How Faygo Soda Became A Classic Michigan Drink

Over the years, Detroit has been known for many things. It's been the epicenter of the world's automobile industry, the birthplace of Motown, and the home of MLB's Tigers and the NFL's Lions, but it shouldn't be overlooked for its culinary offerings. There's its pan pizza, the city's rich, chocolatey, and creamy bumpy cake, and of course Faygo soda. There are few pop that have such deep ties to a single city and state.

While Faygo may not be America's oldest soda — that honor belongs to another Michigan-born brand, Vernors, a ginger-ale invented in 1866 — it is arguably the most beloved in Michigan. Faygo and Detroit, where it's still made, grew up together. More importantly, ever since the day two Jewish brothers arrived from Russia and launched the company in 1907, Faygo has stuck around through the city's many ups and downs. Also, unlike many other soda companies, owners Perry and Ben Feigenson never expanded beyond the region, maintaining a hometown focus that has kept it a local favorite.

At the turn of the century, Detroit was a major destination for immigrants. Among these newcomers were Perry and Ben Feigenson. Perry was a baker by trade but after a short stint in that profession, he decided to try his hand in selling soda water and then pop. With the help of his brother Ben, he began experimenting with flavors — strawberry (known as "red pop"), grape, and fruit punch — that were based on frosting recipes. One reason Faygo stayed local had to do with the drink's inability to stay fizzy for long, which meant it couldn't travel long distances. They fixed the issue when the factory changed its water filtration system in the 1950s. By the next decade, the soda began appearing outside Michigan. But like smaller brands from other regions — like the South's Cheerwine, the cherry-flavored soda enjoyed by five U.S. presidents — Faygo continued to maintain a local focus.

Faygo even changed the state's vocabulary. The company didn't invent the word "pop" — it had been in use with fizzy soft drinks since the 1800s — but Faygo's adoption of the term led to its use in Michigan. "Faygo has been ahead of most any other company in insisting that we call it pop, and because of that, the Detroit area calls it 'pop' more frequently than any other part of the country," Joe Grimm, author of "The Faygo Book," told Michigan Public in 2018.