The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the Twinkie and Wonder bread. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became Hostess Brands.
It was founded in New York City by Robert Boyd Ward in 1849 as the Ward Baking Company. In 1921 William Ward, the grandson of Robert took over the company. He renamed it the Continental Baking Company in 1925. Continental Baking acquired the Wagner Baking Company in Detroit, Michigan and in 1925 bought Taggart Baking Company, the maker of Wonder bread, to become the largest commercial bakery in the United States.[1] Twinkies were invented in 1930 in Schiller Park, Illinois by James Alexander Dewar.