Have You Bought a Hostess Product in the Last Year?

[Parsad]

I've thought that Hostess brands would be a terrific buy at the right price for Berkshire or a number of other companies, like Weston Foods.  I was never a fan of Twinkies, but I sure like the occasional Ho Ho or Zinger...especially the Zinger.  That pink, syrupy cake, covered in shredded coconut and the same Twinkie's vanilla filling inside...mmmmm!  Gonna miss them unless Berkshire saves the day!  Cheers!

[Zorrofan]

Great, now I have a craving!  ;D

 

cheers

Zorro

 

 

[NormR]

Not to worry, IIRC, Saputo has the Hostess license in Canada.  So, you'll have all the cake-like products you can eat. ;D 

Oh, an you might also engage in geographical-Twinkie arbitrage to help out those in deprived areas.  ;)

[InelegantInvestor]

I suspect that a large part of the Hostess problem was that Wonder Bread forced them to have a ton of bakeries and a distribution network, whereas the snack foods(with longer shelf life) could have been serviced from a handful of plants and sold through wholesalers.  Wonder Bread should be asset-lite, licensing the brand to regional bakeries.

 

I'm ready to give running this a try if someone will back me. And I won't triple my own salary after filing bankruptcy.

[CONeal]

Had a couple of Twinkies on Friday when I head the news.  One thing that has kinda suprised me is that the shelves are still full of the other products.  Figured that with everyone's nostalgia kicking in the shelves would be empty of everything. 

[meiroy]

 

 

Haven't had any for a long time, though last week I watched *Zombieland again for the fifth time so I considered it for a few minutes :)

 

 

* best silly movie ever made.

 

[tooskinneejs]

I used to love Twinkies as a kid.  Then, after not eating one for at least 10 - 15 years, I ate one about a year ago.  I guess my tastes have "matured" because it didn't taste as good as I remembered from childhood.

[watsa_is_a_randian_hero]

Sweet Snacks

Twinkies

CupCakes

Ding Dongs

Ho Hos

Sno Balls

Donettes

Devil Dogs – Drake’s

Funny Bones – Drake’s

Ring Dings – Drake’s

CoffeeCakes – Drake’s

Blueberry Muffins – Drake’s

Yodels – Drake’s

Breads

Wonder

Nature’s Pride

Merita

Home Pride

Beefsteak

Butternut

Millbrook

Eddy’s

J.J. Nissen

Sweetheart

Cotton’s Holsum

Sunbeam

Bread du Jour

[Olmsted]

I think a lot of folks think this means twinkies will no longer exist.  And of course the viable brands will just be bought by another bakery.  But because of this misperception, wouldn't it be funny if publicity from this liquidation resulted in a nostalgia-fueled twinkie-buying binge, saving the company?

 

Okay, not going to happen, but would be humorous.

[Tim Eriksen]

Based on prices on eBay ($20 per box) it looks like some people are trying to, and making, a buck out of this:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=twinkies&_sacat=0&_from=R40

 

 

 

[mysticdrew]

Yea... the hostess shelves at the market was empty when I went over the weekend. 

[tengen]

Haven't had a twinkie in probably 4 decades and it, along with sugary carbonated water, is on my "do not consume" list. However, I am a dietary hypocrite as I will occasionally snarf down one of these

[Parsad]

Haven't had a twinkie in probably 4 decades and it, along with sugary carbonated water, is on my "do not consume" list. However, I am a dietary hypocrite as I will occasionally snarf down one of these

 

If you eat those, then you live in Richmond, BC and are probably a Hong Kong expatriate!  ;D  I remember when they opened the first one in Richmond...there was a massive lineup...bigger than outside an Apple store when a new phone comes out.  All Hong Kong expats!  I used to snarf one down too occasionally at the Metrotown store, but now that I've moved, the closest one is near my office on Robson.  Cheers!

[Parsad]

Haven't had a twinkie in probably 4 decades and it, along with sugary carbonated water, is on my "do not consume" list. However, I am a dietary hypocrite as I will occasionally snarf down one of these

 

If you eat those, then you live in Richmond, BC and are probably a Hong Kong expatriate!  ;D  I remember when they opened the first one in Richmond...there was a massive lineup...bigger than outside an Apple store when a new phone comes out.  All Hong Kong expats!  I used to snarf one down too occasionally at the Metrotown store, but now that I've moved, the closest one is near my office on Robson.  Cheers!

