View Full Version : hostess debacle
Hostess going under is going to increase hiking costs. The alternatives to hostess pastry are almost always a good deal higher in cost and certainly not as available has hostess products have been. I'm really gonna miss the cherry pie for breakfast. Pop tart makers may be a good investment right now.
chiefiepoo
11-17-2012, 10:08
TastyKake is destined to rule the snack cake world. Somewhat pricey though.
Wise Old Owl
11-17-2012, 11:45
Oh come on it won't be missed
Entemanns
http://www.entenmanns.com/
Tastykake
http://www.tastykake.com/
Keebler
http://www.keebler.com/
Fresh and Tasty in the Bronx
http://www.freshandtasty.com/products.htm
Pepper ridge farm
http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/
I walked into a Wawa yesterday and they weren't even offered - they have been loosing marketshare for years.
max patch
11-17-2012, 11:50
Don't you guys watch Seinfeld? Here's the replacement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZU05h3U2Hw
Screw Hostess, twinkies and Funny Bones. Little Debbies FTW!
Wise Old Owl
11-17-2012, 13:57
That's the spirit! Sly gets a big award!
Hostess won't go away, it will sell the rights to another company for the products. I have not had a Twinkie in 20 years so for me no great loss!
Tuckahoe
11-17-2012, 14:12
Hostess won't go away, it will sell the rights to another company for the products. I have not had a Twinkie in 20 years so for me no great loss!
+1. This, Another company will purchase the name and recipies carrying brand recognition and return them to the market.
On the other hand who would of thought that "Zombie Land" predicted the future so well...
Drake's Devil Dogs were my favorite growing up.....wasn't interested in Twinkies so I won't miss them.
Don't you guys watch Seinfeld? Here's the replacement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZU05h3U2Hw
haw - drakes is owned by hostess! its a gonner too. hope you are starting to realize how important an issue this is.
this is a serious azz matter so I hope you guys will quit joking around. the only surviving cheap possibility is pup-tarts and I hate those things.
this is a serious azz matter so I hope you guys will quit joking around. the only surviving cheap possibility is pup-tarts and I hate those things.
Little Debbie's are even cheaper and less healthy than Twinkees. Problem solved!
HermesUL
11-17-2012, 17:38
I never even considered eating twinkies on the trail...no nutritional value, don't taste very good, and rather low calories/oz regardless (about 100 cal/oz).
Unless you are determined to pay more for equally poor quality but similar trail foods, the worst case scenario is you'll replace it with slightly healthier, more calorie dense foods. Scary.
I never even considered eating twinkies on the trail...no nutritional value, don't taste very good, and rather low calories/oz regardless (about 100 cal/oz).
Unless you are determined to pay more for equally poor quality but similar trail foods, the worst case scenario is you'll replace it with slightly healthier, more calorie dense foods. Scary.
I really think real story is about 18500 jobs pissed away. Twinkees will come back but under a new corporate name with new employees. Hostess could not charge enough because its price is influenced by it's competition. To pay the pensions, healthcare and wages of the employees and rising costs of corn and wheat drove them right back into bankruptcy for the second time.
I really think real story is about 18500 jobs pissed away. Twinkees will come back but under a new corporate name with new employees. Hostess could not charge enough because its price is influenced by it's competition. To pay the pensions, healthcare and wages of the employees and rising costs of corn and wheat drove them right back into bankruptcy for the second time.
And sugar. A small percentage of farmers with a hammer lock on Washington DC keep sugar tariffs in place that make it cost effective to off shore confectionery and semi-stable baking products. That's why both Life Savers and Jolly Ranchers are no longer made in USA. A Mexican outfit called Grupo Bimbo will probably buy the remains, they already own such things as Thomas' english muffins.
I really think real story is about 18500 jobs pissed away. Twinkees will come back but under a new corporate name with new employees. Hostess could not charge enough because its price is influenced by it's competition. To pay the pensions, healthcare and wages of the employees and rising costs of corn and wheat drove them right back into bankruptcy for the second time.
And sugar. A small percentage of farmers with a hammer lock on Washington DC keep sugar tariffs in place that make it cost effective to off shore confectionery and semi-stable baking products. That's why both Life Savers and Jolly Ranchers are no longer made in USA. A Mexican outfit called Grupo Bimbo will probably buy the remains, they already own such things as Thomas' english muffins.
And sugar. I looked and they use sugar in addition to corn syrup. Actually kind of suprised me that they splurged on sugar instead of using modified corn syrup. ADM and Conagra are two of the most influential companies in America.
Hostess going under is going to increase hiking costs. The alternatives to hostess pastry are almost always a good deal higher in cost and certainly not as available has hostess products have been. I'm really gonna miss the cherry pie for breakfast. Pop tart makers may be a good investment right now.
What is the reason for the company going belly up?
