Taco Bell and Pepsi Launch New Baja Blast Soda

Published on: August 6, 2004

Pepsi and Taco Bell have joined forces in launching the new Mountain Dew Baja Blast designed specifically to complement the chain restaurant's south of the border menu. The Mexican-inspired tropical soda was made exclusively available at Taco Bell restaurants nationwide as of July 29th.

Pepsi and Taco Bell have been partners since the 1970s. Greg Creed, chief marketing officer for Taco Bell, commented, "We continue to reinforce our 'Think Outside The Bun(TM)' message by offering food, and now a beverage item, that consumers can't get anywhere else." The two companies collaborated in conducting extensive research in developing the turquoise green soda that they are counting on appealing to a large number of consumers that drink Mountain Dew. Taco Bell and Pepsi have reported that customers of the restaurant are one-and-a-half times more likely to drink Mountain Dew than the average American.

With two-thirds of Taco Bell's business taking place at the drive-thru, the companies hope that consumers will be more inclined to place beverage orders in addition to their food orders rather than purchasing a beverage at another destination. And just to make sure the soda is a hit, the company has launched a multi-million dollar marketing campaign including in-store point-of-purchase merchandise, on-line and print media buys and 60-second radio spots on ESPN.

For more information visit: www.dewbajablast.com.

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