Hostess says Twinkies will return to shelves July 15 with wider distribution

Star Tribune ^ | June 23, 2013 | CANDICE CHOI , AP Food Industry Writer

[TaxPayer2000]

NEW YORK — Hostess is betting on a sweet comeback for Twinkies when they return to shelves next month.

The company that went bankrupt after an acrimonious fight with its unionized workers last year is back up and running under new owners and a leaner structure. It says it plans to have Twinkies and other snack cakes back on shelves starting July 15.

Based on the outpouring of nostalgia sparked by its demise, Hostess is expecting a blockbuster return next month for Twinkies and other sugary treats, such as CupCakes and Donettes. The company says the cakes will taste the same but that the boxes will now bare the tag line "The Sweetest Comeback In The History Of Ever."

~~SNIP~~

Hostess Brands Inc. was struggling for years before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in early 2012. Workers blamed the troubles on years of mismanagement, as well as a failure of executives to invest in brands to keep up with changing tastes. The company said it was weighed down by higher pension and medical costs than its competitors, whose employees weren't unionized.

[Grams A]

I remember when they were 12 cents for the whole package...”

And Black Jack gum was $.05 a pack - now it’s very, very hard to find at any price.

When I was young, my grandpa sent me two dimes which arrived in the mail every Wednesday along with the cartoons from his Nebraska Sunday paper. A friend and I would walk to the nearest store which was 2 1/2 miles away and buy two cans of soda and two packages of gum. Would cost me at least $4.00 today. Looking back, wish I had kept at least one of the dimes every week though - at least they may have had some value to a collector of old coins.

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

Sure, the company says the taste will be the same. Different plants, different machinery, different employees, and probably some substitute ingredients to cut costs. No way they’ll taste the same...and I don’t eat the damn things.

[moovova]

Remind me to pick up a gallon of whole milk too.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I think you can still find Black Jack gum at Wal-Mart. They brought it back a few years ago. I remember it was 25 cents a pack for five sticks.

[lowbridge]

What about the hostess breads? Wonder bread and home pride? All the other bradns of bread on the supermarket shelves are just downright horrible.

[TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl]

"will now bare the tag line"

Another "journalism" graduate who cannot spell.

[TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl]

"And Black Jack gum was $.05 a pack - now it’s very, very hard to find at any price."

Not hard to find. What is hard to find is a pack that is not stale. Probably made when it was selling for 5ç.

[bmwcyle]

The same company makes them.

[szweig]

When I was a pup the cupcakes were a dime...then they went to $.12...sigh...Stevie666

[FlJoePa]

Love Krimpets and Peanut Butter TandyCakes.

BUT...the greatest was the Tasty Clair pies - especially the Boston Creme.

[NewHampshireDuo]

How about the cupcakes? They were my weakness.

Same here. I had to switch to Necco Wafers to satisfy my sweet tooth. Can't wait for the cupcakes to come back.

[mware]

Heck with the Twinkies, I want some Funny Bones

[BulletBobCo]

Twinkies and cockroaches...the two things that will survive a nuclear attack.

[RckyRaCoCo]

Candice Choi and her editor may be the biggest morons in the history of ever.

LOL!

[FreedomNotSafety]

From previous postings we learned that the baker’s union was reasonable and had approved concessions in previous contracts but the delivery drivers, who were raking in 6 figures, were the idiots. So in the last and final round the bakers said they would not make concessions since the drivers sucked up anything they gave and decided to take their chances on the new company.

So it looks to be working out for at least some of the bakery personnel and none of the Thugster drivers.

Don’t forget though that Obammy took care of his Teamsters buddies with trade act displacement assistance funds.

[TADSLOS]

“Tallahassee” is relieved.

[Gefn]

I love their Boston Creme pie too. YUM

They only sell it during the fall and winter, though.

For those who have moved out of PA/NJ and want Tastycakes they have an 800 number and will deliver,

[Grams A]

Probably made when it was selling for 5ç.”

That’s not only funny, but likely true. Only place I’ve ever found it and Clove gum was in a vintage store or specialty store on line. Figured they would make Black Jack illegal when BO was elected president.

[southernnorthcarolina]

When it became apparent that the manufacture of Twinkies would be suspended, if not terminated, Buckingham Palace jumped into action, and bought a vast supply of the golden cakes -- at least a life supply for the octogenarian Queen Elizabeth.

Here she is, inspecting her hoard in the Royal Pantry:

[Republican Wildcat]

I don’t think anybody really cared they were gone...stores just stocked their shelves with the equivalent products from other vendors. A store that I shop at that previously did not carry Cloud Cakes started carrying them after Twinkies were no more, and they quickly sell out of them. Now even Sarah Lee has released their own equivalent of the same type of cakes.