1. By: Laura Capobianco

2.  The original name for Faygo was the Feigenson Brothers Bottle Works.  This company was both made and named by Ben and Perry Feigenson.  Their company had opened on November 4, 1907.  The brothers had started out as bakers in Russia.  The three original flavors for Ben and Perry’s drinks were: grape, strawberry, and fruit punch

3.  Oddly enough,these flavors were origanilly cake frosting recipes that the brothers had made.  In the early stages of their business, the bottled water and soda were sold seperately to their distributors.  Then, in 1915, this soft drink became known as “pop”. Simply because when you opened a bottle of it, the container made a popping sound. This was discovered by their seven ounce bottle.

4.  In 1922, Ben and Perry had bought a Ford truck and used it to deliver pop.  Then, in 1923, they would actually drive the delivery truck to your house and deliver your favorite drink.  By 1930, Faygo had came up with the idea of a twelve ounce bottle with which there was no paper or plastic label.  The bottle cap told you what kind of beverage you were buying.

5.  The brothers then moved to their current control center in the year 1935.  During World War II Faygo created their mixture for root beer which was a huge hit in Detroit.  Faygo’s “symbol” was made known in 1940.  The first commercial was for their root beer flavor in the 50’s which featured Black Bart.  Also during this time Faygo sold quarts of Black Cherry Soda for only 20 cents!

6.  In the 60’s Faygo introduced their Rock & Rye pop which was only one calorie.  Faygo became available to the public in cans for the first time around 1960.  Faygo merchandise was also in huge demand at this time. There were things like: playing cards, lighters, even salt and pepper shakers.  The first Faygo vending machines came out in 1970.

7.  Another renowned advertisement is “The Faygo Boat Song” done by “Gildersleeve”. People would sing on the Boblo Boat.  At this time, they also had Faygo clocks and Faygo themed restaurant menus.  2007 was their 100 th anniversary for which they sold cookbooks.  And finally, the two newest Faygo flavors: Diet Moon Mist and Diet Vanilla Creme Soda were sold to the public in 2009.

8.  St. Nick’s Red Grape  St. Nick's Orange Creme  St. Nick's Candy Cane Cola  St. Nick's Holiday Punch  St. Nick's Cranberry Smash  Some of the profits from these drinks go toward St. Jude’s Hospital during Christmas.

9.  They are still a major distributer of soft drinks in Michigan.  They are located at 3579 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit.

10.  I gathered all of my information from Faygo.com.