Kickstart (Strawberry Start-Up) is a Mountain Dew Kickstart flavor released in 2023 as a permanent addition to the Kickstart line.
Description[]
Strawberry Start-Up is a Strawberry Lemonade flavor of Mountain Dew and its color has a bright pink look.
History[]
Canceled 2020 release[]
In January 2020, Strawberry Start-Up (previously known as Strawberry Lemonade, and then later known as Strawberry Sunrise) alongside Wild Peach (later known as Peach Dawn) first appeared on the now-inactive listing of the official PepsiCo Smart Label website.
Over the following weeks, it was discovered that Strawberry Lemonade alongside Wild Peach would release in February 2020. However, it was then found out that its release was canceled for unknown reasons until further notice. Months later, two new renders were surfaced, with Strawberry Lemonade and Wild Peach renamed as Strawberry Sunrise and Peach Dawn, respectively. During this time, a test can was produced for Kickstart (Strawberry Sunrise), showing a manufacture date of August 8th, 2019. However, as time went on, the flavor was eventually forgotten until November 2022.
Permanent 2023 release[]
On November 14th, 2022, Major Melon ENERGY and 2020's Strawberry Lemonade, the latter with a new name: Kickstart (Strawberry Start-Up), were leaked on a Facebook post in a photograph with new designs. Both of these flavors at the time were thought to have been canceled.
On December 5th, 2022, on the Dew Drinker Discord, it was leaked that Kickstart (Strawberry Start-Up) would be receiving a 2023 release on March 27th, 2023 in 16-ounce cans, and is a permanent addition to the Kickstart line.
As of 2024, the current Kickstart flavors here are as follows: Fruit Punch, Orange Citrus, Black Cherry, Pineapple Orange Mango, Grape, and Strawberry Start-Up.
Trivia[]
- This drink is the first time PepsiCo decided to release a Kickstart flavor after four years of not releasing one.