Hostess closure sparks Twinkies rush

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

(MoneyWatch) Hostess Brands' announcement that it is going out of business has spurred a rush for Twinkies. Stores around the nation are reporting customers buying boxes of the iconic "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling" by the armful and that prices on eBay have skyrocketed.

Hostess, which also makes Wonder Bread and other baked goods, said it was shutting down today because the company lacks the finances to weather an extended nationwide strike by workers. The strikes began a week ago after Hostess imposed a contract cutting workers' wages by 8 percent. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said the contract also cut benefits by 27 percent to 32 percent.

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Hostess going out of business

CEO Gregory Rayburn issued a statement saying, "Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders."

News of the closing spread rapidly across the Internet and other media. It has clearly struck a nerve with consumers who got up early to buy the snack cakes while they can. A Chicago-area convenience store sold out of Twinkies by 9 a.m. this morning, according to wire reports. Stores from Manhattan to California have also reported being hit by Twinkie runs.

On eBay, one person put a $250,000 price tag on a box of 10 Twinkies Less ironic sellers were asking $8 to $60. Individual two-packs were going for $5 and up.

The shortage has even made its way into politics -- jokingly. Rotund New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie started a press conference Friday afternoon by saying, "I am not answering questions on Twinkies."

Even amid such Twinkie-mania, the snack food is unlikely to be out of production for long.

• Twinkies maker going out of business
  
• Twinkies maker: Liquidation decision expected Friday
• Twinkies maker Hostess files for bankruptcy

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Beloved brands face challenge: Adapt or die out

Although the company has pinned the blame for its liquidation on striking workers, Hostess has been in financial distress for years. Hostess filed for bankruptcy in January, its second trip through court supervision since 2004. The company also has changed hands several times and is now owned by a group of investment firms, including hedge funds Silver Point Capital and Monarch Alternative Capital.

Hostess' primary assets are its brands, which also include Drake's Devil Dogs, Wonder Bread, Ding Dongs and Ho-Hos. They may be of interest to many companies because of their popularity with consumers. One company often cited as a possible buyer is Mexican food conglomerate Grupo Bimbo.

[SofiaMog]

While Hostess Management blames the company's demise on, what they claim to be, the greedy unions, and the public attributes their disaster to the overly consistent unchanging product line, or just merely to inevitable creative destruction...

The real question and concern causing toothaches across the globe is: when the economy crashes and the workers (who were promised a solid middle class lifestyle) find themselves left behind, where do they find economic salvation ? Or in the end is it just the Big Boss Execs' who have a golden ticket out of the mess, while the rest are left to race to the empty market shelves?

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/11/twinkies-leads-to-bosses-at-hostess-ironically-now-becoming-very-rich/

[hypnotoad72]

Pertaining to the video headline above, "adapt or die" is quite the popular term.

What happens when everyone dies because market manipulation did the murdering?

[hypnotoad72]

Well, they'll last a zillion years and outlive a nuke explosion I suppose...

Happy gorging.

Thank goodness tons of competing companies exist, which devalue life just as much, or I wouldn't be able to get any junk food at all!

[Socialistnation]

It is ironic that Twinkie's could survive a Nuclear War but could not survive Obama's Economy...

[bobnjersey]

[It is ironic that Twinkie's could survive a Nuclear War but could not survive Obama's Economy...]
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you're not too bright ... are you?

was obama president in 2004?

"Hostess filed for bankruptcy in January, its second trip through court supervision since 2004".

[aintfakin]

Obama should consider that a compliment
must be nothing but right wingers that eat thoseterds

[Socialistnation]

From the AP

Medical supply giant Stryker is the latest company to announce job cuts in anticipation of coming costs associated with ObamaCare, even though the man who inherited a fortune from the company's founder is a fan.
The company will cut 1,170 jobs, or five percent of its worldwide workforce, despite the fact that the founder's grandson was one of the largest contributors to President Obama's re-election campaign. Medical tech scion Jon Stryker, whose net worth is currently estimated at $1.2 billion, contributed $2 million to the Priorities USA Action super PAC and has given $66,000 in contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party. Stryker does not run the company.

[aintfakin]

30 years from now packages of these bakedterds will be selling alongside beanie babies on ebay....and they will be just as edible (and I use the term edible very very loosely)

[bobnjersey]

[One company often cited as a possible buyer is Mexican food conglomerate Grupo Bimbo.]
----------------------------------------------------
is that a mexican company ... or a political party?

[IPonUall2]

Well at least that's one way to eliminate the twinkie defense....

[IPonUall2]

Hostess fell under mismanagement because that's the best way to shake it down.

I don't buy that junk anyway....I get pan de dulce at my local store.

[hypnotoad72]

And this latest tactic will bring in one last big swig of revenue.

[TDSCOTT]

No way. He does not need to buy votes now