Baja Blast – Taco Bell’s Teal-Colored Mountain Dew Variation

Have you ever tasted a Mexican-inspired tropical lime drink with a Mountain Dew flavor that has an ocean-like teal color? In the world of fast food, the Mountain Dew Baja Blast has a particular place. Other drive-thru menu items can only dream of achieving such popular and beloved status as Baja Blast.

It’s not particularly rare for Taco Bell to have such a widely admired product. The Crunchwrap Supreme, Cinnamon Twists, and Nacho Fries are just a few of the Taco Bell menu items that have a cult following. The Baja Blast is another one of them. 

Since you came across this article, you must be curious about where this delicious drink came from. So get ready, because in this article you will find interesting information and facts about an all-time favorite drink, Baja Blast.

Brief History

Actually, a group of scientists at PepsiCo, the organization that owns Mountain Dew, developed Baja Blast. During a round of flavor-development brainstorming, the concept for Baja Blast emerged. The group set out to make a beverage that would be ideal for the summer. They decided on a tropical flavor and started experimenting with various formulas.

They finally found the ideal combination after months of experimenting, and a Baja Blast was created. Since its debut, the Baja Blast has grown to be one of Taco Bell’s most well-liked beverages. It’s the ideal refreshment on a sweltering summer day and has even encouraged other businesses to produce comparable drinks.

Taco Bell’s “Think Outside the Bun” tagline would also benefit from the Baja Blast’s support. The previous catchphrase was intended to set the business apart from rivals like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. Baja Blast strengthened Taco Bell’s distinctive reputation.

To boost sales of fountain soda, one of the first restaurants to do so introduced a unique soda beverage. Advertising efforts were used to market the flavor significantly when it was launched. In actuality, Baja Blast was first created as a new Mountain Dew flavor for the Latin American market. However, Taco Bell chose to keep it exclusive to their restaurants after trying it and falling in love with it.

Pepsi decided to make the beverage global in 2018. The Baja Blast would be made available at Taco Bell locations in the Great White North, Pepsi said in June of that year. The menu indicates that the beverage is still accessible in Canada today.

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Basic Ingredients

The best basic ingredient for Baja Blast was Mountain Dew. One of the reasons given was how well Taco Bell’s menu and Mountain Dew’s flavors blended.  Lime, pineapple, and orange are among the natural flavors used to make the beverage. The beverage doesn’t contain any caffeine. To make Baja Blast, the soda syrup is first mixed with carbonated water. The combination is then given a final addition of natural flavors. After that, the soda is transported to Taco Bell locations in bottles or cans.

Fans of Taco Bell now frequently consume Baja Blast. To experience the beverage at home, some devotees have even developed replica recipes. Not many people associate Mountain Dew with being healthy. The presence of brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, in the beverage, has historically resulted in its restriction in various nations. According to USA Today, that chemical hasn’t been present in Mountain Dew products since at least 2020. Because Mountain Dew contains sugar, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners, consumers are still leery of it.

People who are worried about the amount of caffeine in anything should look elsewhere. According to the Caffeine Content Hub, a small size only contains 72 mg of caffeine. That is almost equivalent to the 95 milligrams of caffeine found in a typical cup of coffee. 

According to Pepsi, a standard 20-ounce bottle of Mountain Dew has 77 grams of sugar. Despite having less than one gram of sugar per serving, Diet Mountain Dew still has a sweet taste because of aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose. Baja Blast Mountain Dew is a little less harmful. According to Taco Bell, a 16-ounce portion has 59 grams of sugar. There is also a Baja Blast that contains no sugar. 

Taco Bell made a significant modification over ten years after introducing the Mountain Dew Baja Blast. The Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze was launched by the chain in August 2012. The beverage was essentially a frozen variation of the basic soda flavor. Ice cubes were smashed to make it. 

Reviews of the Mountain Dew Baja Blast “Freeze” variant are often overwhelmingly favorable, especially when they come from those who enjoy the original Baja Blast. The item marked the start of a series of beverages with the same name that is still available on the Taco Bell menu today. 

