Domino's Pizza, Ben & Jerry's and Nike all started with VW.

Volkswagen also played a part in the early days of America's most famous company, with the Beetle, Microbus, and other early models serving as economical delivery vehicles as the then small business took off.

Volkswagen of America provides a history of these three famous companies and how VW contributed to them in their beginnings. (The following is taken directly from the VW news site.)

Domino's Delivery Beetle

Brothers Tom and James Monahan bought a small pizza shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1960 and founded Domino's Pizza. The brothers purchased the store for only $900 and decided to keep the original name, DomiNick's. Before they opened the store, Dominick, the first owner, taught them how to make pizza for 15 minutes.

For the first year, the two brothers worked tirelessly to make and deliver pizzas with the help of the company's original delivery vehicle, a 1959 VW Beetle; within a year, James, who had a full-time job as a mail carrier, traded his VW Beetle for a pizza He sold his shares in the restaurant in exchange for a VW Beetle.

The store became so successful that Tom renamed it Domino's Pizza after learning that he could not franchise the name of the original owner. Domino's Pizza became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and became a dinner-time staple.

The location of Domino's first delivery vehicle is unknown, but a replica of the original VW Beetle is on display at Domino's headquarters in honor of the company's roots and early deliveries.

Ben & Jerry's Type 3 Squareback

Ben & Jerry's, the iconic ice cream company, was founded in 1978 when two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, took a Penn State University The company was founded in 1978 when two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, took a $5 correspondence course on ice cream making at Penn State University.

Ben and Jerry invested $12,000 to open their first "scoop store" in a converted gas station in Burlington, Vermont. The store became a local favorite thanks to its flavorful ice cream and oversized chunks of ice cream, the result of Ben's rare sinus disorder, anosmia, which makes it difficult for him to smell and taste food.

In addition to the original store, Ben and Jerry delivered 2.5-gallon tubs of ice cream to restaurants and stores in Ben's red VW Type 3 squareback station wagon. The Type 3 was used as a two-person delivery vehicle until 1980, when it was upgraded to a larger refrigerated truck to meet the increased demand.

Through the years, Ben & Jerry's has embraced its brand heritage, 60s-inspired business values, and fun personality. While the original Type 3 squareback may have fallen victim to Vermont's harsh winters and road salt, the Volkswagen Type 2 bus vehicle is a popular attraction and is included in many Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop memorabilia.

Nike Type 2 Bus

Before adopting its iconic brand name and logo, Nike was originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). Bill Bowerman, a track coach at the University of Oregon, and Oregon native Phil Knight founded BRS in 1964 as an athletic shoe company specifically for runners.

At the time, the running community was still small and not widely known. With products specifically aimed at this small subculture of athletes, BRS was the first company of its kind and fostered a small but enthusiastic community of runners.

In January 1967, the company's first retail store opened in Santa Monica, California. Jeff Johnson, Blue Ribbon Sports' first employee, played a key role in opening and running the store, driving his personal VW Type 2 bus to track meets, selling and delivering shoes to local runners from the bus. His outreach at these various events was critical in building a community of runners.

In 1972, BRS rebranded as Nike and launched its first shoe line; the main BRS store closed in 1969, but Johnson's efforts foreshadowed the jogging boom of the 1970s and laid the foundation for Nike's focus on customer engagement.

In 2019, Volkswagen and Nike partnered to celebrate their shared history and look to the future. The two companies showcased the Volkswagen ID. BUZZ CARGO concept van, similar to the original Blue Ribbon Sport delivery van, to promote Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program and Volkswagen's electric vehicle future.

Written by Bob Golfen, this article originally appeared on ClassicCars.com, an editorial partner of Motor Authority.