William Post, Businessman Who Helped Create Pop-Tarts, Dies at 96

(Left) William Post poses with a Pop-Tart on March 16, 2003. (Jim Bovin/AP Photo) (Right) A general view of atmosphere at the Z100 Artist Gift Lounge Presented by Pop Tarts at Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, on Dec. 7, 2012. Brian Ach/Getty Images for Jingle Ball 2012

William “Bill” Post, the businessman credited with helping to invent the popular toaster pastry brand Pop-Tarts, died on Feb. 10 at the age of 96.

“We are deeply saddened to share the news that William ‘Bill’ Post passed away over the weekend,” Kellanova, the current owner of Pop-Tarts, told People.

“He played an important role in co-creating the iconic Pop-Tarts brand and we are grateful to Bill for his legacy and lasting contributions to our company,” the statement continued.

The story of the Pop-Tarts brand will be be told in an upcoming Netflix comedy film titled “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story,” starring Jerry Seinfeld, People reported. The film will be available on May 3.

The son of Dutch immigrants, Mr. Post got his start in the food industry when he was just 16 years old, per his obituary. He worked part time washing trucks for the Hekman Biscuit Company, which later became known as the Keebler Company.

After serving in the Army Air Corps in occupied Japan, Mr. Post returned to his old job at Hekman, where he worked his way up the corporate ladder, becoming a full-time manager at 21 and later, the company’s plant manager.

“We were poor as church mice, bringing money home for my folks. The rest is history,” he said in an interview shared by Kellanova earlier this year.

In 1963, Kellogg’s asked Mr. Post to help create a new pastry product. He said the executives came to him with “a piece of pie, the shape of a slice of bread, fork marks around the edge, two pieces of dough with some filling in,” which was intended to be cooked in a toaster.

According to the company’s website, the executive team included then-Chairman William E. LaMothe, who had a vision of “transforming a delicious breakfast into a toaster-ready rectangle that could go anywhere.” He tapped “Doc” Joe Thompson and his kitchen crew to help “create an ingenious hack on toast and jam.”

Although Mr. Post is largely credited with inventing the rectangular snack, his obituary states that he always gave credit to his “amazing team,” who helped to transform “Kellogg’s concept of a shelf-stable toaster pastry into a fine product” and get it on the market in only four months.

Pop-Tarts in the Making

Originally called “Fruit Scone,” the pastries were first available in only four flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple-currant. Drawing inspiration from the pop culture movement, the breakfast snack was later named Pop-Tarts, a brand that’s become well-known today.

After being tested in the Cleveland, Ohio market, Pop-Tarts launched nationwide in 1965. Two years later, the pastries earned their signature frosting, and in 1968, sprinkles were added to the mix.

The brand’s flaky pastry has since been made available in nearly 100 flavors, from s’mores and banana bread to raspberry and hot fudge sundae. The classics are still around, too, with the exception of the apple-currant, which was dropped in 1964 due to a lack in popularity of currants, a type of raisin. Miniature versions of the original palm-sized pastry, called Pop-Tart Bites, hit store shelves in 2018.

The company now makes about 7 million Pop-Tarts each day, which generates about $1 billion annually, per CNN.

“We didn’t realize that this thing was going to go as well as it did,” Mr. Post told CNBC in 2023. “It went beyond any expectations we had.”

Remembering William Post

After helping to create the iconic brand, Mr. Post moved his family to Elmhurst, Illinois, in 1967. There, he continued to work for the Keebler Company in its corporate offices.

He later retired at the age of 56 as senior vice president of the company, moving to Glen Arbor, Michigan, where he intended to live out his golden years. However, Kellogg’s later asked him to be a consultant for the brand. He went on to work for the company for 20 years, a period that was marked by “worldwide travel and the forging of international friendships,” his obituary states.

Mr. Post and his wife, Florence Post (née Schut)—his high school sweetheart—later moved back to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2003 to be closer to family. They were married for 72 years before she died in 2020.

Despite his successes, Mr. Post “remained a humble man of God with a servant’s heart that seemed to overflow with generosity.” He served his communities and was a member of Gideons International, a Christian association dedicated to distributing Bibles and pocket New Testaments, for 60 years.

“He was the first to bring comfort, read scripture and offer a prayer with any friend or family member in need,” Mr. Post’s obituary reads. “He continued to fill that role to the very end of his life and leaves a big void in a very large circle of treasured friends. Always crediting his wonderful life to ‘Christ who gives me strength,’ he was such a positive force that after a conversation with Bill, you would leave with a lighter heart and a brighter smile.”

The businessman is survived by his children, Dan and Jackie Post and Rachel and John DeYoung, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.