Anyone know the history of O-So Grape Soda or the company

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Eric

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I'm asking for some help with this one as I can't find anything on the company. We're updating our website and I wanted to add some history to
each of our sodas... and this one is a tough one. All we have so far is just a line "The O-So Beverage Company originally brewed out of Peoria, IL around 1946."
So I'm hoping someone here has a book or old ad with a little more information.. So many sodas and their histories are getting lost. That's why I wanted to start placing what I can find about each soda we carry their history...
Anyway thanks for any leads.
 

shadeone

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Not sure if it helps but theres a few beverage trade magazine ads here although the text is tiny on some of them:
http://vintagesodaads.ecrater.com/filter.php?keywords=o-so

its a good place to look for other soda ads as well....


Also check out the stuff by Bill Lockhart here:
https://sha.org/bottle/links.htm
Scroll down about half way and you'll see a ton of pdf links in a list... its all a bout bottling companies of Texas but there are a lot of smaller brands who bottled there that a brief company history is available for
 
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Eric

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Thanks I will look into those.. thanks so much for the help... May have been a short lived brand?
 

iggyworf

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I don't have any, but I swear I have seen O-So bottles from time to time. And I think some of them might have been from Detroit Mi.? The next time I go to a certain antique store where I have seen them I will check.
 

SODABOB

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Eric

Based on what I have been seeing, it appears the "O So Grape Company" started out as the "So Grape Company." What led me to this was Shadeone's first link where I found this ...

American Carbonator and Bottler ~ December 1946

Notice the 1945 reference in the upper-left box ...

O So Grape American Carbonator December 1946 (2).jpg

So I started looking for 1945 references for "O So Grape" but couldn't find any. But I did find lots of references for "So Grape," such as this one from ...

The Pantagraph ~ Bloomington, Illinois ~ January 26, 1945

So Grape The Pantagraph Bloomington Ill Jan 26, 1945.jpg

Which in turn led to this ...

So Grape Bottle.jpg

So Grape Bottle Close Up.jpg


I can't say for certain, but if that's a date mark, it appears to be 46 for 1946. The Makers Mark is a K-in-a-keystone for ...

K in a keystone ... Knox Glass Bottle Company/Knox Glass Associates, Knox, Pennsylvania and other plant locations (1917-1968). Mark introduced circa 1932(?)
Knox operated a number of glass manufacturing plants over many years during the 20th century, and each plant used a different letter inside a keystone as it’s mark. Sometimes there is no discernible letter inside the keystone shape.


So Grape Bottle Base.jpg

So, it might help to search "So Grape" instead of "O So Grape" for the rest of the story/history
 

SODABOB

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P.S.

In case you didn't notice the address in the first image, here it is again in this 1946 ad ...

134 S. LaSalle Street Chicago 3, Illinois

So Grape Ad 1946.jpg
 

SODABOB

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Eric

This might fit into the "O-So Grape" history you're compiling ...

Notice the address ...

[FONT=&quot]1949. Dr. Swett's Root Beer Company was sold to the O-So Grape Company between September 1948 and March 1949. The American Carbonator and Bottler magazine for March 1949 has a full-page ad with drawings of both bottles and the statement "Now, since our recent acquisition of Dr. Swett's Root Beer Co., bottlers of both lines find themselves in an exceptionally strong position ..." The Dr. Swetts bottle is identical to the 1946-1948 bottles, and the O-So Grape bottle also has "Rich in Dextrose" on the label. The address of the combined company was 134 South LaSalle St., Chicago 3, Illinois.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
http://swett-genealogy.com/gws/DrGWSwett.html


 

Eric

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Thanks Sodabob... Wouldn't you like to know why the name change... same looking bottle and logo... interesting. bet there's a National Bottlers' Magazine out there with a story.
I just got a 1941 National Bottler's but they weren't around yet... still some good reading and ads... thanks again for the good info and images.
 

hemihampton

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I think John Kar bottling in Detroit changed to O-SO back in the 60's or so? LEON.
 

SODABOB

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Eric

Your Welcome

As near as I can determine, the name change from "SO GRAPE" to "O-SO GRAPE" occurred sometime between 1947 and 1948. But why ​they changed the name, I don't know yet. I'll keep poking around some more and see what I can find.
 

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