Baja Blast facts for kids
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| Type | Citrus soft drink |
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| Manufacturer | PepsiCo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 2004 |
| Related products | |
Mountain Dew Baja Blast is a super popular tropical lime-flavored soda. It was first made just for Taco Bell restaurants. Since it first came out in 2004, Baja Blast has grown a lot! Now there are new flavors, energy drinks, and even cool stuff like clothes.
The Story of Baja Blast
The yummy Baja Blast flavor first appeared in 2004. It was made especially for Taco Bell restaurants. This was a special team-up between Taco Bell and PepsiCo, who own Mountain Dew.
Baja Blast was one of the first times a restaurant offered its own special soda. It was created to help sell more drinks at Taco Bell. The new flavor was a big deal and was advertised a lot when it first launched.
In 2014, ten years after it first came out, Baja Blast was sold in stores for the first time. You could buy it in bottles and cans, but only for a short time. Famous race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. helped promote the drink in ads.
In 2015, Baja Blast came back to stores for another limited time.
In 2016, Baja Blast was part of a fun "DEWcision" contest. It went head-to-head with another Mountain Dew flavor called Pitch Black. Fans got to vote for their favorite. The winning flavor would stay on store shelves forever! There were lots of ads and even a special event like the TV show "Guts." In the end, Pitch Black won the vote, so Baja Blast left stores again.
But don't worry! Baja Blast started coming back to stores every year since 2018 for a limited time. A version with zero sugar was also offered starting in 2019.
In 2019, Taco Bell celebrated Baja Blast's 15th birthday! They offered a special birthday-themed Baja Blast freeze. Some Taco Bell locations even offered a special "Mountain Dew Baja Blast Twisted Freeze." In 2021, Taco Bell also offered a "Baja Blast Colada" freeze.
In 2022, Baja Blast became part of the Hard Mountain Dew line of drinks. It also joined the Mountain Dew Energy line of energy drinks later that year.
The Baja Blast brand has grown to include cool merchandise. You can find things like lip balm, room sprays, and even Halloween costumes! In 2023, a special Baja Blast hot sauce was made for a giveaway.
Taco Bell even tried out a Baja Blast gelato in August 2023. It was available for two weeks at one location in California.
In January 2024, Pepsi announced exciting news! To celebrate Baja Blast's 20th anniversary, it will stay on store shelves all year long. This "20th Bajaversary" event will also have special promotions and even a commercial during the Super Bowl LVIII.
Awesome Baja Flavors
In 2021, Baja Blast came back to stores as part of the "Summer of Baja" event. It brought along some new "spinoff" flavors:
- Baja Punch was a tropical punch flavor.
- Baja Flash tasted like pina colada.
In June 2022, Baja Blast returned to stores with even more new flavors:
- Baja Gold was a pineapple flavor.
- Baja Mango Gem tasted like mango.
- Baja Deep Dive was a mystery flavor that you could only win as a prize!
The Hard Mountain Dew line, which has special drinks, also offers Baja Blast. In May 2023, a Baja Blast variety pack was announced. It included new flavors like Hard Baja Blast Pineapple, Hard Baja Blast Punch, and Hard Baja Blast Mango.
Soon after, in June 2023, Baja Blast was released in stores again. This time, it came with two more new flavors:
- Baja Caribbean Splash was a guava flavor.
- Baja Passionfruit Punch tasted like passionfruit.
In March 2024, Pepsi released two new flavors for a limited time:
- Baja Laguna Lemonade was a mango lemonade flavor.
- Baja Point Break Punch was another tropical punch flavor.
In April, Doritos even released a limited-time chip flavor inspired by Baja Blast called Doritos Baja Fiery Mango.
See also
- List of soft drink brands
