William Post, a businessman known for inventing the all-time classic American toaster pastries, Pop-Tarts, passed away on February 10 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was 96.
For over 60 years, Pop-Tarts has been a popular treat for so many people as billions of them are sold every year. As stated by wikipedia, Pop-Tarts consist of two layers of thin, rectangular pastry crust with a sweet filling in between. Whether you want to eat a treat to fill up your stomach or for a casual breakfast, Pop-Tarts are perfect for any occasion at any time. They are snacks that add a little happiness and sweetness into your life. According to NBC news, Pop-Tarts started out with only four flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple currant. But now, it has expanded to more than 30 flavors. The popularity of the snack throughout history is evident in supermarkets, murals, museums, as well as in the upcoming Netflix original, Unfrosted, which tells the origin story of Pop-Tarts.
William Post was born on June 27, 1937 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was born to Dutch immigrants Henry Post and Johanna Jongsta, and he had six siblings. According to The New York Times, Post attended Grand Rapids Christian High school while working part time washing trucks at the Hekman Biscuit Company, which would later become Keebler. He was 16 years old at the time, and recalled in the video at Kellanova (the current company that owns Pop-Tarts) that back then, World War ll was going on and everyone was very poor. After graduating from high school, he served in the US Army air corps in Japan during World War ll. Then, he got back to his part time job, entered Calvin College, and later married his wife, Florence Schut, who died in 2020.
After Post graduated from college at 21 years old, he became a full-time personnel manager at the Hekman Biscuit Company. A Couple of years later, Kellogg’s executives asked Post if the Keebler could collaborate with Kellogg’s to make a similar product to what its competitor, Post Consumer Brands, was making—a toaster pastry called Country Squares, later to be known as Toast’em Pop Ups. As Post told WWMT, many didn’t believe it would work, but he and his team kept going to create the snack that would become known as Pop-Tarts.
The process of making Pop-Tarts took about four months, according to People Magazine. In an interview with The New York Times, Dan Post, Post’s son, recalls how Post would often bring samples home to let he and his sister do taste tests.
Post was surprised to see his children’s enthusiastic reaction. “Most of the time, they didn’t like what I brought home,” Post told WWMT. “But these fruit scones—they said, ‘dad, bring some of these home,’ and after school they would come home and put them in a toaster.”
And just like that, the company sold its first shipment in Cleveland. News channel states that by November of 1964, Pop-Tarts were sold nationwide. Icing was added to the pastries by Post’s proposal a few years later. In 1967, Post moved to Illinois to work at the corporate office of Keebler as a senior vice president, where he worked for 41 years. He retired at the age of 56, but continued to work as a consultant for Kellogg’s for 19 years.
“Just try anything,” Post said in a video by Kellanov. “There’s no idea that’s too crazy. If somebody tells you you can’t do it, show them you can.”
Though Post was known for working at food industries, he was also a board member for schools and churches, according to The New York Times. His son recalls Post telling Pop-Tarts stories to his students and bringing them samples. According to The New York Times, Post encouraged students to always work hard. Post was proud of the success of his invention, and had a drawing of a Pop-Tart hung on the wall of his house in addition to socks and license plates labeled, “Pop-Tarts.”
“We have a seniors group at church and you have to bring your lunch every once in a while,” Post told WWMT. “I always bring my Pop-Tarts and of course they all think, ‘Poor guy, that’s all he can eat, but I just like to have them as a snack.”
Post is survived by his son, daughter, four grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
