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On average, Americans consume 45 gallons of soda per person per year. Chances are you have drunk, or at least know, Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, or Mountain Dew. But what about Faygo? What is Faygo?
Faygo is a brand of soda pop manufactured by Faygo Beverages Inc, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The beverage is commonly sold in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions in the US and also in some countries overseas. Faygo comes in many flavors, but the Red Pop is the most popular.
This post will explore Faygo pop and what makes it so popular with many. We will also attempt to answer questions you may have about the drink, such as whether it has caffeine and alcohol and where you can purchase it.
What Is Faygo?
Faygo Pop refers to the sodas made by Faygo Beverages Inc from Detroit, Michigan. You may see Faygos on sale in Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions. There are over 50 flavors of Faygo, with new flavors and low-selling ones removed every quarter.
Common to many American corporations, Faygo started humbly. At the time, Ben and Perry Feigenson, recent immigrants from Russia, started the company in 1907 as Feigenson Brothers Bottle Works. They were initially bakers back in Russia.
The three original flavors of their sodas were fruit punch, strawberry, and grape and were based on the recipes for cake frosting passed down in their family. As the business grew, they were able to build a new bottling plant at Beaubien Street in Detroit.
The company renamed itself Faygo in 1921 and relocated again to Gratiot Avenue in 1935, where it still operates. Faygo started gaining regional fame when it became the sponsor of the Detroit Tigers baseball team in the 1960s.
The Ohana line of diet sodas came about in the 1960s as more demanded healthier sodas. Faygo also renamed its original strawberry soda into the name ‘RedPop’ in the late 60s. Faygo was eventually acquired by National beverage Corp in 1987.
The beverage company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007 with a public competition. This resulted in the creation of a new flavor called the Centennial Soda the same year.
Today, Faygo makes sodas, low-calorie sodas (under the Ohana sub-line), punches, ice tea, and lemonade. Aside from the famous RedPop, Faygo also is said to make the best Root Beer by Bon Appetit magazine in 2009.
You may like this article: Is Dr. Pepper A Coke Product?
Why Is Faygo So Popular?
Faygo is popular due to its extensive flavor offerings and frequent introduction of new flavors. It is also great as a mixer and famous within the hip-hop scene. As a result, Faygo seems to have developed a cult-like following, especially with mid-westerners who love the drink.
Faygo is not sold nationwide, so you may be unable to pick up a Faygo if you live outside the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern states. But within these areas, Faygo is very popular and has almost a cult-like legion of fans.
Extensive Flavor Offerings
Faygo offers over 50+ types of flavors across its range of drinks. The types of flavor can be very eccentric and are usually not offered by other beverage companies.
For example, one of the great selling flavors, the Arctic Sun, is a mixture of grapefruit and cherry. This soda mix is seldom made by other major soda makers. The same goes for other mixes such as the Moon Mist Blue (lemon, lime, and berry) and Rock and Rye (creme soda and cherry)
As a result, if you have sampled these soda flavors and like them, you have no choice but to keep returning to Faygo to get your fix.
Frequent New Flavors
Faygo executives are known to sit down every three months and review their soda offerings. In the meeting, non-performing flavors are removed, and new flavors are introduced to replace them.
As a result, Faygo fans would wait in excitement every three months to introduce new flavors from Faygo. When new flavors are announced, dedicated fans may travel to shops to pick up these flavors to try out.
As a result, new flavors can run out of stock quickly, further driving up people’s curiosity and demand for the drink. Out-of-region buyers are also known to purchase Faygo drinks online.
Great As Mixers
Faygo drinks, being eccentric and novel in their flavors, naturally become a great source of flavors for mixologists to experiment with. As a result, Faygo has a reputation as a great mixer. Faygo’s Creme Soda, Rock and Rye, and Tonic Water are favorites with mixologists.
Popularity Within Hip-Hop Scenes
Sodas may be the last thing you would associate with hip-hop. Expensive champagne and liquor are more likely. But yes, Faygo is surprisingly popular within Detroit’s hip-hop scene.
