Will You Ever Eat a Twinkie Again?

So I'm sure you've read just about everywhere that Hostess, makers of Twinkies is going belly up.  At first this news sent shock waves across the candy eating world, but slowly the rubble is being picked up and we're learning that things are not as bad as they seem.


Let me first say that I don't believe you should run out of your house right now and stockpile Twinkies.  Although it wouldn't be a bad thing to stockpile since they pretty much last forever.  The reason why you don't have to worry is the sales numbers that come with Twinkies (as well as other fun sweet treats made by Hostess).  The sales of these items doesn't appear to be the source of the problem for Hostess, it looks as though management choices and other outside problems have shut down the company.

So what does this mean for the consumer?  To put it simply, the Twinkie is a popular food item, and although Hostess will no longer make them, I'm pretty sure another company will buy the recipe/rights to sell them.  So you'll probably never have another Hostess Twinkie, but you'll probably be eating Twinkies again real soon.  In fact in some countries there's a possibility that you won't even have a break from eating Twinkies.  For example, in Canada, Hostess is owned by Weston Bakeries, and not Hostess USA.  That means that they may continue to sell Twinkies as they always have.  Even if for some strange reason Hostess USA doesn't sell the Twinkie to another company, there's a good chance you can still import them from Canada.

So let's imagine the worst, say that Hostess refuses to sell the brands, and they have a clause in their contracts with Weston (and any other foreign company making Twinkies) saying that if Hostess USA stops then you have to stop making them as well.  You're still not out of luck.  As it turns out the Internet is full of recipes for Twinkies.  So sure it might take a bit of work, but if you're really craving a Twinkie, all is not lost.

Here's a two news stories about the sale of Twinkies (and other brands) from Hostess.  One here, and one here.

If you're not convinced about the importance of Twinkies, here's "5 movies where Twinkies played a supporting role"

CC