Jolly Good Soda – now that’s cool!

Rich Palzewic

Staff

November 4, 2024

RANDOM LAKE – Soda, pop, soft drink, soda-pop – however you choose to reference the fizzy beverage, when it comes to Random Lake’s own Jolly Good Soda, the words “Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin” will now need to accompany it.

The soda company – a division of Krier Foods – was awarded the 2024 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin title following months of voting and pare-down rounds of the contest’s 16 finalists.

The bracket-style competition is hosted each year by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and Johnson Financial Group to showcase the diversity of products made here in the Badger State.

“This was (Jolly Good Soda’s) fourth year competing,” Nicole Depies, marketing manager at Krier Foods, said. “The first year we made it to the top 16, and then the next two years, we made it to the final eight. This was the first year we made it into the final round, and obviously, we won.”

Depies said it was nice to “finally cross the finish line and take the top prize.”

“We went to Madison for the event, and it was great,” she said. “The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce group puts on a wonderful business day. We came down, set up, showcased our product and had some discussions about that.”

Though Depies said Krier Foods knows the quality of Jolly Good Soda, “honestly, it came as a total shock when they announced our name.”

“I was just excited we made it that far to begin with,” she laughed. “We were shocked because the organizers were talking about how the winner had only won by 38 votes. I knew there were a lot of cool things made in Wisconsin, so when they announced our name, we couldn’t believe it.”

Depies said the award is a testament to people knowing Jolly Good is back and remembering their memories with the brand.

“We’re fortunate for everyone who loves our brand,” she said. “Also, our employees helped us win as well. Jolly Good has touched so many lives and families throughout the years. We hope those memories are triggered for people who are seeing it now, and then they’re going to go out, grab some and create memories with their own families. That’s the part we’re most excited about – the next generations being able to experience those same things.”

Other reasons for success

Depies said Jolly Good landed statewide distribution at the end of last year – “which was huge for us.”

“That definitely also helped get our name out even more,” she said. “(Statewide distribution) allows us to get into locations that maybe we couldn’t before – like convenience stores, restaurants, bars, etc. We got into some larger grocery chains this year as well, and that’s been helpful.”

Before that, Depies said Jolly Good wasn’t always available in stores all the time.

“As we’ve slowly started to grow, we’ve kind of started to take ourselves as a brand a little bit more seriously, for lack of a better phrase,” she said. “We want to make sure we’re not running out of products and we’re more visible and accessible to people. Mainly, I think the biggest reason (for our success and the award) is that people recognize we’re back in the market.”

The competition

According to The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin website (madeinwisconsin.com), manufacturing employs one in six people in the state and contributes more than $71 billion to the economy.

During the competition’s nine years of existence, Wisconsinites have cast nearly 1.3 million votes.

In 2023, roughly 150 products were nominated and more than 187,000 votes were cast to determine the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin.

Organizers anticipate this year’s numbers to be similar.

Products have ranged from motorcycles, military vehicles, cheese products, boats and generators, food carts, iron castings, beer, all-terrain vehicles, snow blowers and more.

After products are nominated, they compete in a popular vote that sets the field for Manufacturing Madness.

In this tournament-style bracket, the top 16 Wisconsin-made products compete in head-to-head matchups to win the ultimate prize – being named the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin.

The winner is announced each year during Manufacturing Month in October.

Decades of memories

First trademarked in 1966, Depies said Jolly Good was produced until 2007 before it was taken off the shelves.

“It went off the shelves in 2007 because of the competitive landscape at grocery stores,” she said. “When you’re fighting against Coke and Pepsi and you’re a small beverage brand, it’s hard to justify the financials. That’s really why it went away for the time being.”

The hiatus, Depies said, lasted for less than a decade.

“Jolly Good then came back in 2014,” she said. “Our fourth-generation owner at the time, Bruce Krier, had passed away, and his nephew at the time, John Rassel, a fifth-generation owner, had brought back Jolly Good as kind of a tribute to Bruce.”

Depies said as a “test run,” Rassel dropped off a pallet of Jolly Good at a local gas station in town – “and then all of a sudden, word got out.”

“If a brand goes away for seven years, one might think it might not ever come back,” she said. “But when people heard Jolly Good was back, they wanted to know where to get it – it just took off from there.”

Depies said Krier Foods used to be a vegetable canning factory – “way back in the day.”

“Seeing the canned vegetables, companies started reaching out to us and asking if we could put beverages in a can,” she said. “Krier started along the (beverage) process I’d say in the 1950s. We always kind of say our claim to fame is that we were the first people to put Coke in a can.”

From there, Depies said that eventually led to canning Jolly Good.

“We wanted to keep our (beverage) line and employees busier,” she said. “Jolly Good (at the time) was really used to kind of fill line time up at the factory, and it just took off and became that iconic Wisconsin brand that it still is today.”

Depies said in the early Jolly Good canning days of the 1970s, the jokes on the inside of the cans “were a really big thing.”

“Back then, it was a three-piece can,” she said. “Now, cans are manufactured as two pieces, so we can’t put jokes on the inside. Our team is exploring ways to bring jokes back on the outside.”

The craft soda brand, Depies said, is known for its bright cans and bold flavors – ranging from classic Root Beer and Grape to more unique offerings, like Sour Pow’r and Blue Raspberry.

It’s about more than just soda

Depies said Krier Foods has always had a giving-back mindset.

“If you look up ‘Bruce Krier,’ you will see the Bruce Krier Charitable Foundation,” she said. “The charitable foundation is still prevalent to this day. It’s given back millions (of dollars) to education. Krier Foods is very strong on education, supporting employees within and equipping them with the ability to learn and to help them grow on their job path.”

Depies said Krier Foods partners with others in the area to create success together.

“That has been entrenched in the company for a very long time,” she said.

In conjunction with its focus on education, Depies said Krier Foods has strong ties to the Random Lake School District.

“We partner with them on a lot of different things,” she said. “There are so many organizations and groups we work with – parent-teacher groups, athletic groups, other school groups, etc. There are different things as a company we donate to – either monetarily or through products for their events – to help them raise funds for whatever initiative they’re working on.”

Depies also said Krier Foods works in congruence with three other area businesses and three other school districts on a program called Manufacturing 4.0.

“It allows the students to recognize manufacturing and all the opportunities it may provide to them in Wisconsin,” she said. “We provide money for them to get equipment to bring into the classroom so they can learn things like robotics.”

For more on Jolly Good, visit jollygoodsoda.com.