Bost's Bread was a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

of baked bread distributed in the Western

Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

. Bakers in the eastern parts of the Carolinas and Virginia put out a similar product called Bunny Bread, made with nearly the same recipe. At its height, the Bost's Bakery employed around 2,000 people in and around

Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census. History The area was originally ...

. The products of the company became widely known in part due to the advertising antics of Arthur Smith and his Crackerjacks, whose television shows Bost's Bread sponsored on WBTV in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. Slogans like "If it's Fresher'n Bost's it's Still in the Oven", "The Best Taste You Ever Toasted", and "Baked Slow to Sell Fast" became bywords and embedded into the cultural slang-speak of the area where Bost's Bread was sold. Around 1986 the Bost's Bakery was sold to Wonder Bread ontinental Baking Co. which operated the Bakery 6 years till 1992, adding its staple "Wonder Bread",

Twinkies A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by private ...

, frosted cupcakes and other confections to the product line alongside the bread products. In 1992 the parent company of Bost's and Wonder Bread (Continental Baking Co.) shut down the bakery in Shelby NC and Also the Hamburger and Hotdog Bun Bakery in Thomasville NC, ending a tasty chapter in the history of Shelby and

Cleveland County, North Carolina Cleveland County is a County (United States), county located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the western Piedmont, on the southern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

. Wonder Bread and Hostess cake lines were transferred to other plants within the Continental Baking company. In the early 1990s the formulas or recipes, intellectual property, as well as some hardware of Bost's Bread were sold to Waldensian Bakeries, owned by the Rostan family, longtime bakers of rival

Sunbeam Bread Sunbeam Bread is a franchised brand of white bread, rolls, and other baked goods owned by the Quality Bakers of America cooperative. The bread products are produced and distributed by regional bakeries. History The brand was launched in 1942 and ...

. That company was sold in 1995 to the Flowers Baking Company which sold Bost's Bread alongside its products for a few years before phasing out the brand around the year 2000.

References

Brand name breads {{bread-stub

See also

References