Flavor 514C was a variant of the original Mountain Dew flavor that had a reduced amount of corn syrup in favor of artificial sweeteners in order to lower calories.
Description[]
Flavor 514C was a modified version of the original formula, containing a half-sugar count but retaining the same citrus taste and yellow-green color as the Original Mountain Dew drink.
Formulation[]
The formulation reduces the amount of High Fructose Corn Syrup by half, and replaces that with Artificial Sweeteners; namely Sucralose and Acesulfame Potassium, which forms for a reduced calorie count.
From a size perspective for calories, a 12-ounce can was reduced from 170 calories to 100, while a 20-ounce bottle was reduced from 290 to 170. Some flavors' calorie count may be slightly different.
Some flavors contain a full calorie count but also have Sucralose without Acesulfame Potassium.
History[]
This formulation of Mountain Dew was a test product that was used as a base to re-formulate other Mountain Dew flavors. The first flavors to use this base were the 2016 version of Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry), and its companion flavor Game Fuel (Mango Heat).
Summer 2017's DEW-S-A also used this base until it was reformulated to match the standard Mountain Dew varieties in 2021. Current flavors, such as Franchise Exclusive flavors (2019's Sweet Lightning, amongst many others) continue to use this variant as a base and have yet to be re-formulated back.
Trivia[]
- It is likely that the fan backlash against lower-calorie flavors using artificial sweeteners led Flavor 514C's store release (and therefore the original Mountain Dew's reformulation) to be canceled. For example, while the original DEW-S-A in 2017 used artificial sweeteners and lesser calories, its 2021 release, as well as its 2017 sequel Holiday Brew, did not and therefore retained the full calorie count.
- Despite not seeing an official release in the United States, a similar concept has been done in countries such as Malaysia and Finland, where their Mountain Dew varieties saw a reduction of sugar in favor of Sucralose and Acesulfame-K.