Hostess, I'll Miss You

mrhart · Post by **mrhart** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:24 am

As I sit here at work reading my morning paper (SS Forum), I'm eating quite possibley my last pack of Hostess mini-powdered donuts. Ahh, bliss in one bite and sadness in the next. The shelves are almost empty now at the stores and I didn't get a "last box" of Rasberry Filled Powder Lovelys to call my own. I don't care if they're bad for you or not, they're yummy damn it and I'm gonna miss em.
Someone should start a poll, which hostess product is your favorite.

I can't do it, I can't even run a jointer.

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:34 am

I almost never eat any of that kind of stuff anymore to help control my glucose level but there was a time in my youth when I declared that I could live full time on nothing but milk and Twinkies.

.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:42 am

I'm guessing they will sell off the brand names and some big food conglomerates will snatch them up and keep making most of this stuff, with "
hostess is a subsidiary of Kraft Foods" or some similar disclaimer in the fine print. Somehow I'm guessing corners will be cut and they won't be the same...gone is another vestige of my youth. I was always a fan of Ding Dongs...I never could get myself to eat those pink snowballs.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:53 am

Never fear, someone will buy the name and continue producing Twinkies, Ho Ho's and Wonder Bread because they're profitable items. It may just take a while to see them back on the shelves. I'm sure companies are lining up right now to acquire the rights to continue marketing these goodies.

Maybe the unions who went on strike should stop spending their dues on political activities and keep their jobs by buying the company instead. Then they could deal with themselves on such ridiculous rules as not allowing Twinkies to be deliver to stores on the same truck as Wonder Bread. Oh well, some like Richard Trumka would rather play politics and say it's Mitt Romney's fault that Hostess is closing.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:06 pm

I've never worked for a Union before but if a company told me flat out that if I didn't make it back to work by a certain date, they would liquidate the company...I'd be hard-pressed to want to play that game of chicken with a family to feed. Rather I'd be there dutifully at the door ready to work...I guess that's not my individual option when in a union. I'd rather work for less than hold out and lose my job.

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:05 pm

Looks like a Mexican baked goods concern (Grupo Bimbo) will take over the Hostess operation. Another company ran out of the US due to the high cost of doing business here.
On the positive side, Bimbo does put out some mighty tasty stuff. I love Bimbo bread.

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:24 pm

I loved Ding Dongs as a kid, but haven't had one in years. When I was a kid, they were wrapped in foil. The last one I had was in plastic and it just wasn't the same.

But, when I think of Hostess, these are what I think of:

dforeman · Post by **dforeman** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:28 pm

I used to like those little coconut covered donuts.

I've been hearing about this on the news all weekend. Sad to see a bunch of folks out of work and a 100+ year institution closed up. I'm sure some other producer will pick up production but it may not be under the Hostess brand though (hard to say). I'm also not completely sure it is all the Unions doing. From what I understand, Hostess previously filed bankruptcy 8 years ago. And, I also read that since then they closed a several bakeries, let go several hundred employees, and cut employee wages and benefits. This latest ploy to cut wages even further, I'm guessing was the last straw for the Unions and the Hostess Corporation? Well, I'm guessing there is a lot more to all this than meets the eye. Is it poor management, corporate greed, a down turn in sales, a changing of the times, the economy, all of the above, who knows?

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 2:09 pm

I guess when a group puts up $150 million of their own money to bail out a bankrupt company like Hostess they have a right to expect a fair return on their investment. And, when they don't receive a fair return on their investment, or they lose all the money they put up like was the case with Hostess, they have a right to walk away. Last year Hostess lost $340 million, so where's the greed?

The unions could have chosen to spend their members' dues to buy a firm like Hostess and then deal with their own rules and demands instead of spending it for politics. Running two trucking fleets, one for Twinkies and one for Wonder Bread, might make sense to the union, but hardly helps with Hostess's bottom line. The union was offered a choice by management to return to work or see Hostess shut it's doors. And, the union chose to have 18,500 people out of work.

mrhart · Post by **mrhart** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:43 pm

Gene Howe wrote:Looks like a Mexican baked goods concern (Grupo Bimbo) will take over the Hostess operation. Another company ran out of the US due to the high cost of doing business here.
On the positive side, Bimbo does put out some mighty tasty stuff. I love Bimbo bread.

I've seen Bimbos in the grocery store before....but they weren't bread.