Bill Post, Inventor of Pop-Tarts, Dies at 96

Post led the team that created the iconic Pop-Tart in the 1960s, but he remained humble for the rest of his life.

By Michael Hein

William Post, the creator of Pop-Tarts, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the age of 96. Post's obituary was published by the Matthysse, Kuiper and DeGraaf Funeral Home in Michigan. It highlighted his reputation for fun and generosity along with his accomplishments.

Post was born on June 27, 1927 and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan as one of seven siblings. His parents were Dutch immigrants. He took a job at Hekman Biscuit Company at the age of 16 while he was still in high school, and that ended up leading to his most famous accomplishment – creating Pop-Tarts. Post enlisted in the Army Air Corps after school and served for two years in Japan, then returned to his job at Hekman. He also studied at Calvin College for two years.

Post stayed at Hekman for years, learning everything from sales to production to personnel management. He was there as the company evolved and changed names, becoming The Keebler Company. After two decades, he was working as the plant manager when he got a phone call from executives at Kellogg's, asking if they could come to tour his facility.

Post would tell the story many times in the years to come, to friends and family as well as students whose classrooms he visited. In 2021, he told reporters from WWMT that the people from Kellogg's were hoping that his facility could create and mass-produce a new product that they had in mind. He explained: "They said they wanted something for the toaster but they didn't know how to do it."

After seeing the facility, Kellogg's and Keebler reached an unusual agreement to collaborate on this new product. They asked Keebler to experiment and finalize the new pastry, so Post headed up the effort. He assembled a team of the brightest minds at his plant, and they spent months trying to perfect it. He said: "There were so many naysaysers. Some of my good friends would say 'I don't know, Bill.' They would tell us it's not such a good idea."

Post said that once his team and Kellogg's agreed that a prototype was ready to go to market, things escalated faster than they expected. He told CNBC: "We didn't realize that this thing was going to go as well as it did. It went beyond any expectations we had." The initial run included 40,000 Pop-Tarts – 10,000 of each of the four original flavors: Strawberry, Blueberry, Brown Cinnamon Sugar and Apple-Currant. They sold out quickly, and both Kellogg's and Keebler had to scramble to keep up.

"Those just blew off the shelves," Post told WXMI. "Kellogg's ran a big page ad that said, 'Oops! Sorry! We ran [out of] Pop-Tarts.'"

The rest is history. Pop-Tarts are a snack food staple with millions in sales and billions consumed. As for Post, he remained humble about his part in creating this iconic food. He got himself a license plate reading "POPTART," and he always kept a few boxes in his car, saying that Strawberry was his personal favorite flavor. He retired from Keebler in the 1980s but took a position as a consultant at Kellogg's, which ended up lasting about 20 years. He was also known to visit local classrooms to talk about his experience in the business, and he was always sure to share some Pop-Tarts with the students, saying he had an "endless supply."

Post was preceded in death by his wife over 72 years, Florence, as well as his six siblings and their spouses. He is survived by his four children, his grandchildren and even some great-grandchildren. His family asked that mourners make contributions to Gideons International in his memory rather than sending flowers.

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