Ralph Leroy Nafziger

Ralph Leroy Nafziger (November 17, 1887 – September 17, 1965) was the founder of the Interstate Bakeries Corporation, which eventually became Hostess Brands.

Nafziger was born into a family of bakers on November 17, 1887, in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] He was studying Engineering and Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute when he was called home to assist with untangling the business affairs of his father.[2]

Nafziger started a baking business in the basement of a Christian church at 6th and Prospect Avenue in the Kansas City's Northeast Neighborhood. After initial success, Nafziger's Baking expanded and, in 1925, he merged his 10 baking plants with Purity Bakers.[2] In 1927, Nafziger bought a controlling interest in Schulze Baking.[2] In 1930, Nafziger announced a merger between his Schulze Baking company and seven baking companies on the west coast of the United States. The new company was called the Interstate Bakeries Corporation.

Nafziger died on September 17, 1965 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 77.[3] The Interstate Bakeries Corporation continued growing; in 1995, it acquired Continental Baking Company (owners of the Wonder Bread and Hostess product lines) and in 2009 became Hostess Brands.