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Today on Weird History Food, we delve deep into the tart world of Pop Tarts! Whether they are the first thing you scarf down in the AM, or the last thing you eat late a night, these warm toasty wonders have been a staple favorite for decades! Exactly who made them? Where did the name come from? How did they evolve into the wonders we know today? ...and, finally, why ARE there two in each package?
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When it comes to pre-packaged breakfast delights
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nothing comes close to the gooey sweetness of a freshly toasted Pop-Tart
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But every Pop-Tart has a twin, and anyone who's ever opened that crinkly
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saliva-inducing packaging has faced the same age-old conundrum. Do I even pretend like I'm not going to eat them both
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Well, today we're unwrapping the reason why Pop-Tarts come in twos. To toast or not to toast
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Way back in the early 1960s, cereal manufacturer Post went on a premature victory tour
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They'd invented Gainsburgers, an all-new semi-moist dog food, which was capable of being stored at room temperature
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They soon realized, however, that their innovation could revolutionize far more than the pet food industry alone
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For the first time ever, they could make fruit fillings that did not require refrigeration
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It didn't take long for them to concoct their first new breakfast item to make use of this technology
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They called their invention the Country Square, and they announced their upcoming product loudly and proudly
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What followed was a media frenzy, and Post knew they had to get their product just right if they wanted to cash in on the hype
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Unbeknownst to Post, though, while they got busy perfecting their new recipe, an old rival was watching from the wings
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Kellogg saw Country Squares and thought they could do it better, which is industry speak for they decided to steal it
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So they hired former Keebler plant manager Bill Post in order to rush the development of their very own Country Squares competitor
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With Bill's prior experience baking giant sheets of dough, he was just the man for figuring out how to make these fruit-filled pockets stick together
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At first, they called these new breakfast delicacies fruit scones. Not a terrible name if you intend to sell it exclusively to the elderly
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But luckily, some came up with a far catchier and more exciting name
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As a pun on the popular 1960s pop art movement, which made famous the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein
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and inspired by the pastry's novel use of the toaster, which up until that point had almost solely been reserved for bread
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fruit scones were renamed Pop-Tarts, and the world would never be the same
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Just four months after Kellogg's had hired Post, the man, and just six months after Post, the company, had announced its still forthcoming country squares, Pop-Tarts were ready to sweep the mistake on the lake off its feet
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In September of 1964, Kellogg's tried Pop-Tarts out in test markets around the Cleveland area
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They sent them out with a stern admonition to store managers, stating that in no way should Pop-Tarts be sold as a substitute for cereal
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While Kellogg's hoped their new brainchild would find success, they wanted it to be thought of as a separate product
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and avoid stepping on Tony the Tiger's toes. Kellogg's could not hold back the coming breakfast time revolution, though
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And these initial Pop flew off their Cleveland store shelves faster than that strawberry filling burns the roof of your mouth Kellogg knew right away that they had a hit on their hands Due to the product unexpected success the company likewise decided to up their production plans
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increasing their planned 10,000 case supply to a whopping 45,000 cases for Pop-Tarts' coming national debut
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And in 1965, Pop-Tarts made their big splash in four distinct icing-less flavors
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blueberry, strawberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and the now defunct apple currant. These original Pop-Tarts had a diagonal perforation that cut straight from corner to corner
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indicating that they were meant to be cut in half. Yes, sure, buddy. Whatever you say
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They also, from the start, came in pairs. Apparently, the reason for this was twofold
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By packing Pop-Tarts in pairs, Kellogg's could not only cut back on packaging costs
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but they could also tempt customers into eating two Pop-Tarts in one sitting
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at once increasing consumption and bringing in more dough. Within their first two weeks on the U.S. market
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Pop-Tart's whopping 45,000 case supply had sold out entirely. Even with its test market success
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Kellogg's couldn't have predicted just how fast consumers would buy up their new product
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and they thereafter ended up issuing an oops-we-goofed magazine advertisement, apologizing for the short supply
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Naturally, this ad generated more buzz for the all-new elusive product, and people were clamoring for Pop-Tart's triumphant return
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Meanwhile, Country Squares finally came out to abysmal sales. In an attempt to save their product, Post quickly renamed Country Squares to the copycat Toast'em Pop-Ups, which never quite caught on the same way
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Although they do still exist and are now made by the Schultz & Birch Biscuit Company
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As a testament to Pop-Tart's enduring popularity, on May 3rd of 2024, all of these events will be dramatized in Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix film, Unfrosted, The Pop-Tart Story
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While it's hard to imagine a world in which Pop-Tarts come naked
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Kellogg's didn't start topping their sweet treats with icing until 1967. Then, the very next year, they also made use of their first-ever sprinkles
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These changes only stoked more hype for the growing toaster-based superstar. And soon after, Kellogg's knew Pop-Tarts had to have a face
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one with eyes and not just icing. In 1971, they introduced not only their doomed Presto Pizza lineup of pizza-flavored Pop-Tarts
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But Milton the toaster as well, Pop-Tarts' first-ever mascot. Voiced by the Patty Duke show's William Shallert, Pop-Tarts finally referred to Milton as their spokes toaster
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He'd enter people's kitchens, explain to them the nutritional value of Pop-Tarts
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and try to sell salivating viewers at home his ever-growing Pop-Tarts lineup
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which by 1973 had already come to include 19 different flavors, each sold by the half-dozen
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Milton caught on enough for Kellogg's to produce merchandise featuring the character
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including Milton-shaped piggy banks and Milton Endowed mugs and plates to a paint set produced in collaboration
