Solar Flare was a Franchise Exclusive Mountain Dew flavor available from May 2014 to July 2024 only at 7-Eleven gas stations. By 2015, it had been removed from most 7-Eleven locations, and as a result, it would gradually become harder to find over time, until it was discontinued in July 2024.
Description
Solar Flare was a Tropical Punch flavor of Mountain Dew. It was red-orange in color, with a flavor profile comparable to Southern Shock.
Tagline
Its tagline was "DEW with a Blast of Tropical Punch."
History
On April 22nd, 2014, PepsiCo filed[1] a trademark for Solar Flare titled "MTN DEW SOLAR FLARE."
In May 2014, Solar Flare and Doritos Loaded were released exclusively at 7-Eleven stores in the United States for the summer. Both products were developed to complement each other in flavor and were a permanent offering at these locations.[2]
(2015 - 2024) Sporadic availability and eventual discontinuation
In 2015, reports indicated that Solar Flare would be discontinued at 7-Eleven stores, resulting in limited availability across the United States. This made the flavor much harder to find. At the same time, all 7-Eleven locations in Canada discontinued the tropical punch flavor in both soda and Slurpee formats. As of May 2018, Solar Flare remained available at select 7-Eleven stores in the United States due to decent sales, and some locations received updated logo labels for their soda fountains.
Over time, the remaining 7-Eleven locations that had the flavor in their soda fountains gradually phased it out in exchange for another replacement fountain drink. At times, customers mistakenly identified other generic red-colored[3] fountain drinks listed as Solar Flare on the digital screens of the soda fountain. Because of this, it lead to false reports of its availability, which similarly happen with other flavors, such as Cyclone[4], Berry Monsoon[5], Sweet Lightning[6], and others.
In July 2024[7], Solar Flare was last spotted in a Chandler, AZ 7-Eleven location, where it was finally discontinued, and no further sightings emerged.
In October 2025, Solar Flare was confirmed as discontinued by a PepsiCo Consumer Experience representative via email.[8]
International release
Canada
In August 2015[9], Solar Flare was introduced later in Canadian 7-Eleven soda fountains, alongside the Slurpee version. Its tagline was "NEW! DEW with a Blast of Tropical Punch only at 7-Eleven." Solar Flare became discontinued in Canada a year later as it became more sporadic to find in the United States in 2015.
The Philippines
On September 28th, 2016[10], Solar Flare was released for a limited time at participating Filipino 7-Eleven store locations with soda fountains. Buying Solar Flare from any participating locations would offer the chance to win various prizes such as a new smartphone, a drone, or a bicycle. The promotion ended on November 22nd, 2016. After the promotion ended, Solar Flare was still available until early 2017 while supplies lasted.
Trivia
- Solar Flare 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.
- During its release in 2014, Solar Flare was promoted alongside Doritos Loaded. Both are 7-Eleven exclusives, and its advertising campaign was similar to Mountain Dew Ice and Doritos Blaze in 2018.
Official Gas Station Links
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220416034005/http://www.mtndewkid.com/mountain-dew/mtn-dew-solar-flare/
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doritos-loaded-snacks-and-mtn-dew-solar-flare-launch-exclusively-at-7-eleven-stores-today-265530861.html
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/1lge1zb/maybe_found_solar_flare/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/1lqvf9q/we_found_a_machine_that_used_to_sell_cyclone_and/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/1mtmbdg/i_thought_this_was_discontinued_and_only_at_sams/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/172d16i/found_at_katella_and_anaheim_blvdhaster_st_711_by/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/1dxs2kb/figured_id_get_it_again_nice_bonus_swirl_too/
- ↑ https://mountaindew.fandom.com/wiki/Message_Wall:Duckieboy01?threadId=4400000000000048749
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/7ElevenCanada/photos/pb.100064652261228.-2207520000/872090562846381/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/711philippines/photos/a.188259533227/10155480316743228/