Pop-Tarts Just Told Us the Real Reason Why the Pastries Are Sold in 2-Packs (2024)
I have to admit, I’ve always had a little bit of a gripe with Pop-Tarts. Don’t get me wrong, the sweetly-filled toaster treats are delicious (Brown Sugar Cinnamon is my favorite), and I grew up relying on them as an easy grab-and-go breakfast. But, something about the Pop-Tarts packaging always irked me: Why are they sold in two-packs?
Recently, I shared my irritation with the Allrecipes team only to find that I’m just about the only Pop-Tart consumer in the marketplace to experience this annoyance. “You don’t just eat both?” was the near-unanimous response in the office.
I know, I know—why would anyone complain about a two-for-one special? But hear me out.
Growing up, I could never eat more than one Pop-Tart at a time (I wasn’t allowed to), and therefore needed to find a new resealable package to hold the other toaster pastry. Not only did this result in an extra single-use package going to waste, but, despite my best efforts, it also left me with a stale second pastry. The leftover Pop-Tart would get exposed to air and would never be as fresh as it originally was.
I also disliked the consumer influence of it all, encouraging customers to eat more than one Pop-Tart when, until recently, the serving size was just one. The "eat more, buy more" cycle didn't sit right with me.
Nevertheless, this wasn't enough to keep me away from the toaster pastries, and I've remained a Pop-Tarts fan to this day. But, I finally decided to get to the bottom of this packaging question. Several Reddit threads had their theories (i.e. because a toaster has two slots), but to really know the truth, I needed to go to the source itself: Pop-Tarts.
So, why does the classic silver wrapper give you a double dose of toaster pastries? Hint: it has nothing to do with encouraging customers to eat more (...or toaster slots).
Why Are Pop-Tarts Wrapped in Twos?
“While Jerry Seinfeld may claim 'one is not enough and three is too many,' in reality, the decision to sell Pop-Tarts in two-packs was made at the brand’s inception 60 years ago and had nothing to do with portions,” the Pop-Tarts brand stated in an email to Allrecipes.
When the first flavors of Pop-Tarts were released in 1964 (strawberry, blueberry, apple currant, and brown sugar cinnamon), the packaging machines were expensive, resulting in hefty up-front costs. So, to be economical about their investments, the company decided to package the product in twos at the start (explained in the book "Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods that Changed the Way We Eat" by Carolyn Wyman).
“To package them singly would have required twice as many machines. Kellogg’s didn’t want to invest in a lot of machines until they knew how it would sell," said Bill Post, who managed the first plant to produce Pop-Tarts.
As Pop-Tartspoppedoff in the marketplace, shoppers became accustomed to the pair of pastries (and nobody was complaining).
“Pop-Tarts was able to reduce excess packaging and waste by doubling the number of toaster pastries in each packet. By the time Pop-Tarts became a household favorite, fans were already used to the double packages as part of the Pop-Tarts experience,” the brand stated in an email.
So, the decision to double-wrap the toaster treats not only saved the brand money by reducing excess materials, but it also cut down on the amount of waste caused by the product. And still today, we have the iconic twin-packed pastries loved by kids and adults alike.
So, what's the best solution if you’re only interested in one toaster pastry? Share the wealth with a friend, or just give into your brown sugar cinnamon sweet tooth.
“Pop-Tarts was able to reduce excess packaging and waste by doubling the number of toaster pastries in each packet. By the time Pop-Tarts became a household favorite, fans were already used to the double packages as part of the Pop-Tarts experience,” the brand stated in an email.
Countries belonging to the E.U. have taken the step to ban specific food dyes in consumables sold due to health concerns stemming from these additives. Pop-Tarts contain artificial food dyes, such as Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, which, barring a handful of exceptions, aren't allowed in products sold there.
If you don't eat them for a long time and if you don't workout as often, then yes. So, I would advise you to not eat them every morning, but from time to time, there's nothing wrong with having one or two. Paul G. Eating pop tarts for breakfast will not make you obese, but there's better ways to start you day.
So he hit up “Doc” Joe Thompson, and his kitchen crew to create an ingenious hack on toast and jam. It was called “Fruit Scone.” But that sounded terrible. So we took inspiration from the Pop Culture movement of the day and renamed it “Pop-Tarts".
“We're sorry to say, the Frosted Grape Pop-Tarts have been discontinued. We wish we could continue making them for you, but sadly they did not have enough fans,” Pop-Tarts tweeted in November 2017. After that, fans came out of the woodwork to demand that Pop-Tarts bring back the Frosted Grape flavor—and it worked!
In the early 1960s, Kellogg's biggest competitor, Post, invented a process for dehydrating food and enclosing it in foil to keep it fresh. Originally used for dog food, they were looking to expand their breakfast market and adapted the process to a new toaster-prepared breakfast pastry.
This high-sugar, low-protein junk food is a terrible choice to start off your day. Summary: Pop Tarts are high in sugar and contain refined flour and unhealthy oils. They provide very little protein or fiber.
The serving size of Pop Tarts is 1 pastry, with each individual package containing 2 Pop Tarts. If you eat both, you have to multiply each category on the label by two, to get 420 calories, 16g of fat, 5g of saturated fat, 380g of sodium, and 24g of sugar. Yikes!
He adds, however, that these sweet pastries are ultra-processed and shouldn't be a fixture in a healthy, balanced diet the same way you shouldn't be eating copious amounts of chocolate-flavored gels everyday for breakfast.
As of 2003, every country that has banned Ritz crackers has done so because the ingredients include trans fats such as partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils.
Gatorade was also banned due to the presence of Yellow 5 and 6, which are artificial ingredients banned in the European Union in all food produced for children. While foods in most of the European Union containing these ingredients must be labeled, Norway and Austria still prohibit them.
Frosted Strawberry was considered the most popular flavor as the top choice in 13 states. S'mores was second as the top choice in nine states. Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon was third as the top choice in seven states. The results are based on a survey that consisted of more than 2,000 U.S. participants in March 2024.
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