Pop-Tarts is a brand of rectangular, pre-baked
toaster pastriesA toaster pastry is a type of pastry, designed to be safely heated in a toaster. It is a convenience food, generally intended to be eaten for breakfast, but is often a snack...
made by the
Kellogg CompanyKellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
. Pop-Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust. Some varieties are
frostedRoyal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar , and sometimes lemon or lime juice. It is used on Christmas cakes, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses and many other cakes and biscuits, either as a smooth covering like marzipan, or in sharp peaks...
. Although sold pre-cooked, they are designed to be warmed inside a
toasterThe toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes...
or
microwave ovenA microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration.
Pop-Tarts is a brand of rectangular, pre-baked
toaster pastriesA toaster pastry is a type of pastry, designed to be safely heated in a toaster. It is a convenience food, generally intended to be eaten for breakfast, but is often a snack...
made by the
Kellogg CompanyKellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
. Pop-Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust. Some varieties are
frostedRoyal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar , and sometimes lemon or lime juice. It is used on Christmas cakes, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses and many other cakes and biscuits, either as a smooth covering like marzipan, or in sharp peaks...
. Although sold pre-cooked, they are designed to be warmed inside a
toasterThe toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes...
or
microwave ovenA microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration.
Pop-Tarts are Kellogg's most popular brand to date in the United States, with millions of Pop-Tarts sold each year. They are distributed mainly in the United States, but also in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Pop-Tarts were discontinued in Australia in 2005 and are now found only in import stores.
Pop Tarts are similar to
Toaster StrudelToaster Strudel Breakfast Pastries is a type of frozen pastry introduced in 1984 by Pillsbury. It was developed by a young business man named Mohsen Shahnazari, father of Roya and Beeta Shahnazari. He was convinced that filling a pastry with fruit, and topping it with warm icing would be...
s, however they are thinner and do not need to be refrigerated.
History
Post adapted its process for enclosing food in foil to keep it fresh without spoiling—first used for dog food—to its new toaster-prepared breakfast food. Intended to complement its cold cereals, Post announced its new product in 1963 to the press, giving them the name "Country Squares".
Because Post had revealed Country Squares before it was ready, Post's biggest competitor, Kellogg, was able to develop its own version in six months. The product, advertised by an animated, anthropomorphic toaster named Milton, became so popular that Kellogg could not keep up with demand.
Originally not frosted when first introduced in 1964, it was later determined that frosting could withstand the toaster, and the first frosted Pop-Tarts were officially released in 1967. The first Pop-Tarts came out in four different flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple currant. Today, there is a wide variety of Pop-Tart flavors, including Chocolate Chip, S'Mores, Raspberry, and French Toast.
In 1992, Thomas Nangle sued Kellogg for damages after his Pop-Tart got stuck and caught fire in his toaster. The case gained wider notoriety when humor columnist
Dave BarryDavid "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
wrote a column about starting a fire in his own toaster with Pop-Tarts. In 1994, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi professor Patrick Michaud performed an experiment showing that, when left in the toaster too long, strawberry Pop-Tarts could produce flames over a foot high. The discovery triggered a flurry of
lawsuitA lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s. Since then, Pop-Tarts carry the warning: "Due to possible risk of fire, never leave your toasting appliance or microwave unattended."
Pop-Tarts were introduced with fairly substantial marketing to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, although they have failed to replicate their U.S. success.
In 2001, the United States' military airdropped 2.4 million Pop-Tarts in
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
during the US invasion.
In 2004, Pop-Tarts began a new ad campaign titled "Crazy Good". Characters that appeared often were a singing lizard and a group of kids, dubbed "crazy-good kids", who commonly frightened the Pop-Tarts and caused them to be eaten or chased away. The ads employ
squiggly animationSquigglevision is a patented method of computer animation in which the outlines of shapes are made to wiggle and undulate. Tom Snyder of Tom Snyder Productions invented the technique, which his animation studio Soup2Nuts subsequently popularized in several successful animated series.Compared with...
, surreal humor, and non sequitur, all of which bear a strong resemblance to the signature work of animator
Don HertzfeldtDon Hertzfeldt is the creator of many short animated films, including the Academy-Award nominated Rejected and Everything Will Be OK. His animated films have received over 150 awards and have been presented around the world. Before the age of thirty, his films were already the subject of several...
. One "crazy-good kid" in particular bears strong resemblance to Billy in Hertzfeldt's
Billy's BalloonBilly's Balloon is a 16mm animated short by Don Hertzfeldt. It was his 4th and final student film at UC Santa Barbara. Similar to his other cartoons, he utilizes a minimalist stick-figure technique....
. However, Hertzfeldt was not involved in any way with ads and in 2006 was considering possible litigation for stealing his work.
