While serving in the Korean War, Floyd Hartwig of Shawano heard talk of a growing business. That business was soda bottling and Hartwig was so sure of its potential that he sent his paychecks home to invest in bottling equipment.
When Floyd, nicknamed Twig, returned home, he began to build a bottling plant, and in 1951, Twig’s Beverage was born. Although the business started on a shoestring, he persevered. Even as other bottlers were forced to close during adverse economic conditions, Twig grew the business and it became a well-known fixture in Shawano.
When Twig was nearing retirement, his son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Diane, took over to ensure that the business would continue to be family-operated. Product lines were expanded, and from an early age, the couple’s three sons, Lucas, Jake, and Ben, joined in.
The original site remains, but as the second and now third generations have taken over management responsibilities, the business continues to innovate and grow.
Ben said, “We’ve always been part of the business. When we were young, we’d sort out the returnable bottles and put them in the right cases, fill the pop machines, and help on the line.”
After graduating from high school, Ben enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he began a marketing major. While there, he heard about and was accepted into Disney College, a national internship program that provides on-the-job experience. To attend, he took a break from college.
“When I got to Disney, I loved it,” he said. “The job was amazing and as I interacted with guests and chatted with people about what had brought them to the park, I learned about customer service and the importance of meeting their expectations.”
After completing the internship, Ben went back to Shawano in 2016. He transferred to UW-Whitewater to finish his marketing degree and started working at Twig’s while going to school. He also began to take on more responsibility.
To understand the new roles, Ben shadowed his favorite mentor, his dad, and began to learn more about the variety of jobs that keep the business operating smoothly.
After taking over as second-generation owner, Dan, along with Diane, had expanded products and distribution locations, added a non-glass bottle option, developed a co-packing program, and worked to increase sales in a broader area.
“My dad wanted to teach me so that I will be able to take over for him when he retires,” Ben said.
These roles and many others have become commonplace as his dad begins to ease away from the business. Ben works with the production crews, checks schedules, reviews orders, meets with family members and employees, makes sure products will be ready for pickup by distributors, and handles much of the marketing
He uses interactive marketing on social media with drawings and contests to add followers, and co-sponsors many events and activities in Shawano. In the past few years, he has added social media influencers. Best known of those is Jaime Lee, the Sun Drop Girl and brand ambassador.
“Jaime Lee goes to places around town and does monthly visits to businesses that carry our products and promotes them,” Ben said. “She does a lot of work for us and comes up with most of the ideas on her own. One of those is to feature a golden boy and golden girl every year. This is a fourth-grade student who is recommended by a school and gets to spend the year taking part in fun events.”
As the local bottler for Sun Drop, it is the major seller for Twig’s Beverage, Shawano.
One of those fun events is SunDrop Dayz, an event that is held the first weekend in June. The event was developed by a Leadership Shawano County Class in 2016 and continues as a community organized event that has grown in popularity. Features include multiple food trucks, bands, craft sales, a 5K run/walk, museum visits, a shuttle between events, and of course, soda.
The connection between Twig’s Beverage and Sun Drop goes back to the start of the business. Charles Lazier, a concentrate salesman in Missouri, developed a recipe for a new type of cola product. While colas at that time were brown in color, this recipe delivered a light beverage that was dubbed Sun Drop Golden Cola or Golden Girl Cola. The recipe was passed on to his son, Charles Jr., who brought it to market. Rather than bottling it himself, Charles Jr. sought bottlers throughout the nation; Twig was one of the Wisconsin bottlers he contracted with.
That began a long relationship with Sun Drop. Twig Beverage has the rights to bottle Sun Drop in a specific territory, but the owner of the brand is Keurig Dr. Pepper. Sun Drop makes up more than 60% of that company’s total beverage sales.
Sun Drop is the major seller for Twig’s Beverage, also. But that is only part of Twig’s. There are about 20 different flavors of sodas with names like Rhu-berry, Butterscotch Root Beer, and Blue Raspberry. There are regular and diet flavors and a new seltzer line for customers looking for an alternative to soda.
Twig’s Beverage in Shawano offers about 20 different soda flavors and continue to try new flavors.
In addition to the new flavors, Twig’s works with other local producers like Stubborn Brothers Brewery to create a Ginger Beer and Mad Dog and Merrill for a root beer barbecue sauce. Many of these products are sold in the Twig’s Beverages retail shop at the museum.
Other sources of revenue include the co-packing, space rental for events at the museum, and equipment rentals like a slushy machine.
With so much going on, Ben said running the business takes a family. His mom, although retired, still provides input and Dan continues to work full time. Ben’s wife, Annelies, works full time on the financial aspects, and Lucas and Jake also have important roles.
Lucas, who also owns a tattoo parlor, has been tasked with obtaining a Safe Quality Foods certification so that Twig’s will be able to work with businesses that require it. Jake also works on the financial side of things, but has been moving into more of the day-to-day operations.
Ben said, “Jake and I are working on new flavors. Mom comes in and we bounce ideas around and have fun doing it.”
They strive to provide the same sense of fun for their 20 to 25 employees. There are goals to be reached and it is important to work together as equipment is upgraded and further expansion considered. From that first building, there are now three. From one assembly line, there are two. There is also the museum with its tours and a movie highlighting the history of the business.
Ben said that it is passion that drives the continued growth and expansion.
“In 10 years, I would like to see Twig’s flavors branching out all over the Midwest with expanded distribution,” he said. “I would love to see the business go on to the next generation. I have one child with another on the way and my brother has two children. This will always be here for them as an option and it will be fun to see what comes next.”
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Third generation of Hartwigs helps run Twig’s Beverage in Shawano