When coming up with ideas for this blog I knew that I didn't want it to be just about the restaurants, but also other food related topics including products made in this area. If you were to ask anyone to name one food product that was made in Detroit, I'm willing to bet most people would say Faygo.
Faygo w
as started in 1907 by two Russian immigrant brothers, Ben and Perry Feigenson who were trained as bakers. The first few flavor sodas they produced were strawberry (which is now called Redpop), grape, and fruit punch. They sold their sodas on a horse drawn carriage for three cents 
(does this mean we will pay $33 for a bottle of it in a hundred years..yikes!). After the company began to grow, they introduced a few more flavors which included Sassafras Soda, which was later changed to Root Beer...Sassafras Floats sounds so much funner! In 1921, they changed the name to Faygo and soon after introduced one of their most classic flavors, Rock & Rye. Ever wonder why they call it that? Well, I'm going to tell you...it was named after a popular jazz-age drink, rye whiskey which was served over a "rock" of sugar. Faygo later hired Doner to to create advertisements on television and thank god they did! They came up with ads that featured the Faygo Kid. The company also sponsored the popular children's program of comic Soupy Sales, who pitched the company's soda with the line, "George Washington may be the father of our country, but Faygo's the pop." I love that! And who can forget this commercial:
as started in 1907 by two Russian immigrant brothers, Ben and Perry Feigenson who were trained as bakers. The first few flavor sodas they produced were strawberry (which is now called Redpop), grape, and fruit punch. They sold their sodas on a horse drawn carriage for three cents 
(does this mean we will pay $33 for a bottle of it in a hundred years..yikes!). After the company began to grow, they introduced a few more flavors which included Sassafras Soda, which was later changed to Root Beer...Sassafras Floats sounds so much funner! In 1921, they changed the name to Faygo and soon after introduced one of their most classic flavors, Rock & Rye. Ever wonder why they call it that? Well, I'm going to tell you...it was named after a popular jazz-age drink, rye whiskey which was served over a "rock" of sugar. Faygo later hired Doner to to create advertisements on television and thank god they did! They came up with ads that featured the Faygo Kid. The company also sponsored the popular children's program of comic Soupy Sales, who pitched the company's soda with the line, "George Washington may be the father of our country, but Faygo's the pop." I love that! And who can forget this commercial: You can thank me later for that song being stuck in your head for days!
In the 1990s, Faygo received some publicity from the Detroit rap group, I
nsane Clown Posse. They included Faygo in some of their lyrics and would often spray audiences with shaken bottles of Faygo. They celebrated their 100 year anniversary in 2007 with billboards throughout the city that embedded a bottle of Faygo in the word "Detroit" and the numbers, "313." Simple, yet brilliant! Recently they switched the ingredients in the glass bottles to cane sugar, making it even better! Hands down, Faygo deserves five forks out of five.
nsane Clown Posse. They included Faygo in some of their lyrics and would often spray audiences with shaken bottles of Faygo. They celebrated their 100 year anniversary in 2007 with billboards throughout the city that embedded a bottle of Faygo in the word "Detroit" and the numbers, "313." Simple, yet brilliant! Recently they switched the ingredients in the glass bottles to cane sugar, making it even better! Hands down, Faygo deserves five forks out of five.
YUM FAYGO MY FAVORITE IS ROCK AND RYE, I'M DRINKING IT NOW!!
ReplyDeleteMY HUSBAND AND I GO BACK AND FORTH. HE SAYS RED POP
DEBBIE AND JERRY
An aside to your story: Mort and Jackie Feigenson were long time residents in a Mies van der Rohe courthouse in Lafayette Park. Jackie Feigenson was a major force in the local art world in the 1970s and 80s. She owned the Feigenson Gallery in the Fisher Building where she showed the best of local art from the Cass Corridor school. Many of her artists went on to national recognition.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for the Faygo song that's now stuck in my head.
The only orange pop worth drinking is Faygo orange. It's got aged orange juice in it, or so I've heard. You can get the retro-cool glass bottles at finer markets in the Detroit area, and those are the best way to drink Faygo orange.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if anyone can verify an urban legand? I've been told that new flavors were developed for Faygo in a basement in a home in Jackson, Michigan. Does anybody know if this is true?
ReplyDelete