The chaos that happens after a Mountain Dew limited-edition drop is almost like it will happen. When people on the internet weigh in, opinions split quickly, and Pitch Black is always brought up somewhere in the comment threads. This is also true for the new Mountain Dew Trolli Mango Pineapple Punch. This may be the most interesting thing about it.
For the second year in a row, Mountain Dew and Trolli have worked together to break the rules of what a partnership between a neon soda brand and a gummy candy company can really look like. The cherry lemon flavor and Mountain Dew-flavored Sour Brite Crawlers from last year are said to have sold so quickly that they were among the fastest-selling Mountain Dew products. That’s a pretty big deal for a limited release. They came back, of course.
This time it’s Mango Pineapple Punch, a tropical mix of mango, pineapple, and strawberry that tastes a bit like candy. The soda is meant to go well with Trolli Spicy Crawlers, which already have the sweet, fruity, and spicy taste that candy fans know and love. It seems like a good match on paper. Truth be told, this is the kind of drink that sounds better than it tastes.
Starting August 24, both regular and no-sugar versions will be sold in stores across the country until October. Pizza Hut locations that are taking part are selling the 20-ounce bottles, which seems like an oddly good place for a soda that’s basically liquid candy. The Mountain Dew x Trolli kit from Walmart goes one step further. It comes with two bottles, one of each flavor, and a 12-ounce bag of Spicy Crawlers. This is the kind of bundle that was made to be photographed and shared.
Mountain Dew’s VP of marketing, Michael Smith, said it was in line with a growing consumer trend toward sweet and spicy flavors. That makes sense. In the past few years, the sweet-heat profile has been all over the place: hot honey, spicy mango, and chili-lime snacks. There is a real pattern in the market, not just a way to market something. The question of whether or not a fizzy soda can satisfy that combination is a different one, and people in the comments seem eager to answer it without being asked.
Since that’s where things get interesting. When Mountain Dew Trolli Mango Pineapple Punch came out, people quickly and loudly spoke out against it, mostly pointing away from the new product and toward an old one. “Pitch Black or nothing,” one person wrote. Others were not much nicer: “It’s a start since you guys haven’t been putting out much lately, but it’s not good enough.” Please give me a Pitch Black or an Island Swirl. That kind of loyalty, which is almost stubbornness, forms around a product when it goes away too quickly and makes people crave a certain kind of thing.
Also, people in the food and drink business are getting more and more annoyed with pineapple as a flavor trend. Put an end to making pineapple flavors. “These days, everything is pineapple,” one person wrote, which is probably something that a lot of people feel, not just Mountain Dew fans. This flavor is used in so many snacks and drinks now that it feels like a default setting instead of a creative choice.
Even so, Mountain Dew and Trolli’s history together is something to pay attention to. The collaboration from last year was a big hit in both the music and culture worlds. It was unexpected, which made people curious. It remains to be seen if Mango Pineapple Punch can match that energy. But the fact that it’s making people talk, even if they’re talking about something else, shows that they are paying attention. Mountain Dew seems to know that it’s hard to make people feel that way.