 

Actually, now that I've read their website, I did not realize they started in Japan and that they have over 250 stores around the world.  I always thought it was a Hong Kong thing, as my friends from there couldn't stop talking about it when they opened the first store here.  Cheers!

[rkbabang]

I've been eating a low carb paleo diet for the last 2 years, so I definitely haven't had any in that time.  But looking at that list of products I'm not sure I've had a Hostess product in the last 10 years or more.  I remember most of them from when I was a kid though.  I used to love ring dings and funny bones.  I've never been a fan of twinkies.

 

--Eric

 

Sweet Snacks

Twinkies

CupCakes

Ding Dongs

Ho Hos

Sno Balls

Donettes

Devil Dogs – Drake’s

Funny Bones – Drake’s

Ring Dings – Drake’s

CoffeeCakes – Drake’s

Blueberry Muffins – Drake’s

Yodels – Drake’s

Breads

Wonder

Nature’s Pride

Merita

Home Pride

Beefsteak

Butternut

Millbrook

Eddy’s

J.J. Nissen

Sweetheart

Cotton’s Holsum

Sunbeam

Bread du Jour

[tengen]

Having grown up in Victoria, BC in the 70's (not Hong Kong, alas), I have a strong memory of being indoctrinated to want Twinkies, which I still associate with Halloween because I'm pretty sure Hostess was the main sponsor of the Charlie Brown Halloween special. If Hostess does go under, I won't miss them except for brief moments of nostalgia for the passing of an American cultural icon.

[UK]

https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/twinkie-hostess-brands-smucker-deal-4cc72302?mod=hp_lead_pos9

 

Ten years ago, the unthinkable happened: Twinkies disappeared. Hostess Brands, maker of the golden, cream-filled sponge cake, declared bankruptcy for the second time in a decade. The company closed its factories and began liquidation proceedings, sparking a run on supermarkets as shoppers filled their carts with Twinkies, Ho Hos and other edible specimens of Americana they thought they might never be able to buy again. What happened next was a dramatic comeback that few could have anticipated. Two investment firms rescued the snack cakes, paying $410 million for Hostess’s brands and kicking off a decadelong fix-up job. Then came a dogged quest for efficiency and a determined search for the next Twinkie, all of which culminated this week in a deal to sell Hostess to J.M. Smucker for $4.6 billion.

[rkbabang]

On 11/19/2012 at 9:48 PM, rkbabang said:

I've been eating a low carb paleo diet for the last 2 years, so I definitely haven't had any in that time.  But looking at that list of products I'm not sure I've had a Hostess product in the last 10 years or more.  I remember most of them from when I was a kid though.  I used to love ring dings and funny bones.  I've never been a fan of twinkies.

 

--Eric

 

 

It’s been 11 years since this post and I haven’t purchased or eaten any of these products in the last 11 years either.

[TwoCitiesCapital]

22 hours ago, rkbabang said:

It’s been 11 years since this post and I haven’t purchased or eaten any of these products in the last 11 years either.

 

Same. I assume it's the general trend towards a slightly healthier diet and the demonization of sugar that has occurred in the last decade. 

 

Doesn't look like it stopped them from 10x-ing their money though so good for them. 

[dwy000]

Odd this got posted recently because for the first time ever I saw them in my local Costco last week.  Got some for the kids to try.  Naturally they love them (sugar, fake creme, cake - what's not to love for kids).  They're already asking to buy more.  

[xo 1]

3 hours ago, TwoCitiesCapital said:

 

Same. I assume it's the general trend towards a slightly healthier diet and the demonization of sugar that has occurred in the last decade. 

 

Doesn't look like it stopped them from 10x-ing their money though so good for them. 

It's an interesting story.  Crazy how much more efficient buyers were able to make the operations - I was particularly struck by the slashing in employees.  This is one instance where I felt like the handsome return has been merited.  It will be interesting to see if it works out for Smucker's.  Has a Loser's Curse feel to the fancy price, but Smucker's is well enough run that there may be a workable strategy behind the combination.

[jks327]

Haven't had one in the last decade, but also since 2017 have stuck to organic diet with no added sugars.

[Blugolds]

Don’t remember the last time I had a Hostess product. Been decades. When I was younger I never liked Twinkies. I was more of a Zebra cake kinda guy, Ding Dongs were Swiss cake rolls and Nutty Buddies. I didnt mind the Hostess cupcakes but preferred the orange flavor over chocolate. 

 

We shopped a lot at WMT and they had their great value brand alternative that copied the Little Debbie and Hostess products and I never could tell a difference.