After a century of success in the bakery and snack food industry, Hostess is going belly up. Hostess had been the model company on which similar firms on this and other continents were built. Many of those foreign firms are still thriving – for now. But the original Continental Baking Company, parent to Hostess, is closing the doors on this division. Citing labor problems, ongoing strikes, plant sabotage, and the cost of doing business as an employer in this brave new “free insurance” world, CBC has filed for bankruptcy. Eighteen thousand union workers will join the rolls of the unemployed.
Hostess’ famous product line is more than a snack food, it’s a cultural icon. Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Fruit Pies, and Zingers have carried us through when all our other cultural norms were shaken. It seemed that Twinkies would always be there… Really, they never rot. And after a person accumulates a good size spare tire from eating too many Hostess snacks, it never goes away either. And that may be the root of Hostess’ problems: Michelle Obama’s war on obesity. Read more
