Coke Plans to Introduce Citrus Drink

Can it outdo the Dew?

Coca-Cola’s new citrus drink is green, high in calories and loaded with caffeine, and the company is betting millions it can lure young consumers who have made Pepsi’s Mountain Dew one of the hottest-selling soft drinks in America.

Analysts say Surge, which Coke announced Monday, is a gamble but worth a shot in a market where other citrus soft drinks have fizzled.

“Coke is turning its guns on Pepsi,” said Tom Pirko, an analyst with the New York-based Bevmark consulting firm. “It’s looking for any conceivable weakness in Pepsi right now because Pepsi is going through a transition.”

On the New York Stock Exchange, Coke gained 25 cents to close at $48.125 a share, while Pepsi parent PepsiCo slipped 12.5 cents to $29.

Is Pepsi nervous? Nah.

“Mountain Dew has had a lot of people trying to compete with it, including Coke,” said Brad Shaw, spokesman for PepsiCo. “The wide array of wannabes have all failed to put a dent in Dew.

“It’s going to be tough enough going up against this brand,” Shaw said. “This simply makes it more of a challenge next year for them.”

Surge is made up of several citrus flavors, has an energy-boosting carbohydrate called maltodextrin and has roughly the same caffeine and calories as Mountain Dew. The 12-ounce cans also have wide mouths, a first for a Coca-Cola product.

“We think this will have great appeal,” Coca-Cola spokesman Rob Baskin said. “It tastes terrific and it has a wide mouth so you can drink more of it more quickly.

“It’s a fun, high-energy drink for high-energy people,” he said. “We think we’ve done our homework.”

Coca-Cola plans to unveil the lime-colored cans on TV during the Super Bowl next month.

Surge is Coke’s biggest gamble on a soda brand since its decision in 1985 to replace the Coca-Cola formula with New Coke, a flop that cost the Atlanta-based company $35 million. It’s prepared to spend $50 million on marketing Surge.

A similar Coca-Cola product, but with an orange color, has been test-marketed in Norway for eight months under the name Urge.