William Post, who played a key role in developing Pop-Tarts, dies at 96
GLEN ARBOR, Mich. — William Post, a Michigan man who played an important role in the development of Pop-Tarts, has died at the age of 96.
Post died Saturday, according to a family obituary that gave no details of his death but said he had grown up in Grand Rapids as “one of seven children of Dutch immigrants” and had retired at age 56 as senior vice president at Keebler Company and had settled in Glen Harbor, Michigan.
Kellanova, formerly known as Kellogg Co., said in a statement Wednesday that it was “deeply saddened” by Post’s death.
“He was instrumental in co-creating the iconic Pop-Tarts brand and we are grateful to Bill for his legacy and lasting contributions to our company,” Kellanova said without elaborating.
Pop-Tarts debuted in 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio. The toaster dough was originally sold in four flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar, cinnamon and chokeberry, before being released nationally the following year, according to Kellanova’s website.
Post’s family wrote in his obituary that he was a factory manager at a company later known as the Keebler Company when Kellogg executives asked him “if he thought it would be possible for Keebler to create a new product that they had in mind.”
His obituary notes that one of the executives was Kellogg Chairman William LaMothe, who “quickly became Bill’s close friend.”
“It is at this point that Bill is often credited with ‘inventing’ the Pop Tart. However, to be precise, Bill would say, “I put together a great team that developed Kellogg’s shelf-stable toaster dough concept into a beautiful product that we were able to bring to market in just four months,” the paper said. the obituary.
Post, whose wife Florence died in 2020, is survived by a son and daughter and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. According to his obituary on the Matthysse Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral Home website, a service for Post will be held on March 7 at the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids.