Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Grooming
  3. News

Mountain Dew wants to be part of your grooming routine now

Brand power gets the ultimate test as Mountain Dew enters the skincare world

Mountain Dew Blind Barber collaboration
Blind Barber

Product collaborations between companies are always intriguing affairs, especially when the principles don’t have much in common. That’s definitely the case in this collab between soda giant Mountain Dew and Blind Barber, with the former making its first foray into the skincare world with three products based on its new flavor.

A flavorful collaboration

New Mountain Dew flavor
Mountain Dew

There’s a bit to unpack here, so explanations are necessary. Start with the flavors — the existing one is Baja Blast, which Mountain Dew describes as “iconic,” along with a new flavor called Baja Cabo Citrus that they say adds touches of mandarin and lime.

Recommended Videos

That combination leads into the skincare products, which come in a pair of packages. The first is Beach Bound: Refresh Kit, and it features a shampoo bar, body bar and body lotion trio inspired by Baja Blast. This package is available via Blind Barber starting April 16th.

The second package is Beach Bound: Body Spray Set. It includes two body sprays based on the Baja Cabo Citrus flavor, and this package is being billed as a “bottle the beach” experience. Same availability, i.e., you can find it on Blind Barber on April 16th.

The ultimate beach experience?

Mountain Dew new flavor
Mountain Dew

Not surprisingly, there are splashy promos that are part of this release. The Body Spray Set will be bundled with an 18-pack of the new Baja Cabo Citrus, and availability for these bundles will be on the Mountain Dew TikTok Shop on April 16th. A sweepstakes will also send one lucky entrant to Cabo San Lucas to get what will presumably be the ultimate beach experience.

So why Blind Barber? It’s a community-driven grooming brand co-founded by Jeff Laub that started as a barbershop with a hidden bar, but it’s now described as a “cultural hub” that blends grooming, nightlife and connection.

Connecting the dots isn’t all that hard to understand what the folks at Mountain Dew are up to here. Consumer brands like MD and Heineken are eyeing the growing interest in skincare products among younger men, and they’re looking to use their brand power to muscle their way into the market.

Will it work? The simplest answer to this question is “yes, if the skincare products are good,” but that’s also a simplistic take at best. This release comes with plenty of moving parts and pieces involved, and as a test of brand power it represents a fascinating marketing experiment.

Bob McCullough is a freelance author and journalist who has published dozens of novellas and novels, and his journalism has… Read Full Bio
No-Shave November vs. Movember: There’s a difference between these 2 causes
The Covenant

It is November yet again. And yes, while the most important cycle you may be preparing for is the defrosting of Mariah Carey and her All I Want for Christmas domination of the airwaves, there is another you are likely hitting right now. No-Shave November is in full swing. So while all your friends are a few days into tossing their razors and trimmers away for thirty days, others are focusing on a completely separate engagement: Movember.

Most people use these two phrases interchangeably, but they are entirely different, with different origins and focuses. So what is the difference between No-Shave November and Movember? Well, sit back and let me walk you through it so you know which one you are participating in and who exactly you are supporting when you do.

Read more
Live on the Cutting Edge with expert shave advice
Cutting Edge

When a man is coming of age, there is a rite of passage he must go through. If he is lucky, he has a father who will teach him. But he must learn to shave. Whether you are a guy who loves the Harvey Specter clean-shaven look or a guy who wants to look like the wild man in the wilderness, you still need to perfect this process. Every man needs some good shaving tips. If you are a father of a son, this is a ritual you are looking forward to teaching your son. And you will cherish that moment, among others, as they move on in their life.

If you aren’t someone lucky enough to have a father or grandfather you can look to for the wisdom of the shave, then you’re the person we’re looking for here. I remember my father teaching me. So it is important to pass on the information to you. In true Mark style, I reached out to my friends at Cutting Edge and got expert information from a leader in the industry.

Read more
How The Beard Club Helped Me Grow a Beard
John Jones after beard growth

I was a failure … the facial hair equivalent of a 90-pound weakling. It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t grow a beard; it was more that whatever facial hair I did grow felt like a Velcroed-on Brillo pad: super uncomfortable and leaving my skin itchy and broken out. As Movember and No-Shave November came and went, I made two separate attempts at beard growth … each ending with a sprint into the bathroom when I could stand it no more, trimmer in hand, welcoming back the clean-shaven face I know so well. It wasn’t the first time I’d given up on hirsute happiness. 

When December rolled around, I decided to pay attention to an email I’d gotten for something called The Beard Club, a subscription service for beard care products. The Club’s premise was “helping first-timers as well as seasoned hirsute gentleman to up their grooming game.” I couldn’t resist and threw down the gauntlet. Could they help even me? After all, the site’s tag line is “Don’t Grow it Alone.”

Read more