Sodastream is a popular brand of home carbonation systems that allow consumers to make sparkling water and carbonated beverages at home. With Sodastream machines, users can carbonate plain water or add flavors to make a variety of fizzy drinks. One question that often comes up is whether Sodastream offers Mountain Dew flavors for their devices. Mountain Dew is a popular caffeinated citrus soda produced by PepsiCo. With its bright green color and distinctive citrus taste, Mountain Dew has a devoted fanbase who would love the ability to recreate their favorite soda at home with a Sodastream. In this article, we’ll take a look at Sodastream’s flavor offerings and examine if they currently provide a Mountain Dew flavoring syrup.
Overview of Sodastream and Flavor Offerings
Sodastream is an Israeli-based company that was founded in 1903. Their machines work by injecting carbon dioxide into water, creating carbonation. Sodastream devices allow users to carbonate plain water or add flavors to make soda, sparkling water, or other carbonated drinks. The company sells a range of home carbonation machines at various price points, along with CO2 cylinders and reusable carbonating bottles.
One of the big selling points of Sodastream is the ability to create customized flavored sparkling drinks at home. Sodastream offers a wide variety of syrups and flavorings that can be added to carbonated water. Their flavor lineup includes options like cola, lemon-lime, orange, cherry, grape, and more. The syrups come in small bottles that are designed to make 12 liters of flavored soda.
Sodastream Flavor Options
Here is an overview of the types of flavors currently available from Sodastream:
– Fruit flavors: Orange, lemon-lime, strawberry, raspberry, peach, mango, grapefruit, cranberry
– Soda flavors: Cola, lemon-lime, ginger ale, root beer
– Sparkling drink flavors: Energy drink, sports drink
– Enhanced water flavors: Coconut water, vitamin-enhanced water
– Specialty flavors: Pink grapefruit, pineapple, kiwi strawberry, watermelon, pomegranate blueberry
– Diet/sugar-free flavors
– Coffee and tea flavors
– Flavored drops for plain sparkling water: Lemon, lime, orange
As you can see, Sodastream offers a diverse lineup of flavor options in various categories. However, noticeably absent from this list is a Mountain Dew-branded syrup.
Why Doesn’t Sodastream Offer Mountain Dew Flavoring?
There are a few likely reasons why Sodastream does not currently produce a Mountain Dew syrup for their carbonation machines:
Brand Licensing Restrictions
Mountain Dew is a registered trademark and brand owned by PepsiCo. In order to produce a Mountain Dew-branded flavoring, Sodastream would need a licensing agreement with PepsiCo. These types of deals are complicated and can be expensive for the company licensing the brand name. PepsiCo may not be interested in licensing their Mountain Dew brand to a competing home carbonation system. Without a licensing agreement, Sodastream can’t use the trademarked Mountain Dew name and logo.
Formula Restrictions
In addition to the brand name, PepsiCo owns the unique formula and recipe for Mountain Dew. Even if Sodastream could license the name, PepsiCo may not be willing to share the exact citrus-based formula that gives Mountain Dew its distinctive taste. Producing a flavoring syrup with the same taste could violate PepsiCo’s proprietary formula.
Market Competition
As major competitors in the home carbonation and soft drink markets, Sodastream and PepsiCo could be wary of teaming up on a Mountain Dew product. PepsiCo may avoid deals that would help drive business and revenue to Sodastream. The company may think it’s not in their best interest to collaborate.
Alternatives Available
While not exact replicas, Sodastream does offer citrus flavoring syrups that consumers could mix and blend to try creating a homemade version of Mountain Dew’s flavor profile. So there are alternative options available within Sodastream’s existing offerings.
Are Any Unofficial Mountain Dew Flavors Available?
