In 1999, a small bakery opened in the small town of Osaka, Japan. People in the town couldn’t resist the aroma from the bakery, or the kind face of the owner, Yuji Hirota. His fluffy white beard was so renowned that he became known as “Beard Papa” to all of his regular customers.

Groups of children would always ask Yuji when he was going to make another kind of delicious treat. Beard Papa wanted every new customer to feel like they were sitting with him in Osaka in his bakery. He decided to make a pastry as fluffy and lovable as his beard, and cream puffs were just the treat. People loved his new treat so much that he had to open another store to accommodate all of his new friends. He never stopped, and now there are over 400 Beard Papa’s worldwide that have some of the best cream puffs ever made.