[Brazelton] Ding Dongs, Twinkies, and all things Snack Cake - we salute you

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Gared

Gared

Hostess has announced that it is going to go out of business, rather than attempt to further negotiate a contract with striking bakery union workers. Since we haven't seen any of the details of the contract dispute, it's hard for me to know which side to pick in this one. I'm usually on the union side - it sucks having your pay and benefits cut; but if there's no more water in the well, there's no more water in the well, and striking won't change things.

On the other hand, this strike has been going on for about a week now, and I've never heard anything about any negotiations with the union. All I've heard was threats to shut down several of the company's bakeries, and then a last-ditch threat that if people didn't return to work by 2pm PDT yesterday everything would shut down.

I suppose we'll see, but right now the bottom line is that 18,500 employees are about to lose their jobs at holiday time (yet again), and unfortunately Hostess is looking to sell their recipes, so even a complete closure and bankruptcy will not save us from the everlasting yellow snack cake.
 
Hylian

Hylian

I very rarely ever eat Hostess snacks but that being said they are iconic now and I would be very sad to walk into a store and not see them there.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

All of their products taste like congealed processed sugar mixed with preservatives.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat one. But I regret it before I've even swallowed.
 
Frank

Frank

Dave said:
They were just too damned expensive to buy any longer.
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That's just it, they really. A Hostess fruit pie (the only Hostess product I ever really ate) is like 3 bucks in 7-11 and right next to it is 7-11's own brand, which is just as shitty and only 1.50.
 
Gared

Gared

Heard on the news this morning that the owner is looking for a buyer for all 30 brands, so that the brands live on even though Hostess is done for.
 
Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

q9jj0.jpg


The second pic made me laugh pretty hard in context, being a Twilight Zone fan.

People in Colorado/Washington when hearing the news about Hostess shutting down:
cdmqV.jpg
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Honestly, this situation is entirely the fault of Hostess. They went around buying up tons of bakery companies and simply took on too much obligation for the retiring workers, which is biting them in the ass now. They went to a judge to try and get out of paying for the retirement packages they inherited, but he said they were still obligated to as the new owners. So Hostess went to the Union and basically said "We can't pay this. If we do, we'll go out of business. We need to drastically lower these benefits." The Union said no, went on strike, and here we are. A lot of workers are going to lose everything because Hostess wasn't managed properly.

Sadly, this is how the free market works. If the market hadn't shifted to healthier foods, Hostess wouldn't be in such rough shape... but it did and they failed to change with the market. This is what happens. But don't worry too much... someone WILL buy the recipes and brand names. Twinkies will be back.
 
David

David

There is now a power vacuum in the creme-filled prepackaged snack cake market. Let's get on this shit, halforums! Who's got the best sponge cake recipe?
 
Zappit

Zappit

Staff member
This kills Wonderbread, too. It sucks, because the Smart White is pretty much the only lower sodium bread I can eat that doesn't taste like bathroom tile.
 
jwhouk

jwhouk

...And if that photo, along with my experience at the local Wal-Mart are any indication, that ain't gonna be long.
 
strawman

strawman

Though we make fun of how long they'll last due to preservatives, their factory to store shelf time was incredibly short, 48 hours at the high end. There's no significant stock, so it's not surprising that the stores are already running low on the popular items, customer stockpiling notwithstanding. They worked hard to provide fresh food to the customer, that could be stored by the customer for some time, but it is fresh when purchased.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
What's interesting is the fact that this is apparently an end-around by the management to clean up & skate around bankruptcy laws. Seems that the managers gave themselves a hefty bunch of raises earlier in the year and then told the workers they had to take a big cut in pay and benefits. And now, of course, it's the fault of the unions.

You know, I used to be fairly anti-union, but I must say in recent months I can totally see their need.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Ravenpoe said:
All of their products taste like congealed processed sugar mixed with preservatives.
Click to expand...
I know it wouldn't happen, but it would be interesting to see a Twinkie Throwback product, where they made the original recipe, out of real ingredients, without all the stabalizers, conditioners, preservatives, processed emusifiers, etc.

Wouldn't it be something to get a snack cake made with this:
590-egg.jpg


Instead of this:
13_WholeEggs.grid-4x2.jpg


Oh well, I guess for that you just go to a local bakery and pay a very very premium price. Or bake it yourself.
 
Silent Bob

Silent Bob

Gared said:
Hostess has announced that it is going to go out of business, rather than attempt to further negotiate a contract with striking bakery union workers. Since we haven't seen any of the details of the contract dispute, it's hard for me to know which side to pick in this one. I'm usually on the union side - it sucks having your pay and benefits cut; but if there's no more water in the well, there's no more water in the well, and striking won't change things.

On the other hand, this strike has been going on for about a week now, and I've never heard anything about any negotiations with the union. All I've heard was threats to shut down several of the company's bakeries, and then a last-ditch threat that if people didn't return to work by 2pm PDT yesterday everything would shut down.

I suppose we'll see, but right now the bottom line is that 18,500 employees are about to lose their jobs at holiday time (yet again), and unfortunately Hostess is looking to sell their recipes, so even a complete closure and bankruptcy will not save us from the everlasting yellow snack cake.
Click to expand...

Bottom line is that Hostess was tanking, the suits at the top were going to jump ship regardless and liquidate. The union went on strike despite this as a last stand measure (they knew they weren't going to have jobs), and the execs and majority stock holders placed the blame of going backrupt and liquidation on the union.
 
twitchmoss

twitchmoss

I tried a Twinkie for the first time a little while ago.
it was fucking nasty. woody harrelson lied to me!

Americans, if you can find them, try cadburys minirolls. Far, FAR superior.
 
Sara_2814

Sara_2814

figmentPez said:
I know it wouldn't happen, but it would be interesting to see a Twinkie Throwback product, where they made the original recipe, out of real ingredients, without all the stabalizers, conditioners, preservatives, processed emusifiers, etc.

Wouldn't it be something to get a snack cake made with this:
View attachment 9001

Instead of this:
View attachment 9002

Oh well, I guess for that you just go to a local bakery and pay a very very premium price. Or bake it yourself.
Click to expand...

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Hostess-Twinkie-Recipe.html
 
jwhouk

jwhouk

The whole "shelf life" thing has already been discussed by Snopes. The actual shelf life of a Twinkie is about 25-28 days.

Unfortunately, that won't mean anything if there's no stock.
 
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