Mountain Dew, a brand under the umbrella of PepsiCo, has crafted a distinctive brand identity that appeals to a diverse and enthusiastic consumer demographic. Tied to a sense of adventure and excitement, the brand has harnessed the power of youth culture, leveraging partnerships with extreme sports events, music festivals, and gaming tournaments. In the year 2021,  the market share of the Mountain Dew brand in the US amounted to almost 7% [1]. Moreover, results from a 2022 survey indicated that the brand's awareness reached an impressive 93% among US consumers, with a remarkable 43% brand affinity [2]. It is evident from these figures that Mountain Dew resonates purposefully with its target audience, solidifying its strong position within the market.

In today's digital era, a strong online presence holds considerable significance. Recognizing the importance of innovation and convenience, Mountain Dew has skillfully capitalised on food delivery platforms to bridge the gap between products and consumers. In this article, we conducted a comprehensive food delivery market analysis and delved into Mountain Dew’s soft drink penetration rates, pricing strategies, and competitors across its three major markets: The US, Canada, and the UK.

Mountain Dew holds a strong digital presence in the North America

Dashmote’s data highlights the US as the primary leader in the food delivery beverage market, boasting nearly a million digital storefronts selling soft drinks spread across various food delivery platforms. Notably, Mountain Dew has achieved a strong online presence there with an impressive soft drink penetration rate of 29.5% in Q2 2023. This figure signifies that almost a third of digital storefronts selling soft drinks currently also feature Mountain Dew products.

Canada follows with a solid Mountain Dew soft drink penetration rate of 15% out of 70K+ digital storefronts in Q2 2023. In the UK there is still a lot of potential for listing Mountain Dew, with only 6% of digital storefronts listing soft drinks also offering Mountain Dew products. 

Additional sources highlight that Mountain Dew attains a 43% brand awareness in the UK. Among those that know the brand, 30% favour it [3]. These statistics point to notably lower brand recognition and appeal in comparison to the US, which aligns with the lower food delivery penetration rate indicated by Dashmote’s data. Notably, approximately 48 million USD were invested in advertising for the Mountain Dew brand in the US in 2021[4].  While traditional advertising and marketing have demonstrated evident efficiency, an alternative approach to heighten brand visibility and popularity across markets could be by expanding product listings on food delivery platforms. The potential to enhance Mountain Dew food delivery penetration across three markets remains promising.

Mountain Dew’s food delivery pricing strategies across 3 markets

Mountain Dew experienced a price increase in both the UK and US food delivery markets last year, while encountering a price decrease in Canada. Illustrated by the above graph, the Uk exhibited the most substantial uplift in average Mountain Dew prices on food delivery platforms, with an increase of 0.09 GBP since Q2 2022 for a 20 oz bottle. Meanwhile, the US experienced a milder 0.08 USD price increase. On the contrary, the average cost of Mountain Dew in Canada saw a decrease of 0.14 CAD within the same timeframe.

Mountain Dew is a prominent beverage within PepsiCo's product line, serving as one of the company's top-selling brands in the United States. However, its initial launch in the UK in 1996 was met with challenges, leading to its withdrawal just two years later due to poor sales figures. Following a 12-year absence from the market, PepsiCo repositioned Mountain Dew as an energy drink upon its relaunch. Insight from Dashmote's data underscores the adoption of a competitive pricing strategy in the UK by Mountain Dew. This strategy aims to gain market share by optimising the profit margin per unit through economies of scale, which can effectively attract cost-conscious consumers while building a perception of value.

Mountain Dew and competitor brands’ market position in the food delivery market in Q2 2023

By comparing Mountain Dew's penetration rate and growth with other key players in the same beverage category, namely Coca-Cola’s Sprite and Monster’s Ultra Paradise, we can gain a clear comprehension of the brand's standing within the market. Dashmote's data reveals that Sprite, another pivotal brand of PepsiCo, boasts the most substantial digital presence across three major markets, exhibiting a soft drink penetration rate varying between 50% and 67% in Q2 2023. Conversely, Monster Ultra Paradise registers the lowest soft drink penetration rate on food delivery platforms. Notably, the US records a penetration rate of 6% for Ultra Paradise, more than doubling Canada's figure (3%) and tripling that of the UK (2%). While Mountain Dew takes an intermediary position in comparison to its competitors, Dashnote data underscores a significant opportunity for Mountain Dew to increase product listings at locations that already feature other PepsiCo products, such as Pepsi.

Analysing the year-over-year (YoY) progression of each brand within three distinct food delivery markets, it becomes evident that all three brands have undergone distinctive expansion in the United States. Particularly noteworthy is Mountain Dew, which has exhibited the most substantial growth, registering a remarkable 7% increase since the Q2 2022.  Subsequent is Sprite in the US, achieving a comparable YoY growth of 7%, while in the Canadian market, Mountain Dew also demonstrated a notable growth of 5%. In contrast, Ultra Paradise in Canada displayed the most modest progression, recording a marginal growth of 0.2%.

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