A brand new type of Mountain Dew is about to hit the shelves, and it’s nothing like the fluorescent sugar fuel consumers are familiar with.
The new drink is called DEWShine, and it’s being sold in long-neck glass bottles and retro packaging, according to USA Today. The soda is clear and made with real sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup. DEWshine will sell between $1 and $1.49 for a single bottle and $3.99 for a four-pack.
PepsiCo, which makes Mountain Dew, has previously released similar “Throwback” versions of its sodas that also use real sugar, responding to consumer demand for sodas sans HFCS. Still, some people are criticizing the DEWshine packaging because it looks like the craft beers that have become popular on supermarket shelves in recent years.
“The line between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is intentionally being blurred by producers of both,” Michael Scippa, director of public affairs at the advocacy group Alcohol Justice, told USA Today. “Producers of high-sugar-content and high-alcohol-content beverages grow their markets by appealing to young people.”
Mountain Dew was the fourth most popular soda in the United States as of 2013, according to Beverage Digest, trailing Coke, Diet Coke, and Pepsi. Soda sales overall were down 3% in 2013, continuing a downwards trend for the industry. PepsiCo saw earnings and revenues drop last quarter, partially due to fluctuating foreign exchange rates.