Ingredients

• Carbonated Water
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Natural and Artificial Flavor
• Citric Acid
• Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness)
• Caffeine
• Gum Arabic
• Sodium Citrate
• Calcium Disodium EDTA (to Protect Flavor)
• Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate
• Yellow 5
• Blue 1

Nutrition

Serving Size:	16 fl oz (473g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	232
Total Fat	0g	0%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Trans Fat	0g
Polyunsaturated Fat	0g
Monounsaturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	85mg	4%
Total Carbohydrates	61g	20%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	61g
Protein	0g
Vitamin D	0mcg	0%
Calcium	61mg	5%
Iron	0mg	1%
Potassium	9mg	0%
Caffeine	71mg

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Marketing Tool

The Baja Blast was developed expressly to enhance drive-thru drink purchases and fit the Taco Bell atmosphere. The Baja Blast was developed as a special beverage that was exclusively available at Taco Bell. When they realized that the chain offered something they couldn’t get anywhere else, it was probably going to attract drive-thru consumers to purchase a drink at the last minute.

Both Taco Bell, the future home of the Baja Blast, and Pepsi, the maker of Mountain Dew, were lured to the drive-thru. It appeared that introducing an exclusive beverage based on one of the brand’s most well-known sodas would boost Pepsi’s sales. Drive-thru marketing strategies have long been a crucial component of Taco Bell’s corporate strategy. The “Fourth Meal” advertising campaign is one of the best-known examples.

Professional sports are well-known for their association with Mountain Dew. It is a founding member of The Dew Tour, a competition series for skateboarding and winter sports that bears the name of the soft drink. Hendrick Motorsports claims that over the years, the business has also “wrapped,” or embellished, a few different NASCAR cars.

In one such NASCAR sponsorship from that year, Mountain Dew covered Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s race vehicle. The front of the car prominently displayed the Baja Blast emblem. The Baja Blast’s well-known teal shade served as the foundation color. The organization adorned Chase Elliot’s car for the NASCAR Monster Energy Series contest at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

Why Is The Drink Called Baja Blast?

Taco Bell picked the name “Baja Blast” to honor Baja California, Mexico. Executives from Pepsi and Taco Bell were attempting to come up with ideas for their new beverage partnership while playing golf at a resort on the peninsula. They chose to just call the beverage Baja Fun because they were in Baja and having a blast. The beverage’s vibrant hue is meant to resemble the water off Baja’s shore. The distinct tint serves to emphasize that Baja Blast isn’t your typical Mountain Dew.

The term “Baja Blast” also reflects the food, which is “Mexican-inspired”. Additionally, the flavor is created to go well with Taco Bell’s cuisine. Baja Blast contains plenty of citrus, carbonation, and caffeine, much like the original Mountain Dew. To complement the chain’s beachy vibe, Taco Bell Baja Blast modifies the Mountain Dew recipe with a burst of tropical lime flavor.

Variations

The Mountain Dew Baja Blast comes in two primary variations. These ought to be available at any Taco Bell. The alternative is Mountain Dew Baja Blast Zero Sugar. The flavor of this beverage is intended to mimic the original. 

The Baja Blast soda has a delicious flavor with undertones of lime and pineapple and a vivid blue hue. Fans of Mountain Dew love it, and it has even appeared in computer games and motion pictures. Despite being widely consumed, the precise Baja Blast formula has remained a mystery. Although PepsiCo has never disclosed the whole list of ingredients, we do know that it contains citric acid and caffeine.

Baja Flash and Baja Punch are two less popular and more recent Mountain Dew flavors that are part of the Baja Blast collection. Baja Flash is designed to taste like pineapple and coconut, and Baja Punch is flavored with pineapple, orange, and cherry. The beverages also come in eye-catching new hues. Baja Flash is a brilliant yellow, while Baja Punch has an orange hue. Both were released in 2021. However, Mountain Dew only offered these tastes for a brief period of time. Baja Flash and Baja Punch are no longer available on Taco Bell’s beverage menu as of early 2022. 

Just a few years ago, Baja Blast lip balm was introduced to the market. It was intended to be a throwback product, like the food-flavored lip balms popular in the 1990s. Whether they wanted to or not, it gave lovers of the Taco Bell beverage the chance to include the beverage in their skincare regimen.

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Bottom Line

The Mountain Dew Baja Blast is known for being really spectacular. Unbelievably, the beverage has been around for almost 20 years, and it has been Taco Bell’s staple. The drink’s distinctively tasty combination of Mountain Dew and lime flavorings, as well as its brilliant teal color, have contributed to its popularity among diners. 

The Taco Bell beverage has managed to stick around for years while maintaining a devoted following. And even though it may not be the healthiest choice, it is still a favorite treat for Americans. 

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