Mountain Dew has decided to go small, and it’s not shrinkflation. Yes, the PepsiCo brand has a new smaller size, but it also comes with a new, smaller price tag.
“Mountain Dew just solved your stocking stuffer shortage,” the SodaSeekers Instagram page shared, along with a photo of three new 7.5-ounce Mountain Dew cans being sold exclusively at Walmart.
The retailer shows the can for sale on its website, and Walmart will have three exclusive flavors:
- Baja Blast
- Baja Blast Zero Sugar
- Baja Cabo Citrus Zero Sugar
That’s not a new can size for the chain, but the cans are being sold individually for $0.50 each. That compares to a 6-pack of the Mountain Dew Citrus Pop flavor selling at Walmart.com for $5.47, or just over $0.91 each.
Target sells a 10-pack of the Citrus flavor online for $7.69, or just about $0.77 per can.
Mountain Dew and Walmart are doing something clever
Back when I ran a large toy store, Time Machine Hobby in Manchester, Conn., we remodeled our entire store layout for the Christmas season.
Why? While we might have closed every sale on a $1,000 train set, a $400 dollhouse, or even a $60 deluxe board game, we still wanted to sell people stocking stuffers on the way out the door.
During most of the year, we actually had some items in the front below $5, but for the holiday season, $5 was a starting point, and $10 was more common, because people were going to buy, and giving them a low-cost option took money out of our cash register.
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Walmart has a different problem. It’s a destination for both groceries and Christmas shopping. It wants to sell you Christmas dinner, a new large-screen TV, and appealing stocking stuffers.
Cheap Mountain Dew cans in semi-collectible flavors allow a family to stretch its gift budget and help make sure that stockings are full.
Walmart also wants to hit every possible price point. The Mountain Dew offering does that with a big-name brand whose large following can behave like a cult when it comes to flavors and packaging.
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LTO beverages allow for affordable indulgence
Whether it’s Starbucks bringing back the Unicorn Frappuccino or Coca-Cola and PepsiCo rolling out new limited-time-offer (LTO) flavors, these drinks give people permission to be a little naughty.
“When something is framed as being a special opportunity — like the products we’ve been discussing — we take a license to indulge. We say, ‘OK, this Peeps Pepsi doesn’t come out all the time, so I have the right to go out and treat myself without worrying about my nutrition,'” wrote Julio Sevilla, professor of marketing at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.
That can be of greater value during challenging economic times.
RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino explained that the idea of “affordable indulgence” allows people to treat themselves without feeling like they’ve made a bad financial decision.
He commented to TheStreet on McDonald’s efforts to follow Starbucks, Walmart, and others into this space.
“We have an issue of economy, and I think a McDonald’s is that low entry point, and if all you want to do is have a drink and feel special, that McDonald’s entry point might be the trick,” he wrote.
More recent soda LTOs
Much as Starbucks and now McDonald’s have elevated their beverage offerings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper are doing the same. These are just some of the brands’ 2026 releases:
- Pepsi Vanilla & Cream: Vanilla and cream-flavored Pepsi, including Zero Sugar. Launched Oct. 19 for a limited holiday run, according to PepsiCo.
- Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla: Holiday-themed creamy vanilla Coke, introduced in November 2025, Parade reported.
- Mountain Dew x Trolli Mango Pineapple Punch: Collaboration featuring mango, pineapple, and a hint of strawberry. Available from August through October, including a Walmart-exclusive promotional kit, according to a PepsiCo announcement.
- Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut: Returning limited-time flavor combining Dr Pepper with coconut. Its comeback followed strong consumer demand for the 2024 release, according to a Keurig Dr Pepper press release.
- A&W Root Beer Float: Limited-time root beer with a creamy vanilla profile inspired by a traditional root beer float, Keurig Dr Pepper shared.
- 7UP Shirley Temple: Returning for the 2026 holiday season, combining pomegranate and lemon-lime flavor, added Keurig Dr Pepper.
Related: Kroger, Albertsons, Publix have a pricing problem they can’t fix
