Typhoon (previously known as "Flavor #509") was a Mountain Dew flavor first released in stores in 2010 as a finalist in the DEWmocracy 2 promotion, where it lost to White Out. In 2011, it returned for another limited time alongside Supernova and Pitch Black during Back by Popular DEWmand, lasting from May until July during the Summer. After a decade, it returned as a Dew Store[1] exclusive only for Dew Nation HQ members on June 1st at 12 PM EST until August 5th.
Description[]
Typhoon was a Tropical Punch (Strawberry Pineapple)[2] flavor of Mountain Dew. It has a pinkish-orange look, with a flavor profile comparable to the blue-colored 7-Eleven/Speedway/Stripes exclusive Pineapple Strawberry flavored Infinite Swirl.
Since both flavors have roughly the same flavor profile, Infinite Swirl (Pineapple Strawberry) tends to shift to a more Pineapple flavor while having the Strawberry in the background, and Typhoon (Strawberry Pineapple) tends to shift to a balance of both flavors.
Tagline[]
Its original tagline, used during DEWmocracy 2 and Back by Popular DEWmand, was "Punch of Tropical DEW with Other Natural Flavors," while its 2022 tagline was "DEW with a Blast of Tropical Punch with Natural and Artificial Flavor."
Its diet version's planned tagline was "Punch of Tropical Diet Dew with Other Natural Flavors."
History[]
(2009) Taste testing release[]
In 2009, the second DEWmocracy campaign began with a tour to 17 cities in the United States, where people living in these cities were given a chance to taste many new flavors of Mountain Dew.
At the same time[3], Dew Labs members were sent a case to taste test seven distantly unique flavors to suggest their reviews on which they prefer out of the seven. The seven flavors for the Dew Lab research study were #231, #286, #493, #509, #648, #722, and #736.
(2010) DEWmocracy II: Collective Intelligence[]
- Main article: DEWmocracy II
Out of seven flavors, with the help Dew Labs members, only three finalists were chosen that is White Out (a white Smooth Citrus flavor), Typhoon (a pinkish-orange Tropical Punch flavor) and Distortion (a green Lime flavor). Designs then were submitted from artistic fans.
Typhoon, alongside its competitors, White Out and Distortion, was officially released on April 19th, 2010, over the summer of 2010 to compete for a chance to become a permanent flavor. Drinkers were able to try all three flavors and vote on which they preferred for their favorite. Voting ended in June, and White Out had won 44% of the votes, Typhoon had 40%, and Distortion had 16%. White Out was officially re-released to stores on October 10th of that year.
(2010 - 2011) FanDEWmonium[]
- Main article: FanDEWmonium
Much like the DEWmocracy promotion in voting style, in October 2010, a campaign called FanDEWmonium was announced, that has eight Diet exclusive Dew flavors such as Diet Supernova, Diet Voltage, Diet White Out, Diet Flare, Diet Typhoon, Diet Ultra Violet, Diet Crave, Diet Distortion to compete for a chance to become a permanent flavor. Diet Typhoon eventually lost as Diet Supernova won in 2011.
(2011) Back by Popular DEWmand Limited-Time release[]
- Main article: Back by Popular DEWmand
After popular demand to bring back some discontinued Dew flavors, Mountain Dew announced that 2004's Pitch Black, 2008's Supernova, and 2010's Typhoon would be returning for a limited time together over the summer of 2011 as a part of the Back by Popular DEWmand promotion. It lasted until July 25th of that year.
Typhoon was only distributed in 2-liter bottles exclusively at Walmart stores, unlike the other two flavors in the promotion.
(2022) DEW Store release[]
On October 28th, 2021, a render of a 16 oz. can design of Typhoon with updated packaging was discovered on PepsiCo's contact website. Typhoon's new design is consistent with the modern art direction featured on new packaging designs for other flavors, indicating that Typhoon may be returning sometime soon.
When it was first leaked, many fans debated if Typhoon would be released as a DEW Store exclusive, judging by its can size as well as the fact that both Cake-Smash and Flamin' Hot had been released on the DEW Store only in the 16 oz. can size. At this time, there wasn't any evidence suggesting whether or not it would be released in the DEW Store.
In February 2022, some fans[4] found that they had accidentally received a poster about Typhoon's return when they bought a variety pack from Amazon[5]. The card poster hinted that "P.S. - Don't forget to check your inbox for a special offer on your next Dew Store purchase!", thus indicating that Typhoon would be releasing on the Dew Store soon.
On several incidents, potential release dates such as May 24th or 27th were speculated, though these came and went with no release.
On May 24th, 2022, PepsiCo confirmed in a press release[6] that it is returning as a Dew Store exclusive on June 1st at 12 PM EST for a limited time only for Dew Nation HQ members while supplies last. It was teased on the Dew Nation HQ website and on other social media websites[7]. A month later, Typhoon was still in stock on the Dew Store with over 50,000 cases still available for purchase.
On July 28th, 2022, PepsiCo confirmed in a newsletter sent out to Dew Nation HQ members that Typhoon would be removed from the Dew Store next week. On August 5th, 2022[8], the listing turned into a 404 error page as it is discontinued.
(2023) Canceled DEWcision release[]
This DEWcision 2023 promotion was first leaked on a deleted r/MountainDew Reddit post[9] on August 7th, 2022, detailing PepsiCo's plans and release schedule for 2023 of the majority of flavors. The detailed leak here is as follows: HoneyDEW, Cobra Cane, Summer 2023's Baja Blast, VooDEW 5.0, and a later confirmed[10] DEWcision 2023 promotion of Typhoon and Pitch Black. Most of these are canceled except for the 2023 Summer release of Baja Blast and VooDEW 5.0.
Freeze release[]
(2013 - 2014) Taco Bell[]
Beginning on September 26, 2013, select Taco Bell locations began offering "Mountain Dew Typhoon Freeze" alongside a "Mountain Dew Distortion Freeze", an icy variant similar to the Baja Blast Freeze and the restaurant's pre-existing Frutista Freeze line. However, both the Typhoon and Distortion Freezes were discontinued at the beginning of June 2014, being replaced with the Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float Freeze[11].
Trivia[]
- This is the first time that a Mountain Dew flavor was available exclusively at a retail store, the next being the Dollar General-exclusive Maui Burst in 2019.
- During the taste testing period in 2009, Cyclone was one of the options to choose to vote for the name of the flavor that ultimately became Typhoon. The name was later used on the discontinued Speedway exclusive Citrus Punch flavor, which was released a decade later in 2019.
- A YouTube video confirmed the flavor profile of Typhoon to be Strawberry Pineapple[12].
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220601160502/https://store.mountaindew.com/products/mtn-dew-typhoon
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFrmH7nveWk
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIRt9uHSgY0
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/su6e29/confirmed_this_typhoon_flyer_is_in_the_original/
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Dew-Spark-Variety-Pack-Flavor/dp/B09P5GG9DD
- ↑ https://guiltyeats.com/2022/05/24/mtn-dew-typhoon-making-limited-time-return/
- ↑ https://x.com/MountainDew/status/1529176748298059777
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/whc0cb/just_like_that_typhoon_is_gone/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/wihrpg/2023_potential_lineup/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaindew/comments/wiuxf2/comment/iji5az1/?context=3
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/TheTeamSupernova/photos/a.790768417599849/796334113709946/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFrmH7nveWk