MTN DEW FLAMIN’ HOT

Company: PepsiCo
Location: United States
Project Type: Produced
Product Launch Location: United States
Packaging Contents: Soda
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Aluminum can

PepsiCo is launching an exciting, hot new beverage mash-up – MTN DEW FLAMIN’ HOT – along with a fashionable capsule collection. While the MTN DEW brand is no stranger to pushing flavor boundaries, this is the first time the cult favorite brand is teaming up with Cheetos and the beloved taste of FLAMIN’ HOT to create a beverage combining the sweet, citrus DEW with a new spicy goodness.

Beginning August 31, MTN DEW FLAMIN’ HOT will be available exclusively on the virtual shelves of the DEW Store. To complement this extreme new flavor, MTN DEW and Broken Promises, a contemporary clothing brand, are partnering to drop an apparel line inspired by FLAMIN’ HOT. The limited collection drops on Broken Promises’ website on September 4. The capsule collection includes shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and accessories.

PepsiCo’s design team was involved in this innovation effort from start to finish, working closely with the brand team on packaging, key visuals, animated content and the look and feel of the capsule collection. Sparky, the well-known FLAMIN’ HOT character, underwent a modern (and mischievous) metamorphosis to tell the flavor's origin story. The result: packaging, merch and more that tell the story of how Sparky turned MTN DEW FLAMIN’ HOT.

“This was a fun challenge from a design perspective, to bring together the iconic MTN DEW brand with the unique FLAMIN’ HOT flavor and ensure we could deliver visuals, content and fashion that fans of both DEW and FLAMIN’ HOT would love,” said Carl Gerhards, Senior Director, Design, PepsiCo Beverages North America, MTN DEW, Flavors & Energy. “We’re inspired by creating and building character stories that add depth to the bold MTN DEW flavors. Looking at the history of FLAMIN’ HOT, we thought a lot about how Sparky had been jumping from Cheetos to other snack brands for years and how that might have become routine for the character. With a mischievous personality, it was only a matter of time before Sparky jumped to another category and MTN DEW caught his eye!”