Clicquot Club Company facts for kids
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Native name
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Clicquot Club Beverages
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| Industry | Soft drinks |
| Fate | Purchased by Cott in 1965, dissolved in 1980 |
| Predecessor | LaCroix Fruit Farm |
| Founded | 1885 in Millis, Massachusetts, United States |
| Founder | Charles LaCroix |
| Defunct | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Millis-Clicquot, , |
| Products | Sparkling cider Ginger ale Eskimo-Up Vineyard Punch Strawberry cream soda Root beer Raspberry soda Cream soda Grape soda |
The Clicquot Club Company (pronounced "Kleek-O"), also known as Clicquot Club Beverages, was one of the largest national beverage companies. It sold Ginger ale and several varieties of soda. After 80 years of operation, the company was bought by Cott Beverage Corporation in 1965 and eventually dissolved.
History
Founded in 1881 in what is now known as Millis, Massachusetts, Henry Millis (son of Lansing Millis, after whom the town was named in 1885) made a sugar. These two were the key ingredients to his ginger ale making the company standout in this field.
Even though word of his soda spread over southeastern New England in the next few years, the cost of such fine ingredients eventually forced Henry Millis to sell his company in 1901. The new proprietors, Horace A. Kimball and his son, H. Earle Kimball, took advantage of every form of advertising, including the character "Kleek-O the Eskimo Boy" (which became a well-known advertising symbol); an animated sign in Manhattan's Times Square (the largest animated sign in the world from 1924 to 1926); and even a musical variety radio program, The Clicquot Club Eskimos, led by banjo player Harry F. Reser. There were 25 sessions of records under the supervision of Harry Reser and issued under the name "Clicquot Club Eskimos" recorded from December, 1925 through February, 1931.
Such clever marketing expanded the company until the factory in Millis became 1/3 of a mile long and even had its own private train station. The area around this massive factory became known as Millis-Clicquot.
Resources
- Clicquot Fox Trot March printed piano music, Copyright 1926 by Harry F. Reser, 148th W. 46th St., New York, N.Y., U.S.A.
