FAYGO
THE FOUNDATION OF FAYGO
Faygo was founded in November 1907 by Russian immigrant brothers Ben and Perry Feigenson in Detroit, Michigan. The company was originally known as the Feigenson Brothers Bottling Works, but the name was later shortened to Faygo to fit more easily on bottle labels. Drawing on their family's cake and frosting flavor recipes, the Feigenson brothers created a unique line of fruit-flavored sodas. They began experimenting adding the same flavorings they used in cake frosting to carbonated soda water, creating their first soda flavors: Fruit Punch, Strawberry, and Grape.Before Faygo became widely available in stores, the beverages were delivered by horse-drawn wagon and sold door to door allowing the brand to form a steady following.
A BOTTLE OF SUCCESS
In 1935 the brothers moved production to a larger bottling plant on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit to keep up with growing demand. Throughout the 1940s Faygo continuously released new flavors while improving their existing ones. Faygo utilized advertising campaigns introducing the Faygo Kid and the "Faygo Boat Song" making the company a household name throughout the mid-west region. As Faygo's popularity increased, wholesalers expanded the brand's distribution across the United States. The company also introduced a line of diet sodas, which soon retained nearly half of its overall sales. In 1986, the Feigenson family ended nearly 80 years of ownership by selling Faygo to TreeSweet Companies which was later acquired by the National Beverage Corporation that same year. Today, Faygo remains one of America's most recognizable regional soft drink brands, with its unique distinctive flavors and deep family roots continuing to make it a favorite among generations.
