PepsiCo really, really wants you to trade in your morning cup of joe for a cup full of Mountain Dew.
The beverage giant just announced the arrival of Kickstart, a new carbonated juice drink with very little juice and a whole lot of sugar. And really, you have to give PepsiCo credit for perseverance. The soda company has been doggedly pushing the concept of a Mountain Dew breakfast drink to consumers for months.
The first incarnation was in partnership with Taco Bell, a fast-food giant not exactly known for healthy fare. The drink, a blend of Tropicana orange juice and the electric-green soda, was called "Mountain Dew AM." Launched in September of 2011, it was marketed as a "breakfast beverage."
Kickstart has only five percent juice—the rest is all the sugary, caffeinated fizz we've come to expect from Mountain Dew. The company will offer two flavors: "energizing fruit punch" and "energizing orange citrus." The drink does use some artificial sweetener to give it a syrupy jolt—a can is 80 calories, with approximately 92 milligrams of caffeine, reports Fox News.
It's not all that surprising that PepsiCo wants a piece of the coffee market—the business was worth $4.52 billion in the U.S. in 2011, according to Bloomberg News.
But who in their right mind would trade in a calorie-free cup of java for a chemical-leaden soda? Sadly, probably a lot of America. Because that's the thing: These companies know their target audience.
Under what circumstances would you ingest a Mountain Dew Kickstart? Let us know how desperate you'd have to be in the comments.
