Hi-Ho used to be a staple name in Plymouth, Wisconsin — a soda and bottling company during the postwar era.
But for nearly half a century, the company lay dormant — that is until an old soda crate caught local entrepreneur Tyler Rezachek’s attention in 2023.
He stopped spontaneously for Christmas cookies at the Plymouth Historical Society. While satisfying his sweet tooth, he noticed that beat up crate and started to learn more about the “Hi-Ho” lettering stamped on the side.
He knew then he wanted to revitalize the company.
“It was December of last year we met in a room,” Rezachek noted, referencing his now-business partners Ryan Schroeder and Leonid Bortsov. “The insulation was falling out of the ceiling and we wrote everything down in some notebooks and that’s how it all started.”
The three got right to work, testing out soda flavors and designing a refreshed logo, which draws inspiration from the old one.
"Didn’t know anything about making soda so I bought some books about it. I never read them,” Rezachek laughed.
Each of his partners comes with his own area of expertise: Shroeder with beverage packing and operations skills and Bortov with his culinary background.
Watch: Entrepreneurs revitalize vintage soda company.
"A lot of people had good mojo about it, they really missed it,” Schroeder said. “It was a unique flavor, they had unique tastes to them and we wanted to bring that back."
Hi-Ho was founded by Donald Holzschuh and Joseph Hildebran in 1945 — a combination of their last names.
They used Holzschuh’s World War II veteran privileges to kickstart the business.
"He had access to sugar. Others didn't because it was rationed,” Rezachek explained.
The two eventually parted ways and Hi-Ho went with them, fizzling out in the 60s.
Not much else remains of the early Hi-Ho days other than a few original soda bottles stored at the Plymouth Historical Society and a mural on the old Hi-Ho building just a couple of blocks down.
"Hi-Ho as far as we know, only made a couple of its own flavors,” Rezachek mentioned. He and his team have released four of their own flavors so far: Orange, Cranberry, WI Ol’ Fashioned and Sour.
Less than a year into the Hi-Ho comeback, the business is making huge strides. The cranberry soda is a contender for "The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin" title.
The competition is hosted by the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and Johnson Financial Group.
"I'm scrolling through there now and there's a lot of cool stuff made in Wisconsin. Ours is the coolest,” Rezachek assured.
"It's been like a rocket, it's been very fast, we're very excited about it, we're just trying to keep up,” Shroeder added.
They say they have big plans for the new and improved Hi-Ho. Later this year, the team will release four more flavors with the goal of increasing retail customers.
They can barely keep the shelves stocked as is.
Their main goal though — keeping all aspects of their business local.
The honey is from Germantown, the cranberries from Pittsville, the cans from Milwaukee and the heart of the business still in Plymouth.
"We always talk about 'buy local,' but ultimately it's when someone gives you their dollar, their seal of approval,” Rezachek said. “And we don't have any soda left so I think the community embraced us pretty well."
The final decision for “Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin” will be announced Oct. 17.
Cast your vote at madeinwis.com.
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