Mountain Dew (stylized as Mtn Dew) is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Bridgforth in 1958. The rights to this formula were obtained by the Tip Corporation of Marion, Virginia. William H. "Bill" Jones of the Tip Corporation further refined the formula, launching that version of Mountain Dew in 1961. In August 1964, the Mountain Dew brand and production rights were acquired from Tip by the Pepsi-Cola company, and the distribution expanded across the United States and Canada.
Between the 1940s and 1980s there was one variety of Mountain Dew, which was citrus-flavored and caffeinated in most markets. Diet Mountain Dew was introduced in 1988, followed by Mountain Dew Red, which was introduced and discontinued in 1988. In 2001, a cherry flavor called Code Red debuted. This product line extension trend has continued, with expansion into specialty, limited time production, region-specific, and retailer-specific (Taco Bell, 7-Eleven) variations of Mountain Dew.
Production was extended to the UK in 1996, but was phased out in 1998. A similarly named but different-tasting product has been sold in the UK under the name "Mountain Dew Energy" since 2010 and in Ireland since the spring of 2011. The product was renamed in 2014 to simply 'Mountain Dew'. As of 2017, Mountain Dew represented a 6.6% share of the carbonated soft drinks market in the US. Its competition includes The Coca-Cola Company's Mello Yello and Surge, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group's Sun Drop; Mountain Dew accounts for 80% of citrus soft drinks sold within the US.
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