Mountain Dew (stylized as Mtn Dew in the United States) is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, Virginia; Knoxville, Tennessee and Johnson City, Tennessee with the slogan "Ya-Hoo Mountain Dew. It'll tickle your innards." A revised formula was created by Bill Bridgforth in 1958. The Mountain Dew brand and production rights were acquired by the Pepsi-Cola company in 1964, at which point distribution expanded more widely across the United States and Canada.
Between the 1940s and 1980s, there was just one variety of Mountain Dew, which was citrus-flavored and caffeinated. Diet Mountain Dew was introduced in 1988, followed by Mountain Dew Red which was introduced and subsequently discontinued in 1988. While Mountain Dew Red was short-lived, it represented the beginning of a long-term trend of Mountain Dew being produced in different flavor variations. In 2001, a cherry flavor called Code Red was made and saw a great success. This product line extension trend has continued, with expansion into specialty, limited time production, region-specific, and retailer-specific (Taco Bell, 7-Eleven) variations of Mountain Dew.
Production was first extended to the UK in 1996, though this initial debut was short-lived as it was phased out in 1998. The product returned to the UK under the name "Mountain Dew Energy" in 2010 and returned to the Republic of Ireland in Spring 2011. As of 2009, Mountain Dew represented a 6.7 percent share of the overall carbonated soft drinks market in the U.S. Its competition includes Mello Yello, and Sun Drop; Mountain Dew accounts for eighty percent of citrus soft drinks sold within the U.S.
Read more about Mountain Dew: Origin, Packaging, Ingredients, Flavors and Varieties, Cultural References
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