Jerry Seinfeld’s latest comedy film on Netflix is the hilarious story of two cereal companies going against each other. Set in the 1960s, Unfrosted follows Kellogg’s as it attempts to beat their rival Post and invent a revolutionary breakfast pastry. Also starring Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Max Greenfield and Peter Dinklage, the film gives an authentic portrayal of events that underwent at the time, making audiences curious about the true story behind Unfrosted.
The Real Story Behind Unfrosted
Unfrosted is based on a real story and follows the actual rivalry between Kellogg’s and Post that took place in Battle Creek, Michigan in the early 1960s. At the time, Post, a big competitor of Kellogg’s, made a new way to dry food and keep it fresh using foil. Originally, they did this for dog food. But then they thought they could use it for breakfast too. The company called their new breakfast pastry “Country Squares”. Post told the press about it in 1964, even before they were ready to sell it. This gave them a head start.
When Kellogg’s heard about Post’s Country Squares, they rushed to make their own version. They even hired an inventor from Keebler, named Bill Post, to help them. In just four months, Kellogg’s made their own breakfast pastry. They called it “Fruit Scones” at first. But then they changed the name to “Pop-Tarts” because they wanted it to be cool like the Pop Art movement. At the time, people loved Pop-Tarts right away. They sold out in stores in just two weeks. Kellogg’s had to say sorry in ads because they couldn’t keep enough Pop-Tarts on the shelves. But this just made people want them even more.
When Pop-Tarts first came out, they had four flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple currant. Later, they changed apple currant to apple-berry. At first, Pop-Tarts didn’t have frosting. But Kellogg’s fixed that by making a frosting that wouldn’t melt in the toaster. So, they started selling frosted Pop-Tarts in 1967. Then in 1968, they added sprinkles to some flavors to make them even more fun.
In Unfrosted, Jerry Seinfeld has drawn the analogy of the rivalry between Kellogg’s and Post to that of the space race between the USA and the USSR in the 1960s, which makes the film even funnier. More such changes have been made to the true story to make it even more entertaining in the film, making Unfrosted a compelling watch for the audiences.
Also Read: Unfrosted Filming Locations