RIP Twinkie goodness

BlueFox · November 2012

LOL. "Chapter 22". Good article. Thanks.

oldmodman · November 2012

There were hundreds of boxes on the shelf at Costco in Gardena this morning. And no "additional dealer profit" either.

mantis · November 2012

I find it sad to see companies that have been around since our childhood or longer go under. Imagine if Coke and Pepsi go , then Pringles , Nike , Wrangler.What if Sears closed their doors? Where does it end?

disneyjoe7 · November 2012

They will be missed.

jtshaw43 · November 2012

this really makes me sad. because i love twinkies!!!!

billbillw · November 2012

Twinkies and HoHos are iconic pastries. They will live on. Somebody will buy the rights out of bankruptcy. Now, will they be the same? Not sure. Its likely they could come from bakeries outside the US.

Strong Bad · November 2012

Actually, the Tastykake brand was always big in my house when I was little. The Butterscotch Krimpets and Chocolate Cupcakes were tops! I did love the Hostess HoHos, but Tastykake ruled the snack list in our home!

http://www.tastykake.com

WilliamM2 · November 2012

tonyb wrote: »

Wages have been on the decline for many years, under various administrations too, thats not news. I'm not laying this solely on the unions feet either, but their lack of doing what needs to be done to preserve jobs is astounding at times. I don't know what management conceeded too as I'm not privey to that info nor are you at this point.

Managment gave up nothing:

Some creditors question Hostess pay raises approved in late July.

Brian Driscoll, CEO, around $750,000 to $2,550,000
Gary Wandschneider, EVP, $500,000 to $900,000
John Stewart, EVP, $400,000 to $700,000
David Loeser, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256
Kent Magill, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256
Richard Seban, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256
John Akeson, SVP, $300,000 to $480,000
Steven Birgfeld, SVP, $240,000 to $360,000
Martha Ross, SVP, $240,000 to $360,000
Rob Kissick, SVP, $182,000 to $273,008

sucks2beme · November 2012

Why is little Debbie cheaper?
Better management, less advertising costs, and no/better union.

I see a lot of union bashing, but bad management is pretty often the cause.
Seems the current crop of bean counting MBA's only know numbers.
They don't know crap about the business they're running.
And they like going toe to toe with the unions. American Airlines unions 10 years ago
all took a big pay cut. And management decided to use the savings for bonuses.
I was doing work there in the data center, and after the employees found out,
the morale dropped like a rock. Most likely Hostess is dead even if the unions
caved. Snack cakes are a shrinking market. And the goons in charge are going
to take their golden parachutes.

cnh · November 2012

WilliamM2 wrote: »

Managment gave up nothing:

Nice list of "salary" increases there. No surprise, really. I work at an institution that is supposed to be non-profit. When the wage freeze occurred, Administrators's salaries continued to RISE. Most of those in Administration are NOT as educated as, the faculty, that's us? But THEY control the purse strings. Surprise, surprise!

I know tony is going to tell us that such behavior is "human nature"! But as an Anthropologist, I can "assure" you that prior to the rise of great civilizations and trade, wealth, warfare, etc. Cooperation and sharing, or we "survive" "together" or "die" together were important evolutionary pressures on the development of human society and culture. Those who depict our ancestors like the opening scenes from 2001 are not dealing with any agreed upon evidence that involves the real study of foraging societies, or are simply reinforcing the data-less fantasies of sociobiologists, another group that has served to justify everything from poverty to racism?

My experiences in a number of cultures outside are own have often seen students ask me "why" are Americans so "competitive" and antagonistic with each other? Don't they know how to work together, cooperate, share?

The nature of human nature is an ongoing debate. It's as old as Plato. What is intrinsic, what is extrinsic and why do we "always" look at "economic" man like classical economists and sneak that man in as "universal man". In anthropology there was a HUGE debate about this many moons ago. The work of Karl Polanyi was path-breaking back then, because he suggested a range of economic behavior from the calculating self-maximizing marketeer, to pure reciprocity and fair distribution for the survival of small groups with NO calculation of self-benefit.

The debate continues. Apologists for our system. Accepting the "way things are" simply because the "are" at the moment usually argue, look this is, indeed, how men behave! Let's just face reality. As though that "reality" was not created and sustained by a particular path and historical course that may have swerved away from a more human(e) past?

The problem is that whenever you say men are.....! We can instantly provide you with at least a half dozen examples of societies where this is NOT the way they ARE? In the meantime, geneticists with no cross-cultural knowledge "identify" a "new set of genes" for particular "behaviors" everyday. And those of us who actually "study" real men and women in time and space, usually smile and have a good laugh! As if there is so simple a path between genes and behavior. Or one can even define "behavior" without reference to a "particular" time and place, group of people?

