In 1952, the company began as Eastern Canvas Products USA, Inc., producing bags and packs for the U.S. military before focusing on the consumer market under the brand name Eastpak as of 1976.

He transformed the company's retail product line into a consumer brand and launched the first line-up of bags and packs at a sportswear trade fair in Chicago in 1977.

Norman Jacobs joined the company in 1980 and, with partner Mark Goldman, claimed a market-leading share of the U.S. college market on the East Coast throughout most of the 1980s and early 1990s.

[3] The evolution towards a bolder, more original style was also matched in the mid-1980s by increasingly provocative advertising campaigns featuring, e.g., the controversial comic-book character Andy Capp.

Kostia then expanded distribution throughout France, then Switzerland, and other European countries from 1986 to 1995, soon followed by brands such as Airwalk or DCSHOES, which saw Eastpak tap different corners of the market.