Bye bye Hostess

[MadMonk]

The union puts the final nail in the coffin. I guess they'll learn the hard way that when you bite off the hand that feeds you, you go hungry.
Hostess shut down: Twinkie maker to go out of business - chicagotribune.com

[Just the facts]

The wife is at the store now buying the last Twinkies we will purchase. End of an era.

[SoonerDave]

Wondering if there's any chance another company will at least buy the rights to the Hostess or Wonder name and/or some of their products? I mean, the loss of Twinkies and Ding Dongs is just sad... Yeah, yeah, I know they aren't exactly health food, but good grief, they're American institutions...

[kelroy55]

It sounds like they were already in federal bankruptcy, in fact this is the 2nd time in the last 10 years they've been in federal bankruptcy. It's sad to see them go but it sounds like the company has been teetering on shutting down for quite a while now. One of the problems for Hostess might be they have roughly $2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities to its various workers. The Hostess brands will be bought up by other companies but it's sad for the workers. It wasn't just the Union, the Hostess employees ratified a strike by a 9-to-1 margin so they are as much to blame.

[bucktalk]

The union puts the final nail in the coffin. I guess they'll learn the hard way that when you bite off the hand that feeds you, you go hungry.
Hostess shut down: Twinkie maker to go out of business - chicagotribune.com

This!!!

[onthestrip]

Wondering if there's any chance another company will at least buy the rights to the Hostess or Wonder name and/or some of their products? I mean, the loss of Twinkies and Ding Dongs is just sad... Yeah, yeah, I know they aren't exactly health food, but good grief, they're American institutions...

American Institution? Maybe. But when was the last time anyone ate one? Has to be over a decade for me.

It is quite interesting that their bakers union is playing hardball when they could easily have no job in a week or two.

[kevinpate]

Some will blame the unions. Some will blame corporate board. Me, I blame Little Debbie, but dear lawd, I admit I do love her so.

[ThomPaine]

Insert Zombieland Twinkie truck scene...

[NoOkie]

American Institution? Maybe. But when was the last time anyone ate one? Has to be over a decade for me.

It is quite interesting that their bakers union is playing hardball when they could easily have no job in a week or two.

I enjoy the occasional fruit pie, but Little Debbie is so much better that I think they just got beat in the market. I really feel like this was the result of years of bad management and failure to innovate(This isn't the first time they've gone to the brink) with the union as a convenient scapegoat.

[Of Sound Mind]

It sounds like they were already in federal bankruptcy, in fact this is the 2nd time in the last 10 years they've been in federal bankruptcy. It's sad to see them go but it sounds like the company has been teetering on shutting down for quite a while now. One of the problems for Hostess might be they have roughly $2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities to its various workers. The Hostess brands will be bought up by other companies but it's sad for the workers. It wasn't just the Union, the Hostess employees ratified a strike by a 9-to-1 margin so they are as much to blame.

I wonder if now those striking workers would have preferred to take the 8% paycut over the 100% paycut.

[Pete]

Their products were never very good and now seem much worse in contrast to their competition.

Besides, almost everywhere you can buy their prepackaged, sit-on-the-shelf-for-weeks stuff, there are usually lots of fresh alternatives.

Even convenience stores now have fresh donuts, muffins and pastries.

[MadMonk]

Pity they weren't too big to fail.

[venture]

I wonder if now those striking workers would have preferred to take the 8% paycut over the 100% paycut.

Honestly looking at the financial record of the company, the union paycut wouldn't have mattered. This company was headed for Chapter 7 regardless. It more or less was likely just a stalling tactic to the inevitable where they would start selling off assets left and right. So the anti-union crowd will definitely jump all over this and blame them (I'm really trying to resist doing that), but the entire institution has so many flaws that you can't just blame it on the workers. Now the CEO will in the media, but that is SOP.

At the end of the day, the various products will likely get picked up from other businesses or even new companies and things will start over. I don't expect Twinkie to vanish forever.

[SoonerDave]

Their products were never very good and now seem much worse in contrast to their competition.

Besides, almost everywhere you can buy their prepackaged, sit-on-the-shelf-for-weeks stuff, there are usually lots of fresh alternatives.

Even convenience stores now have fresh donuts, muffins and pastries.

I dunno...not sure there really is an alternative to a Ding Dong or a Twinkie. Sometimes, there was nothing quite like a foil-wrapped Ding Dong and a cold glass of milk. Probably not very chic or contemporary, but man they were good.

I think Hostess started going down the tubes when they stopped wrapping them in foil and went with the nasty plastic seal-wrap, like Hershey's did with their candy bars, but then again I think if the Hershey who founded the company could taste the current kind of "chocolate" they make today, he'd roll over in his grave....but that's another thread, I guess.

[BBatesokc]

On an up side...... if you stock up today, they still won't be expired in 10 years.

We used to make strawberry shortcake with Twinkies. Line them up, add some fresh sliced thawed strawberries with juice and add vanilla Cool-Whip. Yum!

[kelroy55]

On an up side...... if you stock up today, they still won't be expired in 10 years.

We used to make strawberry shortcake with Twinkies. Line them up, add some fresh sliced thawed strawberries with juice and add vanilla Cool-Whip. Yum!

10 years? I'm thinking 100

[Dubya61]

10 years? I'm thinking 100

Right!

The wife is at the store now buying the last Twinkies we will purchase. End of an era.

It's the dawn of the last Twinkie century!

[OKCisOK4me]

Imma have to go buy some cherry pies after work!!

[HewenttoJared]

People stopped buying my bad food. DARN UNIONS!!!

[MadMonk]

Woody's not happy.


But this guy remains optimistic.

[BBatesokc]

I'm thinking some voters in Colorado and Washington are going to be very upset with the sudden lack of Twinkies and Ding Dongs.

[Dubya61]

as long as Frito Lay (Taco Bell and White Castle) doesn't go out of business ...

[CuatrodeMayo]

The Myans were off by a few weeks...

[Bunty]

I'm thinking some voters in Colorado and Washington are going to be very upset with the sudden lack of Twinkies and Ding Dongs.

There's always Taco Bell.

[windowphobe]

Wondering if there's any chance another company will at least buy the rights to the Hostess or Wonder name and/or some of their products?

There's been some chatter about the matter. I think the most logical successor would be Grupo Bimbo, the Mexican baker with a strong American presence: they own Entenmann's and Mrs Baird's, among others, and they already own the Wonder name in Mexico.

Of course, if nobody steps up, Wonder Bread is, um, toast.