• by Barbie Romero , May 7, 2025

Who doesn’t love a little history? Check out these surprising, little-known facts from some of the biggest names in marketing which involves NASA, unlimited bread sticks, a Chief Pizza & Beer Officer, and more! 

1. Pillsbury: Pillsbury developed Space Food Sticks for NASA in the 1960’s. A ‘non-frozen balanced energy snack in rod form containing nutritionally balanced amounts of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Laying the foundation for energy bars, they were available in caramel, chocolate, malt, mint, orange, and peanut butter flavors. 

2. General Mills: Unlimited breadsticks anyone? General Mills opened the first Olive Garden in 1982 (over a decade after acquiring Red Lobster). 

3. NERDS: In the mid-to-late 1990s, McDonald’s Happy Meals included 57 million samples of NERDS, the first candy to ever tie in with Happy Meals.

4. Mitsubishi: In 2009, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV was the world’s first publicly available mass-produced electric car.

5. Casey’s: In 2024, Casey’s hired their first-ever Chief Pizza & Beer Officer. Joe Cruz from Lincoln, Nebraska was selected out of over 500 qualified candidates to take on this prestigious and mouth-watering position. Joe loves to eat Casey’s pizza and drink beer, making him uniquely qualified to take on this job.

If you’re interested in submitting content for future editions, please reach out to our Managing Editor, Barbie Romero at Barbie@MediaPost.com.