Even without PepsiCo’s approval, some third party companies have created flavoring syrups designed to taste like Mountain Dew for use in Sodastream and other home carbonation devices. However, it’s important to note that these are unofficial flavors and are not endorsed or licensed by PepsiCo. Here are a few options currently on the market:
Mountain Breeze SodaMix Syrup
– Made by SodaMod
– Designed to taste like Mountain Dew
– Contains concentrated citrus flavoring and caffeine
– User reviews say it’s a close replica of the Mountain Dew flavor
Mountain Bolt Soda Syrup
– Made by Mountain Fizz
– Their version of a Mountain Dew clone flavor
– Uses natural flavorings to recreate the taste
– Contains caffeine
– Also available in diet/sugar free version
Dew Drops Syrups
– Made by DaVinci Gourmet
– Offer both regular and diet/sugar free options
– Flavored with citric acid, natural flavors, esters, and Yellow 5
– Users say the flavor profile closely imitates Mountain Dew
While not officially authorized by PepsiCo, these unauthorized flavoring syrups try to recreate the recognizable green citrus soda taste of Mountain Dew so Sodastream users can make their own home carbonated version. However, the actual Mountain Dew brand name and logo are still trademarked and not used on these third party syrups.
Will Sodastream Ever Offer Actual Mountain Dew Flavoring?
There is always a possibility that Sodastream could negotiate an agreement with PepsiCo in the future to produce licensed Mountain Dew syrups for their machines. However, at present there are no indications that the two companies are partnering on an official Mountain Dew Sodastream product.
PepsiCo currently has their own line of home carbonation machines through their PepsiCo Beverages North America division. The Pepsi Spire for Home allows users to make Pepsi branded carbonated beverages, including Mountain Dew. This competing product line means PepsiCo may not be motivated to work with Sodastream on Mountain Dew flavoring.
Overall, while not impossible, it appears unlikely in the near future that Sodastream will offer official Mountain Dew flavored syrups. The legal and business hurdles make a partnership challenging between these two brands. For the foreseeable future, Mountain Dew fans may need to stick with the unauthorized third party flavoring options if they want to recreate this soda at home with their Sodastream device.
The Bottom Line
At this time, Sodastream does not produce any officially licensed Mountain Dew flavors for use in their home carbonation machines. Trademark and formula licensing issues with PepsiCo make it difficult for Sodastream to offer an authorized Mountain Dew product. While some unlicensed syrups try to imitate the Mountain Dew taste profile, there is currently no way to make genuine Mountain Dew soda at home using a Sodastream device. Fans of the neon green citrus soda will need to continue buying Mountain Dew off store shelves if they want the authentic branded flavor. There is always possibility of a future partnership between Sodastream and PepsiCo, but no definitive deals are in place allowing Sodastream users to carbonate true Mountain Dew.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don’t more big soda brands partner with Sodastream?
Major soda companies like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have competing business interests that make official brand partnerships with Sodastream challenging. These companies also closely protect their formula secrets.
Does Sodastream have other Pepsi or Coke branded syrups?
No, Sodastream does not currently have licensing deals for Pepsi, Coke, or any other major soda brand flavors besides their generic cola option.
What is the closest Sodastream flavor to Mountain Dew?
Sodastream’s lemon-lime flavor is probably the closest to Mountain Dew’s citrus taste profile. Mixing orange and lemon-lime syrups could potentially achieve a Mountain Dew-esque soda.
Why doesn’t PepsiCo make their own home carbonation device?
PepsiCo does have a line of home carbonators called Pepsi Spire for Home. However, these are currently only available in limited markets, not nationwide.
Where can I buy unlicensed Mountain Dew flavors for Sodastream?
Third party syrups are available from brands like SodaMod, Mountain Fizz, and DaVinci Gourmet. However, these are not officially authorized or endorsed by PepsiCo.
Comparison of Mountain Dew and Sodastream Citrus Flavors
| Beverage | Brand | Flavor Profile | Color | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Dew | PepsiCo | Citrus, lime | Green | Yes |
| Lemon Lime SodaMix | Sodastream | Lemon, lime | Clear | No |
| Orange SodaMix | Sodastream | Orange | Clear | No |
| Mountain Breeze | SodaMod | Citrus | Green | Yes |
