Goji Citrus Strawberry is a Franchise Exclusive Mountain Dew flavor available since September 2017 only at Jackson's Food Stores before spreading to many gas stations and restaurants.
Description[]
Goji Citrus Strawberry, as its name suggests, is a mixture of the Goji-Citrus-Strawberry flavor of Mountain Dew and has a red look, having a partly comparable tasting flavor and color to that of Aurora.
Half-diet formulation[]
- Main article: Flavor 514C
Akin to most fountain varieties such as Berry Monsoon, Goji Citrus Strawberry utalizes a "Half-Diet" formulation where the amount of High Fructose Corn Syrup is reduced in favor of the artificial sweeteners Sucralose and Acesulfame Potassium in order to reduce calories.
History[]
(2017) Jackson's[]
On September 5th, 2017, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, Goji Citrus Strawberry was first leaked by a user named u/Thunderlord317, and a few days later, they posted images of the drink and the fountain label. It showed that Goji Citrus Strawberry was released in their local Jackson's Food Store, marking the beginning of Goji Citrus Strawberry in Jackson's Food Store locations as an exclusive permanent flavor across the Western United States.
When Goji Citrus Strawberry was exclusively released to Jackson's Food Stores on September 5th, months pursued, and there were reports of it expanding to other gas stations. In the following months, it reluctantly became clear that Goji isn't exclusive to Jackson's Food Stores but rather a gas station/restaurant franchise-exclusive flavor to many regional gas stations and restaurants across the United States. These are some of the more notable releases:
(2017) Sheetz[]
Sheetz was the second franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the Mid-Atlantic region. There were reports of it as early as September 20th, 2017, where a user named u/Slowpc commented on the original Jackson's Reddit post prior.
(2018) Great Scott's[]
Great Scott's was the third franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink as an independent convenience store chain with four locations in Idaho. On April 11th, 2018, the small store chain announced on their Twitter page that Goji Citrus Strawberry would be available as a big 44-ounce fountain drink. Recently, it's unknown if Goji is still available in those convenience store locations.
(2018) Maverik[]
Maverik was the fourth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the Western United States. On April 17th, 2018, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, Goji Citrus Strawberry was spotted in Maveriks in Utah.
(2018) Sinclair[]
Sinclair was the fifth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across some parts of the United States. On the same day, when the original Maverik Reddit posted on April 17th, 2018, a few hours later, a user named u/provoaggie commented that they can get it in Sinclair locations in Utah, and posted an image of the fountain label.
(2018) Circle K[]
Circle K was the sixth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States. On May 31st, 2018, a news photographer in a Twitter post spotted Goji Citrus Strawberry in a Circle K in Arizona.
(2018) Chubby's Neighborhood Cafe[]
Chubby's Neighborhood Cafe was the first restaurant to receive Goji as a fountain drink across locations in Utah. On May 20th, 2018, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, a curious user named u/e1ectricthunder asked on where can they find Goji Citrus Strawberry. One user named u/snakuplisskin commented that Chubby's Neighborhood Cafe is one of them in Utah and is still available as of 2021.
(2018) Speedway[]
Speedway was the seventh franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States. On August 14th, 2018, a Mountain Dew fan in a Twitter post spotted Goji Citrus Strawberry in a Speedway.
(2019) Kum & Go[]
Kum & Go was the eighth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States. On February 26th, 2019, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, Goji Citrus Strawberry was spotted in Kum & Go locations in Northeastern Oklahoma and would be joined by Atomic Blue the following year.
(2019) Kwik Trip[]
Kwik Trip was the ninth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States. On March 3rd, 2019, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, Goji Citrus Strawberry was spotted in Kwik Trips.
(2019) Holiday Station Stores[]
Holiday Station Stores was the tenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States. On May 28th, 2019, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, Goji Citrus Strawberry was supposedly released as this one user named u/musclesharkk claimed that they spotted it in some Holiday Station Stores, though no verifiable information until a YouTube livestream on March 15th, 2020.
(2019) Buc-ee's[]
Buc-ee's was the eleventh franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States. On July 6th, 2019, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, Goji Citrus Strawberry was spotted in Buc-ee's convenience stores throughout Florida, Southern Alabama and Eastern Texas. In May 2023, it was reported that Buc-ee's is no longer selling Pepsi products.
(2019) Harts Gas & Food/Fast Gas Convenience Stores[]
Harts Gas & Food was the tweleveth franchise, and Fast Gas Convenience Stores was the twelfth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink and both gas station chains are mainly located in Utah.
(2019) Kewpee Hamburger's[]
On December 3rd, 2019, Kewpee Hamburgers announced on their Facebook page that Goji Citrus Strawberry would be available at their restaurants in Lima, Ohio, making them the second restaurant to carry this flavor.
(2019) Wesco[]
Wesco was the thirteenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States on December 10th, 2019.
(2020) Hyvee[]
Hyvee Store's gas station division was the fourteenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States on March 31st, 2020, in a claim but was confirmed on October 21st, 2022.
(2020) Break Time[]
Break Time was the fifteenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States on July 26th, 2020.
(2021) Jake's Brookville[]
An independent gas station company called Jake's Brookville in Springville, Utah was the sixteenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink on December 24th, 2021.
(2021) Ray's Food Place[]
Ray's Food Place in Oregon was the first store to receive Goji as a fountain drink in many of their stores on December 28th, 2021.
(2022) Toot'n Totum[]
Toot'n Totum was the seventeenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across northern Texas on February 13th, 2022.
(2022) Casey's General Stores[]
Casey's General Stores was the eighteenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the Midwest on May 31st, 2022.
(2022) Presto Convenience Stores[]
Presto Convenience Stores was the nineteenth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink across the United States on June 9th, 2022.
(2022) J Ballard’s Country Store[]
An independent gas station company called J Ballard’s Country Store in Corvallis, Oregon, was the twentieth franchise to receive Goji as a fountain drink on July 5th, 2022.
Trivia[]
- Goji Citrus Strawberry is the sixth strawberry flavor of Mountain Dew (the first being Aurora, the second being Supernova, the third being Strawberry, the fourth being Game Fuel (Electrifying Berry) and the fifth being Kickstart Hydrating Boost (Energizing Strawberry Kiwi)).
- Goji Citrus Strawberry is one of the first much earlier Franchise Exclusive flavors before the Franchise Exclusive flavors became a prominent staple of Mountain Dew's lineup in recent times.
- Goji Citrus Strawberry was supposedly released in Yesway, Allsup's, Chevron and some other gas stations though there is no verifiable information about these releases.
- An independent burger joint called Herfy's Burgers in Redmond, WA, used to carry Goji but was closed down in 2021.
- The independent board game bar Zulu's Board Game Café in Bothell, WA carries Goji Citrus Strawberry in their event center, but not the main bar, as of June 2024. The main bar uses a Pepsi Spire instead.
- Goji Citrus Strawberry is one of the more known Franchise Exclusive flavors in the Mountain Dew community, and since it's known in the fanbase, many of those fans have speculated a bottle and can release.