#ding-dongs

[sspacegodd]

We passed the final point where no one understands my hilarious Space Food Stick and Ding-Dong references long, long ago.

[jumpsuittechnologies]

[the-lightest-shadow]

Ok, so back when I was in like 4th grade, we had a day where the entire class was given Ding-Dongs. Y'know, the cupcake like desserts that were wrapped in tin foil or something similar? Well, after a lot of us were done eating the Ding-Dongs this one guy in my class looked over at my table group, looked me dead in the eyes, and said "Why waste?" He then PROCEEDED TO SHOVE THE ENTIRE WRAPPING OF HIS DING-DONG INTO HIS MOUTH AND EAT IT!!!

[alchemyprime]

I thought I had fixed my aspect ration I thought wrong

[50thirdand3rd]

Visit Original Link

Don't Ring, Come On In

The Ding- Dongs

(Mark Sultan and Bloodshot Bill)

[turtleheda]

My childhood has died...

What am I going to do without ding-dongs and cupcakes?

[inquiriesinfood-blog]

Hostess on the run

I was originally going to post about yeast today, but when I heard that Hostess went out of business a few days ago, I couldn't resist.  I have a weakness for packaged confectionery products, and Hostess has a special place in my heart.  The times I've shared with a few friends, a bong, and a package of donettes...they will forever stay in my heart.

"So what?" some may say, "It's just another mediocre snack food giant going out of business.  Good riddance."  You would be right, but I don't think it should be that easy to write it off.  Hostess has had some serious power in the industry for a long time.  Why are they going out of business?  What does this mean for the snack food industry?  Are twinkies really going to be collector's items now?

Despite being a convenience food giant, Hostess has been having a lot of financial troubles lately.  They filed for protection from bankruptcy in 2009 and earlier in 2012, and have been having trouble even making a profit.  In the middle of their financial troubles, Hostess entered some pretty ugly negotiations with the labor unions their employees belong to.  Most of the unions were able to reach an agreement, but one union, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), went on strike.  Hostess, unable to meet their demands, issued an ultimatum by which they would shut down unless enough employees showed up for work.  Of course, there weren't enough employees at work, and a fair number of them stood outside the factory in coveralls waving picket signs.  There was no way Hostess was going to dig its way out of that hole, so they decided to cut their losses and file for bankruptcy.  All of their assets are to be sold to the highest bidder.

Over the past decade, we've seen a slow growth in the health food movement, as we are continually bombarded to eat healthier.  But surely this isn't why Hostess went out of business: most other snack food companies are doing just fine and continuing to grow.  The market is great for those selling prepackaged convenience foods.  We seem to be at a polarizing time in American food culture, with a simultaneous rise in health food and junk food.  Hostess going out of business is a victory cry for many of the health food nuts out there, but they conveniently forget about all the health food stores that have gone out of business in the bad economy of the recent recession.  The industry is not slowing down at all, despite this small hiccup with losing Hostess.

However, I speculate that Hostess will not be bought immediately.  It will take them a while to sell their assets.  Although, there are plenty of companies who would love to get their hands on the Twinkie production rights.  I highly doubt anyone will be clambering for the Snowballs, or for the fruit pies.  I've been watching as Twinkie prices on the internet shoot up to $30 per box, and that's on the low end.  People are treating them like collector's items, which is stupid.  Twinkies will go back into production.  It might take a while, and they might not be exactly the same, but there's enough money in the Twinkie business that someone has to bid on the rights of production.  So all the idiots buying all the boxes of Twinkies at the local Fred Meyer's like it's the end of the world can chill out.  So can all the people expecting to make lots of money by selling their Twinkies on Ebay.

The snack food industry is only experiencing a hiccup, and the death of Hostess does not mean anything particularly notable for the rest of the industry.  While there may be a slow, steady decline in consumption of packaged snack foods, it will take a long time for America to ween herself off of cheetos and skittles to the point where big companies have to file for bankruptcy en masse.  But for now, I will settle down by the fire with the last box of Hostess donettes at my local Fred Meyer's.  Oh yes, I went through great trouble to liberate the last of the Hostess.  There's something sentimental about eating a box of donettes, something that reminds me of family road trips and all the times I skipped play rehearsal in high school to go smoke a bowl with my friends.

Note: This article has been delayed in posting due to recent developments in court.  The judge hearing Hostess' bankruptcy case is demanding that they go back into negotiations with the BCTGM, mostly because a representative from BCTGM never formally closed their end of negotiations.  While Hostess has already taken steps to close factories and stop production, this seems like it could be a temporary thing while they work things out with the union.  Still, lots of people have been laid off for the moment, and the little yellow logs of goodness are not pumping at maximum speed out of the Hostess factories.  Even if Hostess does end up shutting down, we have nothing to worry about: Twinkies will continue.

[magnoliafullbloom]