The Inventor Of Pop-Tarts, William 'Bill' Post, Has Died At 96

Post was tasked with creating the popular breakfast pastry in 1963. His obituary said he was known for sharing his “unending supply of Pop-Tarts.”

It’s hard to name a breakfast snack as iconic as Pop-Tarts. And sadly, one of the creators of the morning treat, William “Bill” Post, has died at the age of 96. According to an obituary shared online, Post passed away on February 10.

The story of his involvement with Pop-Tarts dates back decades to 1963, when Post was a plant manager. He was approached by executives from Kellogg’s and tasked with the gargantuan job of creating a new product the execs had in mind.

In an interview featured on the Kellanova (Kellogg’s corporate name) YouTube page, Post shared that he “had to break every rule in the book” when creating Pop-Tarts. He also explained that he would have been “much more intimidated” had he had known at the time how huge Pop-Tarts would become.

Post’s obituary revealed that later in his life, he would go on to share the story of his sweet success with Pop-Tarts to students.

“He was asked to tell the Pop Tart story to young people in countless classrooms and always enjoyed accommodating those requests, giving his testimony of God’s goodness to ‘the son of an immigrant’, and bringing some of his unending supply of Pop Tarts with him,” read the obituary.

Although some may just now be learning about Post’s story, social media is filled with Pop-Tarts fans sharing their condolences.

News of Post’s death comes months ahead of the May 3 release of Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story on Netflix. Directed by Jerry Seinfeld, the film highlights the race between Kellogg’s and Post to create a new breakfast pastry. In addition to Seinfeld, the film also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, and Daniel Levy.