In 2006, Pop-Tarts also introduced a version of the product known as Go-Tarts. These were similar to Pop-Tarts, but were thicker, narrow, and wrapped individually (instead of in packages of two). Go-Tarts were discontinued in 2008.
In 2010, a temporary Pop-Tarts store opened in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It closed on December 31, 2010.
Advertising
Industry trade groupA trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
s have raised issues with Pop-Tarts advertising.
In 2003, the "Produce for Better Health Foundation" and the "United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association" told the
Food and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
's Obesity Working Group that:
In 2006, the
Children's Advertising Review UnitThe Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus is a U.S. self-regulatory organization that was established in 1974 by the National Advertising Review Council . It is an independent self-regulatory agency for the promotion of responsible advertising to children...
(CARU) of the Council of
Better Business BureauThe Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
s, prompted by a customer complaint, "recommended that Kellogg modify packaging, eliminate the phrase 'made with real fruit'." Kellogg agreed to do so, and redesigned packages for the Pop-Tarts line accordingly; they assured CARU that the "claim does not appear on television or print advertising" and offered to "participate in CARU's self-regulatory process" and "take CARU's focus areas into consideration" as Kellogg proceeds with its "future child-directed advertising." This decision has since been reversed and current boxes of Pop Tarts continue to pronounce that the product is 'made with real fruit.'
Cable in the ClassroomCable in the Classroom is an American organization that assists the cable television industry in providing educational content to schools. The organization was founded in 1989...
has used a Pop-Tarts television commercial as an example in their
media literacyMedia literacy is a repertoire of competences that enable people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and forms.-Education:...
program for children. They ask adults to watch a Pop-Tarts commercial with their children or students and "have them look at how much product information is presented and how much is really about lifestyle or attitude."
Frosted flavors
- Apple Strudel
- Blueberry
- Blueberry Muffin
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Cherry
- Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- Chocolate Fudge
- Cinnamon Roll
- Wild Berry
- Wild Watermelon
- Cookies & Creme
- Gingerbread
- Hot Fudge Sundae
- Raspberry
- S'mores
- Strawberry
- Strawberry Milkshake
- Vanilla Milkshake
- Ice Cream Sandwich
- Wild Grape
- Rainbow Cookie Sandwich
- Salt Water Taffy
- Wildlicious Wild Strawberry
Unfrosted
- Strawberry
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Wild Berry
- Apple
- Blueberry
Pop-Tarts Splitz
- Chocolate Vanilla
- Strawberry Blueberry
- Chocolate Strawberry
- Maple Brown Sugar
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Baby Bits
Limited edition
- Dulce De Leche (2008–Present)
- Guava Mango (2008–Present)
- Chocolate Banana Split (2009–Present)
- Orange Cream (2009–Present)
- Choc-o-Lantern Frosted Chocolate Fudge (Halloween 2010–Present)
- Pumpkin Pie (Thanksgiving 2010–Present)
- Gingerbread (Every Christmas)
- Wild Berry Bloom (Easter 2011–Present)
- Cherry Turnover (Summer 2011–Present)
- Confetti Cake (Summer 2011–Present)
Printed Fun
- Knock Knock Jokes Wild Berry
- Barbie Sparkleberry
- Barbie Wildberry
- Hot Wheels Cinna-Match Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- American Idol Blue Raspberry
- Indiana Jones Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- NFL Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Pictionary
- Nix Family Laffy Taffy Flavors
- Nascar Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Chocolate Fudge
- Wild Berry
- Cherry Berry Rick Pip
- Whole Grain
- Pokemon Cherry
Flavors in the UK
- Chocotastic
- Strawberry Sensation
- Cherry
- Choco
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
-mallowThe marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
(Identical to the American S'Mores)
Discontinued
- Dutch Apple
- Frosted Concord Grape
- Chocolate Vanilla Creme
- Pancake Syrup Blueberry (German)
- French Toast
- Wild Tropical Blast
- Frosted Caramel Chocolate
- Frosted Double Berry
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Low Fat Frosted Chocolate Fudge
- Piña Colada
- Disney Princess Jewelberry
- Hello Kitty Meowberry
- Vanilla
- Wild Magic Burst
- Unfrosted Cherry
- Apple Cinnamon
- Strawberry Cheese Danish
- Chocolate Graham Cracker
- Wild Bubble-Berrry
- Peanut Butter & Jelly (Grape)
Recalls
Pop-Tarts have been the subject of various recalls when mislabeling could lead to serious or life-threatening allergic reaction:
- August 4, 1995
- December 6, 2002: Kellogg USA Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Egg in Kellogg's Pop-Tarts Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- December 14, 2006: Kellogg Company Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Milk in Kellogg's Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry Toaster Pastries
External links
Official website