November 17, 2012 - 8:49am
R.I.P Wonderbread
Hostess/Wonderbread has announced it is going out of business. The news articles point out that this marks a significant loss of a cultural icon to the Baby Boomers (mostly because Twinkies are an apt symbol of our generation).
More to the point for Fresh Loafers, what will we use as an example of bad bread!?
Glenn
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still plenty of bad bread out there. I do hear rumors that Twinkies will continue on - although just what a "Twinkie" is - I'm not sure...
Whew!
a chemistry lab should try to duplicate a twinkie. I'm sure it couldn't be done in an ordinary kitchen. That said, I ate my share back in the day.
I read that Hostess is owned now by some private equity firms and are saddled with huge debts because they bought by those same private equity firms. They've had six CEOs in the past eight years with pretty bad results.
Maybe a large company such as Sarah Lee, or Roman Meal can buy the whole operation at liquidation. Having all those bakeries, trucks, and locations without any encumbering debt might be a good deal.
more color on what happened. The brand name and recipes may be bought by other unrelated parties, so we may see twinkies back yet. Regrettable either way.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324735104578123312646698662.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324556304578122632560842670.html
Wonderbread's legacy as a punchline will live on for years to come. Whatever happens to Hostess' assets and recipes, I hope those 18,000+ former Hostess workers will soon find new employment.
most of us older folks grew up on Wonder Bread. It was so popular that the government wanted Hostess to put vitamins in the bread so nearly every kid would get their essential nutrients and not be so sickly. My dad worked there and everyone we knew and loved also loved Wonder Bread. It was the best thing since....itself.
I have tried for years to make a knock off and can't do it. My attempts are always horrible failures. This is the 2nd time they have filed for bankruptcy both times for the same reasons. The folks that worked there know who to blame and you can bet that they will too when they find out how few jobs there are right now.
Maybe the new owners who buy this company out of bankruptcy, for the 2nd time, will be rid of all the union contracts and pension benefits to make a go of it again. There is no reason they can't make it like the airlines, cars, steel and other manufactures have after reorganization and new ownership - with the right condidtions.
Twinkies I can do without - Hostess Cupcakes are another matter entirely!
Wishing them all the best.
One of the potential buyers was given as Nature's Pride. Twinkies made by a company named Nature's Pride is a little mind-boggling. *chuckle*
Since this encompases the San Francisco French Bread Company as well, I'm heartbroken.
However, since this also encompases Parisian, which was bought and became part of the SFFBC , I can only hope now, that someone purchases the Parisian name, and starts making what I considered the best Sourdough french bread to come out of San Francisco.
Hostess owns/owned Interstate which owns/owned Parisian.
'been missing parisian since 2005.
For fans of the Hostess Twinkie, I saw this on eBay and just had to post it -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOSTESS-TWINKIES-BAKE-SET-MAKE-YOUR-OWN-TWINKIES-TWINKIE-MAKER-/300831238161?pt=Bakeware