It used to be that when you wanted a jolt of caffeine for a pick-me-up, you'd visit your favorite coffee shop or the office break room and grab a cup of java. With many young people not liking coffee, but loving the caffeine high that they get from drinking heavily caffeinated and sugary drinks, software drink makers quickly found a way to cash-in with so-called "energy drinks" that basically amounts to coffee for kids (and others with undeveloped palates).
Mountain Dew was the original "kids drink" in this market, though it didn't quite capture the craze the way newcomers like Monster and Red Bull have. Now, however, PepsiCo is rolling out a drink called Kickstart that has a Mountain Dew flavor but comes with 5% juice along with vitamins B and C. It has caffeine, of course, but not nearly as much as other energy drinks or coffee.
PepsiCo noted that it doesn't really consider Kickstart to be an energy drink, but it's obvious that it could be a way for the Mountain Dew brand to enter the market. PepsiCo came up with the idea when market research indicated that Mountain Dew fans didn't really have an alternative to coffee, tea or juice. "They didn't really see anything that fit their needs," noted a company executive. For the record, a 16-oz. Kickstart contains just 92 milligrams of caffeine, compared with Amp, which has 142 milligrams and a 16-oz. Starbucks coffee, which has 330 milligrams of caffeine. And with all the ingredients actually listed on the can, Kickstart has a leg up on other energy drinks, which contain "mystery ingredients" that have drawn the ire of lawmakers.
Mountain Dew was the original "kids drink" in this market, though it didn't quite capture the craze the way newcomers like Monster and Red Bull have. Now, however, PepsiCo is rolling out a drink called Kickstart that has a Mountain Dew flavor but comes with 5% juice along with vitamins B and C. It has caffeine, of course, but not nearly as much as other energy drinks or coffee.
PepsiCo noted that it doesn't really consider Kickstart to be an energy drink, but it's obvious that it could be a way for the Mountain Dew brand to enter the market. PepsiCo came up with the idea when market research indicated that Mountain Dew fans didn't really have an alternative to coffee, tea or juice. "They didn't really see anything that fit their needs," noted a company executive. For the record, a 16-oz. Kickstart contains just 92 milligrams of caffeine, compared with Amp, which has 142 milligrams and a 16-oz. Starbucks coffee, which has 330 milligrams of caffeine. And with all the ingredients actually listed on the can, Kickstart has a leg up on other energy drinks, which contain "mystery ingredients" that have drawn the ire of lawmakers.