Such heady discourse for a couple of golden cream filled cakes, lol. Well perhaps the nature of human nature is to "prefer" twinkies or not? Now that's funny!

cnh

tonyb · November 2012

You make some good points CNH, society in general is ever so evolving. I'll take issue with however the fact that the basic opinion abroad is we don't work together or share. Pure poppycock. Most buisness in this country work with other buisness's, they have to to survive. People....non profits, all work together for whatever cause fits their needs. Neighbors work together to better their towns, and you'd be hard pressed to find a more generous society than Americans.

Freedom.....is a doubled edged sword. Those seeking to turn freedom into some sort of "fairness" are then not seeking freedom. Equal outcomes, fairness, are not characteristic of freedom. Freedom on it's own relies on the individual to control his/her own destiny. Unfortunately, todays society is trending towards leaving that destiny to someone else. It was pretty evident given the last election that people voted for a minimum lifestyle that they have no desire to earn on their own. Human nature ? You could say that to a degree, after all who doesn't like free stuff ?

I'd love to have a discussion on the evolution of societies in general, past, present, and where the future may take us but we have to deal with the here and now too. Sometimes these little things in the here and now take on a huge role in what will evolve down the road and people don't seem to get that anymore. Our human nature as of today revolves around the consolidation of money and power for the control of the masses......and that crosses any party line. Society of course needs some rules, laws, regulation otherwise anarchy happens. How much though, is the question without trampling on individual freedoms. Liberty for any society is like a flower. Delicate, in need of constant nutureing, feeding, watering, or it will die on the vine and weeds will soon prop up. IMHO, this process is taken all too lightly today and the weeds are popping up all over due to neglect.

No doubt other cultures, societies do some things better than we do, thats a fact. All in all, we still have the best well rounded system I see anyway on the planet. Given of course we can keep it as set up but it seems that may be impossible.

pearsall001 · November 2012

There's a reason people from all over the globe want to get the hell out of where they are & come to the good 'ole USA. They can say what they want about us but give them a plane ticket & they'd fight you tooth & nail to be the first on board. How's that socialism working out for you over there?????

brgman · November 2012

Strong Bad wrote: »

Actually, the Tastykake brand was always big in my house when I was little. The Butterscotch Krimpets and Chocolate Cupcakes were tops! I did love the Hostess HoHos, but Tastykake ruled the snack list in our home!

http://www.tastykake.com

Here as well.Tastykake rocks!
It's a regional thing so many have never heard of them.Like Utz Potato Chips.They are growing but certainly not nationally.There was also Mrs Ihries down around Caton ave back in the day also.Good chips,long gone.
As for the Twinkies if i could remember eating them at all i could count them on one hand.
Devil Dogs -now that's a different story.Loved those as a kid.

tonyb · November 2012

As far as Hostess management goes, yeah, I saw pay increases for the top execs while the company was sinking in debt. Golden parachutes....they live for them. My wife and I have much experience with these Harvard educated CEO's who do nothing but hire their pals for board members, vote themselves the golden parachutes, while destroying a company and the people who work there to meet a banks request to hit certain financial numbers. Then dump it and move on to the next troubled company.

Fair ? No....but many things in life are not fair. Don't like the practice....whats stopping you from putting your own net worth on the line and starting your own company ? The risk of seeing it all go down the tubes ? Not many are willing to do that but instead look for the easy money of a regular paycheck.....and thats all well and good. However, that entitles you to nothing more and only what benefits an employer is willing to dole out based on what is needed to keep decent employees and what the market will bear and still turn a profit. It in no way says you the employee have a say so in what a privately held company can do with it's money. Thats what you signed up for from the gitgo. Want a share in company profits ? Invest in stock, anyone can. This whole notion of evil CEO's while maybe valid to some extent and in some areas of industry, holds no water because you have the freedom to not work there or educate yourself to a better position in the workplace or even start your own company. Life choices play a role too in all this and some don't see the detrament those early choices will cost down the road. Myself included btw.

This only tells me we as a society are churning out more and more uneducated people who desire to have what the educated have worked for, but don't want to pay for any of it or work as hard to get it. Thats fairness ? By who's definition ? Yep, that darn freedom is a double edged sword, some just don't like one edge of it and now seek to toss the whole sword.

tonyb · November 2012

Many of our childhood companies will go away, too much junk food, sugary treats, etc. With sugar costs and labor costs constantly on the rise, the writing is on the wall.

Hostess, while huge in this country, was anything they made actually good for you ? No....but I'll defend their right to sell it, and yours to eat it. My personall belief is that governments should not limit your freedom to eat what you like, smoke what you like, drink what you like. Thats a part of a free society as it should be imho anyway.

gimpod · November 2012

CRAP! of course this would happen! Just when Washington State and Colorado legalized pot, Now what are all the pot heads going to munch on, That sucks (no twinkies) :sad:

WilliamM2 · November 2012

tonyb wrote: »

Hostess, while huge in this country, was anything they made actually good for you ? No...

