If you walked into a gas station last October and grabbed a bottle of that cloudy, white mystery liquid, you probably felt that familiar "spooky season" itch. Mountain Dew has been playing this game since 2019. Every year, they drop a VooDew flavor, keep us guessing for weeks, and then finally reveal the truth on Halloween. But honestly? The 2024 reveal was a bit of a weird one.
So, let's just get the big answer out of the way immediately. The official flavor of VooDew 2024 is Pink Fruit Candy.
That’s it. That is the "official" answer from Mountain Dew themselves. If you’re thinking, "Wait, that’s not a specific candy name," you aren't alone. In years past, we've had clear winners like Cherry Airheads or Candy Corn. This time around, the branding felt… generic. But if you actually tasted the stuff, you know there was one specific candy screaming for attention in every sip.
What it actually tastes like (and the Starburst theory)
Even though the label says "Pink Fruit Candy," let’s be real. It’s Pink Starburst.
Pretty much everyone who touched a bottle of VooDew 6.0 (that's the 2024 edition) knew it within the first three seconds. It has that very specific, waxy, artificial strawberry punch that defines the pink Starburst. It’s not a "natural" strawberry. It’s that sugary, slightly tart, creamy strawberry flavor that only exists in the candy aisle.
Why the generic name?
There was a ton of drama online about why Mountain Dew didn't just call it "Pink Starburst." Rumors flew around Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) that a deal with the Wrigley Company—the folks who own Starburst—fell through at the last minute.
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- The Evidence: Earlier in the season, the official Mountain Dew account actually replied to a fan on X who guessed "Pink Starburst" with a very wink-wink-nudge-nudge comment.
- The Vanishing Act: That tweet was deleted shortly after.
- The Reveal: When Halloween finally rolled around, the "backward graphic" they posted to mirrors just said "Pink Fruit Candy."
It felt a little anticlimactic for the hardcore "Dew nerds." Usually, the collaboration is the big payoff. 2023 was a massive hit because they explicitly partnered with Airheads. Without the brand name, 2024 felt like a generic version of a name-brand snack.
A walk down memory lane: The VooDew Legacy
To understand why people were so obsessed with the 2024 flavor, you have to look at the track record. Mountain Dew has basically turned Halloween into a flavor-guessing sport.
- 2019 (VooDew 1.0): Candy Corn. (A controversial start, to say the least).
- 2020 (VooDew 2.0): Fruit Candy Explosion. (Most people agreed it was Skittles).
- 2021 (VooDew 3.0): Fruit Candy Chews. (This was the "all flavors" Starburst year).
- 2022 (VooDew 4.0): Sour Candy. (Basically a liquid Sour Patch Kid).
- 2023 (VooDew 5.0): Cherry Airheads. (The first "official" brand collab).
- 2024 (VooDew 6.0): Pink Fruit Candy. (The one we're talking about now).
It’s interesting because 2024 was sort of a remix of 2021. Back in '21, it was the whole pack of Starbursts. In 2024, they narrowed it down to just the "Pink" one, which—as everyone knows—is the only flavor people actually fight over in the bag.
Is it actually any good?
Honestly? It’s polarizing.
The drink itself is that signature "VooDew white." It’s cloudy and opaque, which hides the color so you can't guess the flavor based on sight. If you’re a fan of super sweet, strawberry-adjacent sodas, you probably loved it. It’s definitely less "citrusy" than your standard Mtn Dew.
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Some people, like the reviewers over at Sporked, absolutely raved about it, calling it one of the best in the series. Others found the "aftertaste" a little weird. There’s a specific chemical note that comes with trying to replicate "chewy" candy in a liquid format. If you’ve ever used a strawberry-flavored lip balm, you know exactly the taste I’m talking about.
The Zero Sugar version
Surprisingly, the Zero Sugar version of VooDew 2024 held up pretty well. Usually, the "mystery" flavors get a bit thin when you take out the syrup. But the strawberry candy flavor is so strong that it covers up a lot of the artificial sweetener funk. It still has that "zing," but it’s a bit lighter on the tongue.
The Circle K Twist
One thing that made 2024 unique was the Circle K partnership. For the first time, you could get the mystery flavor as a "Froster"—basically a Slurpee version. They even sold these color-changing cups with glow-in-the-dark lids.
If you tried it frozen, the flavor profile shifted. Cold suppresses sweetness, so the "tart" notes of the "Pink Fruit Candy" came out way more. It tasted less like a chewy candy and more like a strawberry Italian ice.
The 2026 Perspective: Where do we go now?
Now that we've seen the 2024 cycle end and 2025 pass us by, the VooDew tradition is reaching a weird crossroads. People are starting to ask if there are even any candies left to turn into soda.
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There’s been talk about "Sour Strips" or maybe even "Gummy Worms" for future years. But for now, 2024 stands as the "Pink Starburst that wasn't allowed to be called Pink Starburst." It was a solid entry, even if the legal paperwork behind the scenes made the reveal feel a little corporate.
What to do if you missed it
Since this was a limited-edition Halloween run, you aren't going to find fresh bottles on the shelf anymore. However, if you're desperate for that taste, you can basically recreate it.
Mix a Strawberry Starburst Cirkul sip or a Strawberry Sunkist with a little bit of standard Mountain Dew. It’s not a perfect science, but it gets you about 90% of the way to that "Pink Fruit Candy" vibe. Just don't expect the cloudy white color unless you're a chemist.
If you happen to find a stray bottle in a dusty corner store, check the expiration date. These high-sugar sodas last a while, but "Pink Fruit Candy" starts to taste like "Plastic Bottle" if it sits in the sun for too long.
Keep an eye out for the 2026 rumors starting this summer. The "Dew Drinker" community usually leaks the next flavor by July, and if history repeats itself, we’re probably due for another official brand partnership to make up for the 2024 "generic" branding.