HIGHLIGHTS: This past Saturday, the inventor of Pop-Tarts, Bill Post, passed away at the age of 96. He’d always downplay his involvement . . . saying that he just led an “amazing team” that developed the concept in the early ’60s.
FULL STORY: Many people hope they leave this life having accomplished SOMETHING. And this man definitely did that.
This past Saturday, Bill Post passed away at the age of 96. He’s the guy who INVENTED POP-TARTS.
It happened back in the early-’60s, when Bill was working with Kellogg’s. He initially called them Fruit Scones, but that was soon changed to Pop-Tarts as a play on the then-popular Pop Art movement.
Bill was always quick to downplay his role. He’d say, “I assembled an amazing team that developed Kellogg’s concept of a shelf-stable toaster pastry into a fine product that we could bring to market in the span of just four months.”
His modesty might also be because he kind of COPIED and improved upon a competing product.
Just before Pop-Tarts, the company Post . . . no relation to Bill . . . announced “Country Squares,” which would become “Toast’em Pop Ups.”
Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts were similar, but far more successful in their branding and marketing.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), this means that Bill will not live to see Jerry Seinfeld’s upcoming movie about the creation of Pop-Tarts. It’s called “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story“, and it’ll hit Netflix in May.
It’s unclear if Bill will be a character in the movie, or if he had any involvement.
On Instagram, Jerry said, “Godspeed Bill Post. You bent pastry and fruit filling to your will and convinced parents to serve dessert for breakfast. May you find two slots in eternity and rest in lightly brown glory.”
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