One of Detroit’s most iconic underground Hip-Hop acts, the Insane Clown Posse (ICP), has mentioned Faygo multiple times in their songs. The duo are also drinkers of Faygo, and this has also made their fans do the same.
In fact, ICP has a habit of giving Faygo showers to their fans during their shows. The tradition started in a somewhat accidental fashion. It started when the duo threw a bottle of Faygo at their fans, and the fans were enthusiastically excited about it.
From that day onwards, ICP’s show usually incorporated ‘Faygo Showers’, where the duo would spray the drink to their fans.
Aside from ICP, many Hip-Hop artists and rappers also mention Faygo in their songs. Lil Mosey released the song “Blueberry Faygo” in 2020. Jiosavn also released the song “Faygo Cream,” featuring Lil Duke. In his webcomic ‘Homestuck,’ Andrew Hussey also mentioned Faygo pops multiple times.
What Flavors Does Faygo Have?
At any point, Faygo may produce up to 50+ flavors for sale. Some are staple offerings such as RedPop or Root Beer, while new flavors are introduced every quarter. Due to poor sales, some flavors may stop production but may still be purchasable on the market.
At the time of writing, you may purchase up to 50+ flavors of Faygo pops:
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Many of these flavors are the mainstay, for example, their Ohana Lemonade & Ice Tea, the RedPop, or the Root Beer. Some are newly introduced flavors and may either become long-term or removed from production, depending on sales and popularity.
Does Faygo Have Caffeine?
Some of the flavors from Faygo have caffeine. Some have higher amounts of caffeine than other flavors. However, the caffeine level is not excessive and only similar to levels found on typical sodas.
Many of Faygo’s drinks are caffeine free, although some do have caffeine in them. For example, Faygo Cola has about 3.58mg of caffeine per every fl oz (12.12mg per 100ml). That’s around 43 mg of caffeine for a 12 fl oz (355ml) can.
When you compare this with popular sodas such as Diet Coke. It is roughly similar. You will ingest about 46 mg of caffeine for a 12 fl oz (355ml) can of Diet Coke.
When you compare the readings here with energy drinks, the amount of caffeine may be minimal here. A similar amount (12 fl oz / 355 ml) of Monster Energy drink would give you 126mg of caffeine, almost three times that of Faygo Cola.
You may like this article: Does Dr. Pepper Have Caffeine?
Does Faygo Have Alcohol?
Faygo does not make or sell alcoholic drinks. However, Faygo’s sodas have been inspiring many local Detroit breweries to create beers with flavors close to it as a homage.
Faygo, at the time of writing, only focuses on producing and selling sodas, low-calorie sodas, punches, ice tea, and lemonade. There are no alcoholic beverages on offer in its product lineup.
The closest Faygo ever got to brewing beer was the Faygo Brau (brew in German) in the 1960s. The Faygo Brau was intended to be a non-alcoholic ginger beer, but it did not sell well and was shelved.
However, Faygo’s popularity has resulted in many breweries drawing inspiration from it and attempting to create beers with a similar flavor to Faygo sodas. The Detroit Beer Experiment, a collective of local Detroit-based microbrewers, has introduced craft beers such as the Lunar Spritz IPA, modeled after the Faygo Moon Mist.
There is also the Scotch Cherry Whoop Whoop, whose inspiration comes from Faygo Rock and Rye. The Cotton Candy Berliner Weisse takes its flavor after the Faygo Cotton Candy.
Where Can I Get Faygo?
Faygo can be easily purchased on supermarket and mart shelves in the US’s Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions. For regions outside, buying online may be the best option. Faygo may also be purchased internationally, such as in Europe.
Faygo, since its inception, has never attempted to be a national soda company. They are first limited to their production capability. Later their sodas cannot survive long transports. Its current owner, the National Beverage Corporation, is happy to let Faygo remain in its current region.
As a result, you may probably find it challenging to buy Faygo outside of the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions in the US. If you are in the other regions of the US, your best choice is to purchase online, such as from Walmart or Amazon. Many expat midwesterners who lived outside their home region do this.
Faygo may be available in select countries for international customers, depending on if there are distributors. You may be able to find Faygo on offer in Europe and Australia, as there are official distributors of Faygo sodas there.