You realise they made more than just snack foods right?

http://www.hostessbrands.com/brands/NaturesPride.aspx
http://www.hostessbrands.com/brands/Wonder.aspx
http://www.hostessbrands.com/brands/Merita.aspx
http://www.hostessbrands.com/brands/Beefsteak.aspx
http://www.hostessbrands.com/brands/RegionalFavorites.aspx

brgman · November 2012

Dammit! I like the Beefsteak rye for my CB and Pastrami sammiches.

goofyGAguy · November 2012

gimpod wrote: »

Now what are all the pot heads going to munch on

Doritos.

danz1906 · November 2012

goofyGAguy wrote: »

Doritos.

That's a good-1!

mrbigbluelight · November 2012

cnh wrote:

Our human nature as of today revolves around the consolidation of money and power for the control of the masses......and that crosses any party line. Society of course needs some rules, laws, regulation otherwise anarchy happens. How much though, is the question without trampling on individual freedoms. Liberty for any society is like a flower. Delicate, in need of constant nutureing, feeding, watering, or it will die on the vine and weeds will soon prop up. IMHO, this process is taken all too lightly today and the weeds are popping up all over due to neglect.

That statement says a great deal, my friend. A very great deal.
It's been my opinion that we've been evolving into a nation of Ferrenghi (Star Trek reference !) for quite some time . This evolution has been actively encouraged and promoted, IMO, by those who are primarily interested in the consolidation of power and money. To see what these people are trying to accomplish here, one can look to see what (and how) they've accomplished elsewhere around the globe towards the consolidation of money and power.
It's a rather established routine, it's a rather established pattern. It uses the same established cast of characters and players.

And we don't notice it, or care to notice it, because our attention has been misdirected elsewhere, against each other. When the masses are fighting in the street for scraps of bread, so to speak, it's rather hard to notice that up on the castle walls the nobility are enjoying snack cakes (Twinkies ?). This group of players can take comfort in they are masters of the magicians' art of misdirection.

They tell the people that they would better off if only the rules they live under were relaxed, that it's these rules that are keeping them from liberty and freedom !
So they relax some of the rules, like those regulating energy. And banking. And they loot the finances of the people to the benefit of their group.
But not all rules are relaxed. No, they must actually strengthen and enhance some rules strictly to ensure that people maintain their liberty. So they make it legal to listen to citizens at every opportunity. They must be able detain questionable people without notifying anyone as to the who, what, where, and why of such detention. They must deploy 30,000 drones within the borders of the United States within the next 3 years because ... well, who knows ? Doesn't matter anyway, because the people are too busy fighting with each other to notice. Again, masters of the art of misdirection.

And for those who may question the power of this group ? Figuratively destroy them by branding them as not being loyal to the Kingdom. If the person or group stands in the way of total consolidation of power and money, they are eliminated. Sometimes figuratively. Sometimes literally.
It's been done before. It's being done now. Worldwide.
Look it up. It's there. No tin foil hat required.

Just have to remove the sunglasses.

mrbigbluelight · November 2012

BTW: I'm invoking the Twinkie defense.

cnh · November 2012

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

BTW: I'm invoking the Twinkie defense.

I like the Twinkie defense but I believe your attribution above consists of tonyb's rather nicely rendered description of the delicate nature of freedom and not anything that came from me.

cnh

obieone · November 2012

LOL, you people really need to get over yourselves. Y'all are spewing your sociology dissertations on the fall of western civilization. It's fooking Twinkies folks, GET A GRIP:rolleyes:

disneyjoe7 · November 2012

I miss my Twinkie

txcoastal1 · November 2012

The Twinkie will be resurrected

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/18/will-twinkies-prove-sweet-deal-for-mexican-billionaire/?test=latestnews

EndersShadow · November 2012

EndersShadow wrote: »

Yeah, I would expect to see these same items rebranded and sold under someone else sometime shortly after the company goes under.

Or at least thats my hope.....

txcoastal1 wrote: »

The Twinkie will be resurrected

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/18/will-twinkies-prove-sweet-deal-for-mexican-billionaire/?test=latestnews

That happened about as fast as I expected :biggrin:. Viva la Mexico! Better than made in China (but thats probably on the table too)

gimpod wrote: »

CRAP! of course this would happen! Just when Washington State and Colorado legalized pot, Now what are all the pot heads going to munch on, That sucks (no twinkies) :sad:

Looks like your safe Gimp

. I forget are you in Washington State or Colorado?

billbillw · November 2012

gimpod wrote: »

CRAP! of course this would happen! Just when Washington State and Colorado legalized pot, Now what are all the pot heads going to munch on, That sucks (no twinkies) :sad:

I can think of about 20 different snacks I'd rather eat if/when I were to get the munchies. Fritos, Pringles, Doritos, Cheetos, Funions, any kind of potato chip, pizza, etc...

steveinaz · November 2012

Viva La Los Submarinos! LOL

Great, we start legalizing pot, and now hostess shuts down. That's just wrong. What's next? Doritos bankrupt?

sucks2beme · November 2012

I laugh every time I see a Bimbo truck.

RIP Twinkie goodness

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