Mountain Dew and Duke Cannon have teamed up on a limited-edition grooming collection timed to the final weeks of summer, putting a beverage brand's identity directly on retail shelf space in the personal care aisle. The Bold Citrus and Good Times collection — a lemon and eucalyptus-scented body wash and bar soap — is available exclusively at Walmart stores and on Walmart.com through the end of September.
The Retail Play
The exclusive Walmart placement is central to the partnership's strategy. A Bold Citrus Bundle, live on Walmart.com beginning September 1, packages a 12-pack of Mountain Dew alongside the Duke Cannon THICK Body Wash and signature Puck of Soap — linking a beverage impulse purchase directly to a grooming product trial. The bundled format is a notable retail tactic: it cross-merchandises a PepsiCo beverage with a premium men's grooming SKU, potentially driving basket size in categories that rarely share shelf space. The partnership was facilitated by IMG Licensing.
Brand Licensing as a Beverage Strategy
For Mountain Dew, the collaboration is part of a broader pattern of beverage brands extending their identity into lifestyle and personal care categories — a move that deepens consumer engagement beyond the point of purchase. PepsiCo, Mountain Dew's parent company, generated nearly $94 billion in net revenue in 2025, with Mountain Dew among the portfolio brands that each generate more than $1 billion in estimated annual retail sales. Licensing the brand into adjacent categories like men's grooming keeps Mountain Dew visible in retail environments where beverages typically don't appear.
Duke Cannon Marketing Director Kathy Dixon framed the partnership around a shared consumer: "Whether you're washing off a day outside or gearing up for whatever comes next, this collaboration celebrates the folks who are up for any adventure."
For hospitality and foodservice operators tracking how major beverage brands build loyalty beyond the can, this kind of cross-category retail activation reflects a growing trend in beverage brand licensing and consumer engagement. Operators sourcing branded beverage partnerships for venues or retail activations may find the bundling model instructive — pairing a beverage SKU with a lifestyle product to drive trial and purchase simultaneously.
The collection's outdoor-inspired positioning also aligns with summer-to-fall seasonal transitions that restaurant and hospitality operators navigate in their own product and menu rotations. The limited availability window — through the end of September — reinforces urgency and positions the collaboration as a seasonal drop rather than a permanent line extension.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
