Posted on 01/10/2012 6:45:05 PM PST by 6SJ7
Hostess Brands Inc. is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter, a move that would mark the second significant court restructuring for the Twinkies and Wonder Bread baker in the past several years.
The privately held Irving, Texas, company, which employs roughly 19,000 people and carries more than $860 million in debt, has been facing a cash squeeze amid high labor costs and rising prices for sugar, flour and other ingredients, according to people familiar with the matter. Those costs together have proved higher than the company's roughly $2.5 billion in annual sales, creating losses and cash shortfalls, the people said.
Hostess also owes more than $50 million to vendors, which have been demanding payments on shortened time frames because of Hostess's financial condition, one of the people said. Most of those goods and services were provided to Hostess within the past three weeks or so.
Hostess's filing would mark what is known as a Chapter 22 proceeding in restructuring circles, since the company had already sought bankruptcy protection once before.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Hostess are the highest priced packaged cup-cakes in the grocery store.
Have you tried a Twinkie recently? I did and I swear it was just awful. The company must have changed the recipe or something. The cake part was dry and the filling was grainy. Certainly tasted different than say... ten years ago. IMHO.
Now this takes the cake.
They cost too much, store brand or Little Debbie is cheaper.
Note to self: Clean out the pantry! Green, furry Twinkies may be lurking inside. LOL!
rising prices for sugar, flour and other ingredients
Inflation
Maybe it’s just your tastebuds that got ten years older. They Tweekies I had the other day tasted great!
If it had been just me then I would agree. However, the kids said they tasted “weird” as well. Granted, I don’t purchase them all the time but the two older ones said they didn’t “taste the same”. Perhaps a “bad box” or they changed the recipe to reduce the calories or cut costs?
How could you possibly demonize the snackcake that gave rise to a criminal defense against charges of going postal on a liberal?
I couldn’t stand Twinkies when I was a teenager; Just too sweet and not much flavor other than a little vanilla.
I might of liked them when I just a kid but we could not afford junk food until I was a late teen.
That is not possible. It is a well-known fact that the shelf life of Twinkies is a bit over 100 years.
Back in the mid-1970s, nothing was better than a couple of Twinkies. I used to spend a good part of my newspaper delivery money on Twinkies. After school each day, I'd stop at the local variety store (this was before convenience stores) and get a root beer and a two-pack of Hostess Twinkies for the walk home. Those Twinkies were delicious, soft sponge cake exterior that would stick to your fingers and a tasty cream filling that would make your head spin (due to the sugar high).
Twinkies do not taste that way today.
Or perhaps the QA is slipping.
Haven’t you ever tried a deep-fried Twinkie with raspberry dipping sauce on the side at a State Fair?
That is true. They are not competitively priced.
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