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Pepsi to Release New ‘Breakfast’ Soda

· Business & Technology · 2 Comments
Kickstart Pepsi Morning Drink

Actor Norbert Torok rehearses in Los Angeles on January 29, 2013, during the filming of a commercial for a new PepsiCo product called Kickstart, a carbonated drink with juice and Mountain Dew flavor. (Credit: CBS/REED SAXON/AP)

Look out coffee, Pepsi has a new competitor in the works. While it’s unlikely “Kickstart,” Pepsi’s latest breakfast drink will replace coffee, the concept is turning heads.

The Mountain Dew flavored soft drink is said to include flavors such as orange citrus and fruit punch. Each drink will reportedly have five percent juice with Vitamins B and C in addition to extra caffeine. According to CBS, the soda company doesn’t consider the drink an “energy drink.”

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. The drink comes in the same 16-ounce cans as popular energy drinks made by Monster Beverage (MNST), which also offers options with juice content. And the TV ad features young men skateboarding, reminiscent of the marketing themes used by energy drink makers.

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.

Breakfast Soda

(Image credit: Huffington Post)

As of recent years, the promise of “energy” as the main focus of soft drinks have been a big selling point. Pepsi hopes to capitalize on the large Mountain Dew consumer base who is looking for something other than coffee and tea to go with the morning meal.

(H/T: CBS)

2 Comments

  1. STFUPepsi says:

    Really? No controversial ingredients? What about phosphoric acid? Aspartame? Extra Caffeine? What a crock of poop. I wish the executives drank their own products….

  2. dexter jibson says:

    America is a country that allows you to make stupid choices. I just wish tax payers aren’t required to pay the bill for idiots that drink this stuff. Attornies and judges are to blame when tax payers are required to pay for the nasty effect of a drink like this.

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