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Soda Pop of the Week: Buffalo Rock
by Ann of Retro PlanetBuffalo Rock Soda-Birmingham Alabama
“Taste the Difference”
The Buffalo Rock Company was started 1901 when the owner of the Alabama Grocery Company, Sid Lee, and a local chemist invented Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale. Their intent had been to create a tonic using ginger that would relieve stomach ailments, but instead they developed a drink that when drunk cold, was a relief from the southern heat. With the drink’s success, there was a shift from the grocery business to the making and distribution of soft drinks and in 1927 they changed their name to the Buffalo Rock Company. For 30 years, their primary products were Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale, Mission Orange, Mission Grape and B-1.
James C. Lee took the helm after his father’s passing, and in 1951 the company bought the Birmingham Pepsi-Cola franchise and began bottling Dr Pepper and 7-Up in addition to their other products. This made Buffalo Rock the first bottler to produce three major soda brands in one plant. They added Grapico in 1981, and Dr. Wham in 2005.
It was the Buffalo Rock Company that introduced the 3-liter bottle in 1984. First used for Pepsi-Cola, it is still available on today’s store shelves. This innovative company also introduced the 20-pak mini-case for 12-ounce cans and 12- and 20-ounce bottles.
Today the Buffalo Rock Co. is among the largest single-family owned Pepsi-Cola bottlers in the US, operating 14 distribution centers in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Buffalo Rock Company
111 Oxmoor Road
Birmingham, Alabama
Do you have an experience to share in regard to this 100-plus year-old soda company? Please blog-in and share it with us.
Posted
Saturday, July 26th, 2008 at 5:58 pm EST by Ann
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