Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread baker, might hold the key to saving the Twinkie from extinction in the liquidation of the Hostess (R) Brand Company. Image courtesy of Bimbo Bakeries Company. Copyright 2012.
Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread baker, might hold the key to saving the Twinkie from extinction in the liquidation of the Hostess (R) Brand Company.
Although other companies have shown interest in buying some of Hostess’ iconic brands, Bimbo just might have the best chance at acquiring Twinkie and other favorite Hostess brand snack cakes.
(Description of above video:Mexican television program discussing the 65th anniversary of the Bimbo Bakery Company and the creation and evolution of its icon “Bimbo” the bear.)
Bimbo, with $10 billion annual sales, clawed its way into the baked-goods big leagues through a series of smart acquisitions under the leadership of its brilliant CEO Daniel Servitje Montull.
For a cool $959 million in 2010, Bimbo bought the North American fresh-baked unit of Sara Lee, which included well-known brands such as Entenmann’s and Thomas’ English Muffins.
According to the latest revelations, this isn’t the first time Bimbo has tried to save Twinkies. Bimbo, in conjunction with a few other minor companies, made a bid for the Hostess Brand Company during Hostess’ first bankruptcy in 2007, but Bimbo backed out at the last minute.
A secret to Bimbo’s success is its access to cheap Mexican sugar, giving the company an upper hand over its rivals. Hostess struggled with high sugar prices in the U.S., largely due to trade tariffs, according to NBC News. Mexican sugar could help avoid those additional costs, although this would in all likelihood result in taking production – including manufacturing jobs – south of the border.
Bimbo Bakeries bread trucks could be making deliveries of Twinkies and other Hostess brand snack cakes soon, if Bimbo succeeds in acquiring the rights to Twinkie and other Hostess Brand snack cakes. Photo courtesy of Bimbo Bakeries. Copyright 2012.
As reported earlier, labor talks between Hostess and the unions that represent most of its 19,000 employees had gone on for fruitless months before the company’s decision to liquidate last Friday.
As of this writing, it’s hoped that the gap left by departing Hostess jobs could be potentially filled by other U.S. companies. Said Chris Edwards, a Cato Institute economist: “It may well be that other U.S. producers step into the void and expand their U.S. production, in which case the Hostess liquidation might not be a total loss.”
Ebay ad for auction of Hostess Twinkies courtesy of Ebay. Copyright 2012.
Following the news last Friday of Hostess’ intent to liquidate, aficionados of the iconic snack cake have begun treating it like a highly prized commodity. Hawkers on eBay and Craigslist began to sell their unopened stashes of Twinkies (and other Hostess brands) online Saturday, amid reports of boxes selling for hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
But the strange, snack cake – related behavior doesn’t stop there. A bizarre petition urging President Barack Obama to “nationalize the Twinkie industry” is currently circulating online. The link to that petition, created by Daniel B. of Kansas City, MO. on November 16, 2012, can be found HERE: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/nationalize-twinkie-industry/cJz0ngJR
The petition reads: “We the undersigned, hereby request Barack Obama to immediately nationalize the Twinkie industry and prevent our nation from losing her sweet, creamy center.” The petition has been posted on the White House’s official ‘We The People’ website.
Behold the power of the mighty Twinkie to move mountains, change U.S. laws and unite the American people in one collective goal: to save America’s favorite snack food from extinction! Photo courtesy of Tim Boyle, Getty Images. Copyright 2012.
Amazingly, about 3,500 people have already signed the petition. If that number gets to 25,000 by December 16 then President Obama will be required by law to respond. Needless to say, that doesn’t mean he has to comply with the petition, and it’s highly doubtful he will, since it would appear to be in direct conflict with his wife’s current efforts to wean America’s youth off the junk food.
In addition to the awkward implications of it actually happening, nationalizing any industry is a pretty unusual, perhaps even (to some folks) “un-American” move to make in our capitalist system. Behold the power of the mighty Twinkie to move mountains, change U.S. laws and unite the American people in one collective goal: to save America’s favorite snack food from extinction, lol.
More news on the fate of Twinkies (R) coming soon! In the meantime, while we wait for the real thing to make its reappearance on our grocer’s shelves, HERE is a terrific recipe to make your own fluffy, creme-filled, golden sponge cakes at home:
Recipe to make your own creme-filled, golden sponge cakes at home. Recipe courtesy of Facebook. Copyright 2012.
