Kickstart (Energizing Grape), formerly known as Kickstart (Energizing Midnight Grape), is a Mountain Dew Kickstart flavor released in the United States on January 25th, 2016, alongside Watermelon, Blueberry Pomegranate, and Blood Orange.
Description[]
Kickstart (Energizing Grape) is a Grape flavor of Mountain Dew and is dark purple in color, having a comparable flavor and color to that of Pitch Black Energy.
This flavor is an enhanced soft drink having Electrolytes, 5% Juice, and Caffeine.
History[]
Midnight Grape was released on January 25th, 2016[1] alongside Watermelon, Blueberry Pomegranate, and Blood Orange. While Midnight Grape (later shortened to Grape) would remain available until 2025, the other flavors would all be discontinued within the span of a few years following their release.
- Main article: Puppy Monkey Baby
A few weeks later, the flavor was promoted in a commercial[2] during Super Bowl 50[3] featuring a computer-generated mash-up of three things that the public generally finds to be cute or harmless; a Pug puppy (the head), a monkey (the body and tail), and a dancing baby (the hips and legs). The PuppyMonkeyBaby brought some Kickstart (Energizing Midnight Grape), offering those three men the drink, similarly described in a combination of three things (Electrolytes, 5% Juice, and Caffeine). It led to an explosive boost of the Kickstart brand with PuppyMonkeyBaby for song remixes and being a massive meme trend[4] for 2016. The other new Kickstart flavors also received an advertising promotion in further media regarding PuppyMonkeyBaby.
In 2021, it was renamed Kickstart (Energizing Grape), which had previously been used for its 2018 Japanese release, although its previous name continues to be used in Canada.
In early 2022, a PepsiCo product list[5] was discovered that showed both Fruit Punch and Grape would be discontinued once inventory is gone. However, the discontinuation was later reverted.
In a Sporked article published on October 18th, 2024[6], Team Supernova[7] revealed that Maui Burst in 16.9-ounce bottle 6-packs, Voltage's soda fountain form, and Kickstart (Energizing Grape) would all no longer be available beginning in January 2025.
The current Kickstart lineup of flavors includes: Fruit Punch, Orange Citrus, Black Cherry, and Pineapple Orange Mango.
International release[]
Canada[]
Kickstart (Energizing Midnight Grape) was released in Canada on January 20th, 2017 as an exclusive before being relased nationwide on January 29th, 2017[8], as the fourth Kickstart beverage available in the country.
Australia[]
In March 2017, three Kickstart beverages were released into the Australian market. Kickstart (Energizing Grape) was released there alongside Orange Citrus and Limeade.
Japan[]
Kickstart (Energizing Midnight Grape) was released on April 10th, 2018, exclusively available in vending machines under a new name: Kickstart (Energizing Grape), omitting the word "Midnight." As mentioned earlier, this name would be used for the American release for its 2021 redesign. As of 2023, it is currently unclear if this drink is still available.
Trivia[]
- Kickstart (Energizing Grape) is one of eight grape-flavored Mountain Dew variants (see the "Similar Flavors" section in the infobox).
- Kickstart (Energizing Grape) is the second grape flavor released in Japan, the first being Grape and the third being Violet.
- Additionally, this was the first and the only Kickstart flavor released in Japan.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mtn-dew-kickstart-expands-product-lineup-with-introduction-of-four-bold-new-flavors-300206297.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3vhvgbowt8
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mtn-dew-kickstart-hosts-nfl-experience-event---puppy-monkey-and-baby-predict-the-carolina-panthers-will-win-super-bowl-50-300216034.html
- ↑ https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/puppy-monkey-baby
- ↑ https://pepsibrattleboro.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022ProductListBySegment-infoRemoved.pdf
- ↑ https://sporked.com/article/pepsico-discontinued-sodas-2025/
- ↑ https://x.com/TeamSupernovaFB
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1283585481757050