Saturday, July 13, 2013

Slow Saturday Special: Piece of Cake

For breakfast!

"Twinkies quietly reclaim shelf space in stores; Fans’ reaction is very low key" by Taryn Luna |  Globe Correspondent, July 13, 2013

The hype wasn’t creating much of a stir at a Walmart in Quincy....

The scene contrasted with the mood eight months, ago when scores of consumers took to social media to mourn the death of the brand and raided grocery shelves for the last Twinkies.

Some people care more about cake than people and other souls.

Amid the outpouring, investment firms Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management swooped in and bought the bankrupt Hostess company for $410 million.

Like vultures!

The firms have eliminated about 15,000 union workers, whose fight with the company aided its demise, reduced the number of plants by more than half, and created a more efficient distribution model.

So did the unmentioned executive pilfering of profits before the bankruptcy filing during negotiations.

Hostess was scheduled to return to the shelves on Monday, but some stores jumped at the chance to surprise fans by debuting the product a few days early. Walmart stocked the brand in 1,600 stores, and it appeared in about 150 Shaw’s grocery stores on Friday.

RelatedShaw’s is closing six locations

No loyalty to their customers

Maybe you should just go to Wegmans instead.

But at least so far, consumers’ reaction to the return of the Twinkie isn’t nearly as strong as their widespread sadness over its temporary death....

They don't miss those foam-filled pieces of rubber? 

Related: Twinkies will last even longer

I didn't know they came with chocolate cream-filling!

Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Technomic Inc., a market research firm in Chicago, said “I haven’t had one in 40 years.”

That's why they went bankrupt.

He said Hostess can’t rely on nostalgia alone this time around and needs to do something more than just announce the treats’ return....

CupCakes and Twinkies indeed piqued the curiosity of Suzan Glynn, 58, who picked up a few boxes from Walmart in Quincy to take on a family vacation. The Marshfield native said she rarely bought Hostess products, but was still sad when they disappeared from the shelves. “When they were gone, it was like a part of your childhood was gone, too,” she said.

Well, that's the way life is sometimes. Want some comfort food?

--more--"

Related: Twinkie Story Missing Filling

Also see: Breakfast Burp 

I thought you might need something to wash the Twinkie down.

UPDATE: 

"Twinkies are back, but they may be a bit smaller than you remember.... A spokeswoman for Hostess, Hannah Arnold, said in an e-mail Monday that the size change was made in ‘‘mid-2012’’ by the predecessor company. That would mean it happened in the months leading up to its bankruptcy, as the company was trying to keep its head above water financially.... The predecessor company had failed to reach a contract agreement with The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, its second-largest union, which noted that its members had already taken pay cuts to keep Hostess afloat. The new owners, which are known for fixing up struggling brands, are not using unionized workers. That means their labor costs are lower than they were for the previous owners." 

Still tastes like shit.