Little Debbies Oatmeal Cookies rule!!!:)
This may be the beginning of the end of time! Those Mayans sure were smart!
daddytwosticks
11-18-2012, 16:34
The Mayans went extinct from eating too many Twinkies that the Spanish brought over. :)
This may be the beginning of the end of time! Those Mayans sure were smart!
dang, why didn't I think of that. 2012 is passed and people thought nothing would happen - here it is - THE END OF THE WORLD:0
Drybones
11-18-2012, 18:17
Hostess going under is going to increase hiking costs. The alternatives to hostess pastry are almost always a good deal higher in cost and certainly not as available has hostess products have been. I'm really gonna miss the cherry pie for breakfast. Pop tart makers may be a good investment right now.
+1 for Hostess cherry pies, one of the few treats that stayed with me more than an hour, had one at morning break every chance I had, will miss them dearly.
HermesUL
11-18-2012, 18:36
The company hasn't been profitable since they last went bankrupt in 2004. They've been cutting wages ever since and the workers finally had enough. No worries though, the people at the top made out fine, they're not exactly going to have to take out a second mortgage on their house.
My interpretation of the bankruptcy is neither the union killing or the vulture capitalist partisan swing...instead, it was a reality of a company whose product is no longer profitable, which is the cost of capitalism. But hey, someone else will be selling Twinkies soon, no worries!
Ugh. I thought I'd escaped the threat of Twinkies once and for all. :P
I live a mile from McKee Enterprises and the factory that makes all the Little Debbie's, Sunbelt snacks, Arnold Bread, Pepperidge Farms, Sarah Lee, and Blue Planet health foods in the world. The trucks keep rolling 24/7. There will be plenty of options.
On a warm spring day, you can smell the bread and brownies and oatmeal cream pies baking...
PaperCrane
11-18-2012, 23:39
Screw Hostess, twinkies and Funny Bones. Little Debbies FTW!
I will agree with little debby taking the place of hostess they are always about fifty cents cheaper than hostess was.
Wise Old Owl
11-19-2012, 00:16
http://www.dancentury.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/990_556199844409473_1750084223_n.jpg
Raymond James
11-19-2012, 09:31
Well unions have screwed the education system up now they're costing us our twinkies, heard on the news those jobs may go to Mexico, hope they dont build that fence, we may have to cross the border to find a job and a Twinkie some day.
Despite the noise on the faux news show the unions realy did not have much to do with it. This profitable company was "Bained" by cooporate raider types. Who took the money out of the company, sold off assets and loaded up debt on the part that was left. The new big bosses made millions while aruing about nickles.
They will dump the current employees , retirement cost, a lot of debt and reopen paying less without benifits. They will go from being a slightly profitable company to a slightly profitable company. Market share will not grow and neither will profits. They will struggle with quality control, pruduction goals.
Tuckahoe
11-19-2012, 12:24
Yeah, lets not get facts in the way on either side of the argument...
The simple fact is that fewer Hostess products are being sold because, as a whole most Americans actually are trying to eat better. I dont eat them, and when I want something bad for me I am willing to pay more for a better gourmet product. Sales on Twinkies in 2011 had declined 2% over the previous year with sales of 36 million packages.
Hostess is also up against a saturated bakery industry and too much bakery capacity
Couple the change in tastes with labor costs and management mistakes and there is a reason that Hostess should wind down operations. Labor costs simply cannot keep going up and a company should be able to cut costs. The teamsters understood this. The deal would have cut wages for the present, with a return to current levels over the next several years along with a 25% ownership of the company by the unions.
As far as management missteps, giving nearly a dozen executives nearly 80% raises at the time that the company is struggling is just stupid. But I would also like to see the evidence of this company being "Bained".
Declining sales, bloated capacity, high labor costs and mismanagement are going to doom any company.
On the otherhand, Hostess had $2.5 billion in revenue last year and of that Twinkies had $68 million is sales. That looks good to another company that can bring the issues under control.
Greed on both sides of labor + increased cost of ingredients + decreased sales = Bankruptcy
I can't think of the last time I ate a Hostess product or Wonderbread. The company didn't change with America's eating habits so they slowly died. To bad for Hostess but other better run companies will increase their sales of junk food.
GTo bad for Hostess but other better run companies will increase their sales of junk food.
They need to do some greenwashing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing)! :)
http://www.thewholegang.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/frito-bag.jpg
max patch
11-19-2012, 13:29
Non issue. If Hostess goes away during the bankruptcy process they will sell the various brand names to another company and twinkies et al will continue to be made. The last twinkie I had was probably in high school.
I love that marketing gimick. Chips were already being fried in vegetable oil and where Cholesterol free. We are marketing suckers. Kind of like FEDEX convincing us that overnight shipping is something we really needed, even though no one needed it before they told us we did. We already had the Fax machine so shipping important documents was done through snail mail with a faxed copy already at the location.
WingedMonkey
11-19-2012, 13:46
I seriously doubt Twinkies were as much of a trail food as some would claim. More likely what folks eat while on a computer talking about hiking.
