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07/25/2007
Family enjoys flavor of successThey provide drink mixes and more to retailersSpecial to the Record-Eagle About Northwoods Soda & Syrup
Address: 5450 Broomhead Road, Williamsburg Phone: (231) 267-5853 Online: www.northwoodssoda.com Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Employees: 5 Years in business: Years in business: 20; "In business" is a weekly feature on northern Michigan businesses. Next week: Uniquely North TRAVERSE CITY — Success indeed has been sweet for the Fosdick family. They own and operate Northwoods Soda & Syrup, which supplies handcrafted soft drinks, juices and beverage mixes to retail outlets across much of Michigan and part of Wisconsin from their 12-acre location in Williamsburg. Ever enjoy a fruity, thirst-quenching margarita at La Senorita? That's a Northwoods Soda & Syrup product. Had a refreshing snow cone at the National Cherry Festival? That's their product, too. Other well-known area clients include Poppycock's in Traverse City and the Cabbage Shed in Elberta. "We started out serving small taverns,” said company founder Bill Fosdick, who moved his family from southwest Michigan to the Grand Traverse area in 1988. "Lil Bo's was our first customer. But early on it was tough. We were working on flavors, making them in our basement.” By the end of the company's first year, Fosdick had acquired two distributors, a local restaurant chain and about 20 individual customers. The company now serves about 40 clients regularly. The bulk of the company's production is in syrup form. The customer has a soda machine with carbonated water, and the Fosdicks provide the syrup to make the finished beverage. A 5-to-1 ratio of water to syrup makes the ideal mix. Northwoods Soda & Syrup offers a rainbow of colors and flavors, including cola, lemon-lime, grapefruit, ginger ale, orange soda, black sweet cherry, red cherry, cherry cream soda, blue raspberry, white or dark cream soda, ginger beer, birch beer and sarsaparilla. A ready-to-drink product they make is the draft-style "Wild Bill's Root Beer,” named after the company's founder. In addition to Fosdick, his wife Maureen and all four of their children — David, Corinne, Bernadette and Abigail — have worked in the business. After graduating from Western Michigan University, David joined his father as a partner and has been invaluable in helping expand Northwoods Soda & Syrup. David handles sales and product deliveries, while Bill oversees production. One new item is a slush that is 100 percent sweetened with apple juice, instead of sugar. It can be made in any flavor. The Fosdicks hope to see this healthier product used in daycare centers, youth camps, schools and nursing homes. "David's done a terrific job serving our clients,” said Fosdick. "We'll never sell to McDonald's or Burger King, but we're very happy to focus on smaller businesses.”
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