It all starts in Indianapolis, the Taggart Baking Company in 1921 was preparing to launch a new loaf of bread. They announced in newspaper ads:
“A Wonder is Coming.”
Elmer Cline, president of Taggert Baking, had attended the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hundreds of brightly colored hot-air balloons filled the sky. Looking up, he reportedly said he was filled with ‘wonder’.
That became the bread’s name, and the red, yellow, and blue balloons became its enduring logo.
For a few years, Wonder Bread was simply another loaf. Then, the Continental Baking Company purchased Taggert in 1925. They introduced a new featured, pre-sliced bread. By 1930 it was being sold nationally as sliced bread, one of the first brands to do so. At first, most customers worried sliced bread would dry out, so the company had to persuade people that convenience wouldn’t sacrifice freshness.
During the 1940s, in general, white bread was enriched with vitamins and minerals as part of a government effort to combat nutritional deficiencies. Wonder Bread leaned into this, advertising:
“Wonder Bread builds strong bodies…”
The slogan changed over the years from “8 ways” to “12 ways,” referring to the added nutrients rather than some mysterious power hidden in the loaf.
As American tastes changed in the late twentieth century toward whole grains, sourdoughs, and artisan breads, Wonder Bread became almost a symbol of industrial food—soft, white, uniform, and nostalgic all at once.
After the collapse of Hostess Brands in 2012, the brand disappeared briefly before being purchased by Flowers Foods and returned to store shelves in 2013.
The bread’s name comes from the oldest meaning of wonder—not curiosity, but astonished delight.
The classic- “I wonder…” meant I have a question, wonder meant I have encountered something so beautiful or unexpected that words fail.
The executives weren’t wondering about the balloons.
They were standing in wonder beneath them.
Applying ‘wonder’ as a name for the bread wasn’t connected to anything the bread offered at the time. It was a celebration of the concept, the wrapper was closer to the real meaning of the word.
I’m sure that the ‘sliced’ feature, and the fresh texture leaned into a new ‘wonder’. But there was a price. Less natural nutrition, boosted by artificial vitamins. Science ‘improving’ our lives. Reducing ‘Wonder’ to a brand.
A Work Progressing 
It’s a Wonder
It all starts in Indianapolis, the Taggart Baking Company in 1921 was preparing to launch a new loaf of bread. They announced in newspaper ads:
“A Wonder is Coming.”
Elmer Cline, president of Taggert Baking, had attended the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hundreds of brightly colored hot-air balloons filled the sky. Looking up, he reportedly said he was filled with ‘wonder’.
That became the bread’s name, and the red, yellow, and blue balloons became its enduring logo.
For a few years, Wonder Bread was simply another loaf. Then, the Continental Baking Company purchased Taggert in 1925. They introduced a new featured, pre-sliced bread. By 1930 it was being sold nationally as sliced bread, one of the first brands to do so. At first, most customers worried sliced bread would dry out, so the company had to persuade people that convenience wouldn’t sacrifice freshness.
During the 1940s, in general, white bread was enriched with vitamins and minerals as part of a government effort to combat nutritional deficiencies. Wonder Bread leaned into this, advertising:
“Wonder Bread builds strong bodies…”
The slogan changed over the years from “8 ways” to “12 ways,” referring to the added nutrients rather than some mysterious power hidden in the loaf.
As American tastes changed in the late twentieth century toward whole grains, sourdoughs, and artisan breads, Wonder Bread became almost a symbol of industrial food—soft, white, uniform, and nostalgic all at once.
After the collapse of Hostess Brands in 2012, the brand disappeared briefly before being purchased by Flowers Foods and returned to store shelves in 2013.
The bread’s name comes from the oldest meaning of wonder—not curiosity, but astonished delight.
The classic- “I wonder…” meant I have a question, wonder meant I have encountered something so beautiful or unexpected that words fail.
The executives weren’t wondering about the balloons.
They were standing in wonder beneath them.
Applying ‘wonder’ as a name for the bread wasn’t connected to anything the bread offered at the time. It was a celebration of the concept, the wrapper was closer to the real meaning of the word.
I’m sure that the ‘sliced’ feature, and the fresh texture leaned into a new ‘wonder’. But there was a price. Less natural nutrition, boosted by artificial vitamins. Science ‘improving’ our lives. Reducing ‘Wonder’ to a brand.
Time to rescue the word…
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About johndiestler
Retired community college professor of graphic design, multimedia and photography, and chair of the fine arts and media department.