I seriously doubt Twinkies were as much of a trail food as some would claim. More likely what folks eat while on a computer talking about hiking.
So, how many twinkies today for you?:)
mad4scrapping
11-19-2012, 15:14
+1 for LIttle Debbies. Swiss Cake Rolls rule!
WingedMonkey
11-19-2012, 15:17
So, how many twinkies today for you?:)
None, don't think I've had one in about 10 years.
I have had a few handfuls of GORP today while I mix it up for my upcoming 10 days in the woods. And some dried apricots and dates while I weigh them out. And a glass of Nido to test it was still good while I filled up my peanut butter jar.
I usually snack while I pack and weigh. Nothing worse than to find out the granola bars are stale after you get in the middle of nowhere, and have already carried them.
:sun
None, don't think I've had one in about 10 years.
I have had a few handfuls of GORP today while I mix it up for my upcoming 10 days in the woods. And some dried apricots and dates while I weigh them out. And a glass of Nido to test it was still good while I filled up my peanut butter jar.
I usually snack while I pack and weigh. Nothing worse than to find out the granola bars are stale after you get in the middle of nowhere, and have already carried them.
:sun
True enough! I find it impossible to pass up on tasting dried fruit to make sure they are OK. My real weakness is dry sausage.
At work today we were talking about the last time any of us even had a twinkie. No one had one for at least ten years, most said it's been over twenty years.
HikerMom58
11-19-2012, 15:25
+1 for LIttle Debbies. Swiss Cake Rolls rule!
+1 for the Swiss cake rolls... I just saw some in the grocery store yesterday.. I looked and drooled over them but I didn't touch..:cool: Yay!!
None, don't think I've had one in about 10 years.
I have had a few handfuls of GORP today while I mix it up for my upcoming 10 days in the woods. And some dried apricots and dates while I weigh them out. And a glass of Nido to test it was still good while I filled up my peanut butter jar.
I usually snack while I pack and weigh. Nothing worse than to find out the granola bars are stale after you get in the middle of nowhere, and have already carried them.
:sun
Haha!! So true WM!!:sun
+1 for LIttle Debbies. Swiss Cake Rolls rule!
The whole box is one portion. Just like Krispy Kreme donuts, a dozen is a portion.
Drybones
11-19-2012, 18:58
The whole box is one portion. Just like Krispy Kreme donuts, a dozen is a portion.
Spent the night at Uncle Johnny's in Erwin, he dropped us off at Mexican restaunt and I had a big meal with the guys, while sitting on a bench waiting for Uncle to pick us up I ate an 18 ounce loaf of raisin bread, the trail tape worm can not be satisfied.
Different Socks
11-19-2012, 19:55
Screw Hostess, twinkies and Funny Bones. Little Debbies FTW!
Amen to that!!! $4.00 per box for Hostess, $2.50 or less for Little Debbies? Give me Debbie!
WingedMonkey
11-19-2012, 20:13
Found some Single Decker Moon Pies while I was at Wall-mart. Much better flavor than the Double Decker at most big box stores.
Old Hiker
11-19-2012, 20:14
Found some Single Decker Moon Pies while I was at Wall-mart. Much better flavor than the Double Decker at most big box stores.
Have you tried the mint ones yet?
Judge said Hostess and Bakers Union have to work on it with a mediator! There is a hope!
Sarcasm the elf
11-19-2012, 22:45
They need to do some greenwashing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing)! :)
http://www.thewholegang.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/frito-bag.jpg
Very true.
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/free.png
Maybe Moon Pies will be able to gain some more market share now. They are easy to find in the South, but seem to be harder to come by the further away you get. The Double Decker beats the pants off of Twinkies any day.
SunnyWalker
11-22-2012, 11:48
Well . . . . no more "twinky defense" . . . .
SassyWindsor
11-22-2012, 21:34
Don't be surprise if Twinkles start getting churned out by the Chinese when Hostess liquidates. Yum, I'll have the formaldehyde flavored ones.
Don't be surprise if Twinkles start getting churned out by the Chinese when Hostess liquidates. Yum, I'll have the formaldehyde flavored ones.
Maybe a little lead?
SassyWindsor
11-22-2012, 22:17
"The amount of food imported from China has grown dramatically in the past decade. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States imported $4.1 billion worth of seafood and agricultural products from China in 2006. In 1995, it was $800 million.
In June, the United States banned five types of fish and shrimp from China because inspectors found traces of cancer-causing chemicals and antibiotics in the products. See products that have been affected"
http://www.tradereform.org/2011/06/potentially-unsafe-food-entering-u-s-from-china
Old Hiker
11-22-2012, 22:39
Well . . . . no more "twinky defense" . . . .
No - it'll be "I couldn't find a twinkie, so I flipped out !"
SunnyWalker
11-22-2012, 23:12
Awwwwww . . . . the CHI-neeeeese, . . . just a bunch of twinkies!!!! (Just kidding!)