The son of James H. Ganong and Susan E. Brittain, he is the brother of Susie, Kit (Whidden), Arthur, and William.

Following his father's untimely death in 1888, the twenty-two-year-old Edwin found himself in charge and quickly proved himself an astute businessman and marketer.

Advertising helped sell the company's products but Edwin seized other opportunities such as the 1894 publishing of The Surprise Cook Book, a recipe collection formally registered as The Premium Cook Book by the then widely popular American writer Marion Harland.

On January 24, 1903, Edwin Ganong married Boston, Massachusetts native Anna Louisa Webb.

In 1913, Edwin Ganong sold the St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Company to Lever Brothers of Toronto, Ontario, a subsidiary of the British conglomerate.