Major Melon (also known in Honduras as "Pink Drip") is a Mountain Dew flavor released in stores on January 4th, 2021, as a permanent flavor in the United States. In 2024, Spark and Major Melon would be available in some capacity.
Description
Major Melon is a Watermelon flavor of Mountain Dew and has a bright red-pink look, having a comparable tasting flavor and color to that of Kickstart Hydrating Boost (Energizing Watermelon) and Flavor 648.
Tagline
Its tagline is "DEW Charged with Watermelon Flavor with Other Natural Flavors."
History
On August 4th, 2020, on the Dew Drinker Discord, information was leaked by an anonymous individual showing upcoming plans for 2021 with many flavors and new brands alike. All of these leaks are as follows: Major Melon, alongside its Zero Sugar variant, Rise Energy, Baja Blast alongside two flavors, Baja Flash and Baja Punch, DEW-S-A, Riddler's Brew, Gingerbread Snap'd, and a re-release of Pepsi Blue.
Two months after the leaks from August 2020, on October 8th, 2020, a leaked internal reel video surfaced on the same Dew Drinker Discord server, showing upcoming plans for the Mountain Dew brand for 2021. This video reaffirmed much of the previously-leaked information for 2021 for all of the flavors previously mentioned.
It was officially released to stores nationwide in the United States on January 4th, 2021 as a permanent flavor, and was available in various sizes such as 20-ounce bottles, 16 ounces/16.9-ounce multipack bottles, 1-liter bottles, 2-liter bottles, and 12-packs. It is also available in fountain form and as a Freeze at various convenient stores such as Kum & Go and Circle K.
A few weeks later, it was promoted in a commercial during Super Bowl LV by counting the correct number of bottles appearing on the spot. The advert features WWE Superstar and actor John Cena drinking Major Melon and discussing the product, bringing the larger-than-life flavor to fans nationwide.
Late 2023 discontinuation
On September 23rd, 2023, it was leaked by Team Supernova that VooDEW 6.0, alongside its Zero Sugar variant, would be releasing in Fall 2024 with a collaboration of a top candy brand. Additionally, Kroger-exclusive Thrashed Apple would be nationally discontinued alongside Major Melon, Spark at the end of 2023, alongside the entirety of the Mountain Dew Energy line in January of 2024 with the then-discovered Mountain Dew Energy (Liberty Brew) and Mountain Dew Energy (Baja Laguna Lemonade).
On December 8th, 2023, an update was provided by Team Supernova that Spark would remain but be completely removed from the must carry list, and Major Melon will remain in a greater capacity, with 20oz and 16.9oz bottles remaining on the must carry list while 12 packs will not. The Zero Sugar variants of both will become regional as of late February, 2024.
Variants
Major Melon Zero Sugar
Major Melon Zero Sugar, which was released the same time as its regular counterpart, has been sold in 20-ounce bottles and 12-packs. The flavor, meant to be as close to regular Major Melon as possible, without any sugar. Similar to other Zero Sugar flavors, Major Melon Zero Sugar's style of design is much like regular Major Melon, but instead features a black background rather than a bright pink one (much like the other Zero Sugar flavors).
Mountain Dew Energy (Major Melon)
- Main article: Mountain Dew Energy (Major Melon)
Two years after its release, Major Melon received a Mountain Dew Energy variant in March 2023 for a limited time. It was the fourth flavor in the lineup inspired by an existing Mountain Dew, after Baja Blast, Code Red, and Pitch Black. It released at the same time as Kickstart (Strawberry Start-Up).
International release
Canada
At the start of February 2021, following the American release of Major Melon in January 2021, Major Melon was first released in Canada as a Circle K exclusive in bottles on February 2nd, 2021. Later on, it would be released nationwide on February 24th, 2021.
Shortly after, it was reported that the Major Melon Freeze came out in Circle K locations as a Froster Freeze as a limited time release for the Summer of 2021.
Honduras
In mid-2022, Major Melon was released in Honduras and sported similar packaging as its American and Canadian releases, though the flavor was renamed to "Pink Drip." This is similar to how Voltage was also renamed (as "X-Treme") for its Honduran release. It reportedly has less sugar (17g/8oz, or about 26g/12oz) than its American and Canadian counterpart, which in the United States has 44g/12oz of sugar.
Australia
In September 2022, Major Melon was released with Energised No Sugar branding. Instead of having a black background like the existing Mountain Dew Zero Sugar offerings, Energised No Sugar Major Melon has a grey background, more like Diet Mountain Dew.
Trivia
- On October 8th, 2020, in a r/MountainDew Reddit post, a user named "xAn0nymouSx" posted a photograph of a test bottle of Major Melon. The picture itself reveals this flavor's number to be #480, making this flavor's formula different from an unreleased watermelon flavor from 2009, Flavor 648.
- Aside from Mountain Dew, Major Melon is the second most widely available flavor variant, currently released in four countries (United States, Canada, Honduras, and Australia)
- The most widely available flavor is Pitch Black (United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Canada)
- Promotional material for Major Melon can be found here.