New York
CNN
—
“Mtn Dew” is getting a makeover, with the phrase “mountain” reappearing on cans and bottles following a roughly two-decade-long hiatus.
The PepsiCo-owned beverage is unveiling Wednesday a brand new logo and packaging design that drops its sharply angular font and abbreviated title for imagery that evokes its rustic roots, in addition to bringing back its namesake title to cans and bottles. Consumers will see the new look roll out starting subsequent May.
The adjustments come amid slowing demand in North America for PepsiCo’s drinks, and, extra particularly, a pointy decline in quantity for Mountain Dew, which have fallen 7% in the first half of 2024, in keeping with figures offered to CNN from Beverage Digest, a commerce publication.
“Mountain Dew appears ready to shake off the adrenaline rush that has defined the brand’s marketing for almost two decades, when a key strategy was to market Dew like an energy drink to an energy drink crowd,” Duane Stanford, editor and writer of Beverage Digest, advised CNN.
Tapping into nostalgia, the new logo marks the return of “mountain,” which was dropped in 2009 as a part of a larger rebrand of PepsiCo’s soda portfolio, which additionally included a refreshed search for now-defunct Sierra Mist.
Spelling out the phrase mountain is a “direct link to the origins of the brand, which is the mountains and the outdoors,” stated Mauro Porcini, senior vp and chief design officer at PepsiCo, who led the redesign. A nod to its founding date of 1948, when it was created as a mixer in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains, was additionally added to the logo.
Hardcore Dew followers may acknowledge the new logo barely resembles the logo used in the Nineteen Nineties, however Porcini advised CNN that it’s “modernized and projected to feel the three-dimensionality” of the phrases, giving it a extra present look with softened angles.
Other touches embody a leaf to dot the “i” and a mountainous background with citrus-inspired yellow hues, which Porcini stated connects with the beverage’s fruity taste.
“In the previous design, we were not very clear in communicating the refreshment cues,” Porcini admitted. “It was more about the energy of the sharp angles exploding on the can.”
Mountain Dew has lengthy been marketed as an power drink due to its sugar and caffeine content material, however the new look is supposed to conjure up a “different kind of energy that’s coming from the outdoors,” Porcini stated.
The soda model lately introduced back its well-known “Do the Dew” tagline and introduced the Mountain Dude, a brand new character that encourages Gen-Z to peel their eyes from screens and luxuriate in the outdoor.
A serious change in advertising and marketing is crucial for Mountain Dew. PepsiCo has “little choice” however to enhance its gross sales since the beverage is one among its largest manufacturers, Stanford stated. PepsiCo additionally owns Rockstar Energy and has a half-billion-dollar funding in Celsius, a classy power drink model, so “the need for Dew to compete as an energy brand isn’t as critical.”
Rolling out a refreshed look comes amid a tricky time for soda producers. Drinkers are shifting their preferences away from sugary sodas and towards glowing waters, hydration drinks and “better-for-you” options.
PepsiCo minimize its full-year revenue outlook Tuesday, partially due to slower quantity for its North American beverage unit. “The cumulative impacts of inflationary pressures and higher borrowing costs over the last few years have continued to impact consumer budgets and spending patterns,” stated PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta in an announcement.
Plus, smaller rivals like Poppi and Olipop are rising in recognition and distribution, with the latter model lately releasing a Mountain Dew-like taste of its personal known as “Ridge Rush” — additionally that includes mountains on its cans.
The new search for Mountain Dew is extra about an “evolution and nurturing that we wanted to give to this beloved franchise,” stated JP Bittencourt, vp of promoting at Mountain Dew. “This design has been in the works for some time, so this is not a response to anybody.”
A rebrand may additionally entice drinkers which have maybe forgotten about Mountain Dew. Bittencourt advised CNN that the model noticed “huge lifts with our most ardent fans and, equally important, with those who have not tried us in some time.”
