Jan 13, 2020
Mtn Dew is introducing a sugar-free version of its original soda. PepsiCo, the brand’s parent company, said in the release announcing the drink that the flavor of the beverage will remain the same, just without sugar.
The soda will be called Mtn Dew Zero Sugar and will be available in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12 packs of 12-ounce cans. A 20-ounce serving will contain 133 milligrams of caffeine with a suggested retail price of $1.79.
The sugar-free beverage will be sweetened with acesulfame potassium, aspartame and sucralose.
The company’s first big step toward that appears to be this reformulation. Mtn Dew Zero Sugar is for consumers wanting to consume less sugar but still indulging in their preferred beverages. This could be a good move for the brand since a 2018 survey found 70% of U.S. adults are concerned about sugar consumption.
The branding for this launch echos Coca-Cola’s Zero Sugar beverage, which came out in 2017 to replace Coke Zero. When Coke chose to change its label to “Zero Sugar” and bring consumers’ attention to that word, it was more successful. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told The Wall Street Journal in October Coca-Cola Zero Sugar has grown 14% by volume globally in the first 10 months of 2019, while unit sales of the company’s 7.5-ounce mini cans in the U.S. had increased 15%.