and Red Bull and none of the mysterious ingredients that have raised concerns among lawmakers and consumer advocates.

But Kickstart, which comes in flavors such as “energizing orange citrus” and “energizing fruit punch,” could nevertheless give the company a side-door into the fast-growing energy drink market without getting tangled in any of its controversies.

It also comes in the same 16-ounce cans as popular energy drinks made by Monster Beverage Corp., which also offers options with juice content.

Simon Lowden, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo’s Americas beverages, says the idea for Kickstart came about after the company learned through consumer research that Mountain Dew fans were looking for an alternative to traditional morning drinks such as coffee, tea and juice.

“They didn’t really see anything that fit their needs,” he said.

Lowden said Kickstart was developed independently from a Taco Bell breakfast drink introduced last year that combines Mountain Dew and orange juice.

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.

In a nod to the growing concerns about sugary drinks, for example, Kickstart also uses artificial sweeteners to reduce its caloric content to about half that of regular soda; a can has 80 calories.

“It’s a very interesting experiment capturing a number of attributes,” Sicher said, likening it to Starbucks’ Refreshers drinks, which promise “natural energy” from green coffee extract.

The promise of “energy” has been a big seller in the beverage industry in recent years, with the energy drink market increasing 17 percent in 2011 even as broader soft drink consumption has continued to decline, according to Beverage Digest. PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Co. have largely watched that growth from the sidelines, however, with players such as Monster Beverage and Red Bull dominating the market.

But the surging popularity of energy drinks has also led to sharper scrutiny. This summer, New York’s attorney general launched an investigation into the marketing prices of energy drink makers including Monster and PepsiCo, which also makes Amp. Lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups have also called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the safety of the high levels of caffeine in energy drinks for younger people.

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.

By comparison, a 16-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee has 330 milligrams of caffeine.

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Comments (20)

DoughyInTheMiddle
Posted on February 12, 2013 at 7:43am
Whenever I go to a restaurant for breakfast and they also serve Pepsi products, I’ve been ordering a glass of half Dew and half orange juice for years. Quite tasty. It’s like a virgin caffeinated momosa. :)

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alex22892
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 6:08pm
I start 75% of my days with 44 oz thirst buster of diet dew.

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- 8644
  Posted on February 12, 2013 at 12:05pm
  Apparently you don’t live in New York…
  
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battles
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 5:42pm
there was a show recently about a huge tooth decay problem in West Virginia. The problem is with Mountain Dew, the favorite drink in West Virginia. Mountain Dew will horribly rot you teeth. Stay away from it.

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hauschild
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 1:50pm
The dopers should be pleased.

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GrumpyCat
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 1:24pm
I’m so old I remember when CocaCola for breakfast was considered a social faux pas.

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vendingdude
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 1:23pm
I don’t see a need for this product. There are millions out there where Mtn Dew IS their breakfast….

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- Mannamomof4
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 7:03pm
  Guilty! :-( MD is very addictive. Coffee just doesn’t get my brain out of the morning fog like Dew does. But I’m working on it.
  
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Mr.Fitnah
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:37pm
What is the Mountain dew flavor ?

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- Dan_o
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:24pm
  Loneliness.
  
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hi
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:28pm
Why doesn’t Skittles come out with a breakfast food too? Skittles mixed in Mountain Dew. But, add a couple of B vitamins and fake sugar.

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- RemoteCoderz
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:52pm
  If they did that, they would have to include a Trayvon hoodie for the sensitive types.
  
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MidWestWingedOne
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:28pm
I hope they make a sugar-free, caffeine-free version.

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- Balrog28
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:54pm
  I hope they make a High-Fructose Corn Syrup / Aspartame / Saccarine / any other artificial sweetener – free version made with pure sugar instead.
  
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cmaglaughlin
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:03pm
Caffeine reeks havoc on people with high blood pressure. A study at Harvard concluded just one soda(regular OR diet)a day creates all sorts of problems for 50% of the population. Diet drinks are the worst. They coupled with sodium nitrite(bacon, sausage, hot dogs etc) cause brain tumors! Find a good distiller, make your own pure water, (don’t add minerals which only coat your organs and are NOT absorbed, contrary to popular belief)and drink half your body weight in ounces. Train the kids, too! Oh…phosphoric acid in sodas destroys your bones! Your body thinks it’s phosphorus!

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- rolla020980
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:28pm
  “Caffeine reeks havoc on people with high blood pressure. A study at Harvard concluded just one soda(regular OR diet)a day creates all sorts of problems for 50% of the population.”
  This is wrong too. Harvard’s tests were too vague. They did not control other sources of caffeine intake and most were drinking coffee as well. Most health research has found nothing wrong with drinking one as long as you follow it with Water to wash the acid off of your teeth.
  ” They coupled with sodium nitrite(bacon, sausage, hot dogs etc) cause brain tumors!”
  There is no definitive link here… don’t believe the liberal “everything will kill you” crap. Heavy consumption has been linked to other heath concerns (diabetes, obesity), but cancer is not one of them.
  “phosphoric acid in sodas destroys your bones! Your body thinks it’s phosphorus!”
  Where do you get this crap? Phosphorous is vital to strong bones and teeth. One can provides 20% of the RDV of phosphorus (Calcium + Phosphorus makes calcium phosphate, which is required for strong bones).
  
  Everyone knows to be safe, just stick to water. I am not defending Coke, but if you drink 1-2 cans per day as a treat, any negative effects are negligible. Just like anything else… moderation is key. If you drink a glass of wine a day, it is shown to have benefits. If you drink a bottle a day, you won’t live too long.
  
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- cmaglaughlin
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 3:31pm
  Don’t know where to begin…phosphoric acid is not produced in your body. It is a killer. NOT phosphorous. It’s NOT a “liberal” thing, either. The lady who coined the term: Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? She wrote extensively on phosphoric acid in a book by the same name. A Christian, and I’ve been to her home…Dr. Mary Ruth Swope. To get you started on being enlightened about aspartame, go here: http://ckuik.com/Dr._Ted_Broer You will be hooked on Dr. Ted Broer. If you don’t believe him, go to youtube search “Aspartame 2012 60 Minutes” God bless!
  
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- whitealaskan
  Posted on February 12, 2013 at 12:45am
  I had high blood pressure 160/90 and I drank Dr. Pepper everyday ate junk food and didn’t work out. Then I got off my rear started eating better and started drinking at least one sugar free Monster every day to help me not be lazy. I lost 40 pounds and my blood pressure is 120/70 now. Caffeine raises blood pressure myth busted, at least for me, for now. I don’t go to Harvard though.
  
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gyro
Posted on February 11, 2013 at 11:55am
Ban Kickstart in NYC
Kickstart is Evil
People kill not Kickstart
Kickstart causes fat kids
Kickstart for president (could not be worse )
Stop selling Kickstart in 8 packs
Kickstart is to violent for TV
If your addicted to Kickstart call 1800Kickstartadict

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- THX1973
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:59pm
  Brawndo! It’s got electrolytes!
  
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