Pour one out for Hostess! : Defunct Companies

Pour one out for Hostess!

Twinkies, CupCakes, Sno Balls... man, Hostess knew how to make a snack. Lunchboxes weren’t the same without 'em. Then 2012 hit, and the company went kaput. Labor issues, changing snack tastes, ya know. They got bought out and Twinkies returned, but still feels like the end of an era. Anyone else hoard boxes when they thought it was game over?

Submitted 3 months, 2 weeks ago by munch_on_this

Didn’t they say the Twinkies could survive a nuclear apocalypse? So why couldn’t they survive the economy, huh? I smell a conspiracy. Or maybe that's just the Twinkie I found in the back of my pantry from 2011.

3 months, 2 weeks ago by GrainBeltGuru

lol Hostess went under ‘cause kids don’t know what’s good anymore. They'd rather munch on kale chips. Rip Twinkie the Kid, you'll always be the spongey overlord of snack cakes in my heart.

3 months, 2 weeks ago by Trollin_Doughboy

Yes! I squirreled away a ton of those boxes. I thought Hostess was done for good. Kept them stashed for like a year til they came back and sold them off at a garage sale. Probably should’ve tried to sell them when the panic first hit! 😂

3 months, 2 weeks ago by box_hoarder88

What happened to Hostess is a classic example of market forces and changing consumer tastes. It’s noteworthy how they couldn’t keep up with the health trends. The rebirth under new ownership skipped a beat for sure, but it’s fascinating from an economic perspective how nostalgia can drive a brand back from the brink.

3 months, 2 weeks ago by MarketMania

Omg, Sno Balls were my jam! Didn't hoard any myself, but a friend of mine did and we actually ate a couple when they announced the Twinkies were back. Not the same at all tho, felt like they were just coasting on the brand name after the comeback.

3 months, 2 weeks ago by sugar_hi

A piece of snacking history went down with Hostess in 2012, no doubt. I actually did hoard some boxes and no joke - I still have an unopened box of Twinkies stashed away. It’s like a time capsule of snack history at this point. And while it's true that they’ve made a comeback, those early 2000s recipes were something else, man. I’d give anything to taste that again.

3 months, 2 weeks ago by RetroSnackCollector

Hostess had its time, tbh. I kinda think the market's better now with more variety and healthier options. Nostalgia's cool and all, but I'm not missing the sugar coma after lunch,e specially now that there are so many organic and natural alternatives.

3 months, 2 weeks ago by millenialmuncher

Totally feel you on the Hostess nostalgia trip. Lunch just hasn't been the same. I remember stocking up on like 20 boxes of Twinkies when the news broke out, thinking they’d be worth something or at least I’d have a lifetime supply. Who knew they'd make a comeback? Feels good, but you're right, it's not quite the same. It’s like they came back from the dead... Zombie Twinkies.