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with the National Park Service. Unfortunately for Milton, though, his glory days would not last long Pop parted ways with him before the 70s were up Maybe he started making too many demands Still Pop moved on In the 1980s Pop doubled their box size
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from the previous half-dozen pastries to a whopping 12 pastries. They soon started selling double-sized 24-packs as well
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ensuring customers would never run out of their favorite flavors. Then, in 1994, finally acknowledging
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that the tiger's toes had been permanently stomped, Kellogg's came out with a first-ever Pop-Tarts cereal, Pop-Tarts Crunch
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At the same time, Kellogg's came out with Pop-Tarts Minis, which were bite-sized versions of the pastry, sold in individual pouches
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Both Pop-Tarts Crunch and Pop-Tarts Minis only lasted a year, though, before they, too, ultimately went the way of Milton the Spokes Toaster
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Over the years, Pop-Tarts have come out with a seemingly endless supply of new and innovative flavors
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The original strawberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and blueberry flavors are still among Pop-Tarts' biggest sellers
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But other mainstays have come to include cherry, raspberry, wild berry, cookies and cream, s'mores, and chocolate fudge
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Meanwhile, the discontinued Pop-Tarts list grows ever longer, with dearly missed fan-favorite flavors
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including red velvet, peanut butter, apple strudel, mint chocolate chip, and chocolate vanilla cream
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along with an entire bygone lineup of wild flavors. Apparently they were too wild
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Pop-Tarts has also regularly dabbled in seasonal flavors, with past fall flavors including pumpkin pie, Halloween chocolate fudge
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and who could forget the ever-luxurious Spooky-licious. Similarly, past winter flavors have included both sugar cookie and gingerbread
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Though both Pop-Tarts minis and Pop-Tarts crunch were gone by the mid-1990s
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Pop-Tarts brought both ideas back in 2018 and 2019, respectively, creating the still ongoing Pop-Tarts Bites and both strawberry and brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts cereals
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Other bygone Pop-Tarts products include their 1990s toaster strudel competitor Pastry Swirls
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their short-lived Snack Sticks and Go Tarts, and their unsuccessful Itty Bitty Mini Crisps
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Adorably delicious. For those looking to try the widest variety of Pop-Tarts possible
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Pop-Tarts World opened its doors to the public in Times Square in 2010
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Then, once inside, guests could make their very own variety packs of Pop-Tarts
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by using one of the location's varietizer machines. Afterwards, they could chow down at the Pop-Tarts Cafe and peruse the Pop-Tarts gift shop
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Unfortunately, Pop-Tarts World was just a pop-up store. Who could have guessed
8:34
And in January of 2011, it closed its doors for good. Back in 1993, a Washington Post expose revealed that
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should a toaster fail to eject a strawberry Pop-Tart, the overheated pastry will eventually catch fire
8:49
shooting three-foot flames into the surrounding kitchen. To some, this was a serious issue
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According to investigator Don Dunphy with the Dover, Ohio Fire Department, it took only five minutes and 55 seconds for combustion
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and when compared to trials using off tarts nothing came close to the flames created by name brand Pop Naturally lawsuits quickly followed and as a result Pop boxes still today carry
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a warning concerning the product's risk of catching fire. In the years since, Pop-Tarts has also come under scrutiny for failing to properly label
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potential allergens in their products. In 1995, for instance, 100,000 boxes of what was supposed to be their Smucker's Real Fruit
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Frosted Strawberry Pastries accidentally contained Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts, forcing the FDA to stop in and force a recall. Pop-Tarts then blasted their way into the 21st century with
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the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. At the war start, the U.S. military airdropped 2.4 million
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Pop-Tarts into the country as a gesture of humanitarian aid. At the time, that equaled
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about one Pop-Tart for every 20 people in Afghanistan, and each airdropped package had
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the words, Food Gift from the People of the United States of America, printed on its side
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Many at the time argued that these airdrops were ineffective, especially since their packaging
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was the same yellow color as the U.S. military's feared anti-personnel cluster bomblets
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And these airdrops eventually gave way to land deliveries as the Taliban was pushed into hiding
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Shortly thereafter, in 2002, Kellogg's issued a public statement telling consumers that eggs were a previously undeclared ingredient
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within their frosted brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts. And just four years later, they had to issue a similar announcement
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when it was revealed that frosted blueberry Pop-Tarts contained milk as an undeclared ingredient
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This may not sound like a big deal, but eggs and milk can cause severe and potentially life-threatening reactions in people who are allergic
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The early aughts were a weird couple of years for Pop-Tarts. In 2004, Pop-Tarts began their Crazy Good campaign, which introduced their Crazy Good slogan
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along with a bunch of deranged anthropomorphic Pop-Tart characters who all seem to really want to be eaten
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The Crazy Good campaign continues on to this day, most recently culminating in the overhaul of what was originally the Sunshine Classic
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In 2023, the Orlando-Florida College Bowl game officially became known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl
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At the end of the first Pop-Tarts Bowl game, a giant Pop-Tart was sacrificed before the cheering crowd
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The gleeful Pop-Tart, holding a dreams really do come true sign, was lowered into an equally giant toaster and then fed to the game's Kansas State victors
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It was a bit Indiana Jones and the Temple of Food. Meanwhile, Milton, the washed-up former spokes toaster, reemerged with his very own throwback Funko Pop in 2020
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Today, around 3 billion Pop-Tarts are sold every year. Though Pop-Tarts revolutionized the way Americans view their toasters, leading to the creation of, among other things, toaster-cooked waffles, hash browns, and asparagus
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surveys show that only about half of these 3 billion Pop-Tarts ever get toasted
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The rest are eaten raw. kellogg's has likewise seen a year-over-year increase in pop-tart sales every year since 1982
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geez why hasn't gordon gecko gotten in on that yet but despite so many years of success and
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innovation the best-selling pop-tart flavors remain two from the original lineup strawberry
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and brown sugar cinnamon milton would be proud
#Baked Goods
#Breakfast Foods