The Homa Files

Hot off the WSJ wires …

Hostess Brands, the maker of iconic treats such as Twinkies and traditional pantry staple Wonder Bread, is shuttering its plants and liquidating its 82-year-old business.

A victim of changing consumer tastes, high commodity costs and, most importantly, strained labor relations, Hostess ultimately was brought to its knees by a national strike orchestrated by its second-largest union …  the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union.

The company will “promptly” lay off most of its 18,500 employees and focus on “selling its assets to the highest bidders.”

Hostess’s remaining inventory — loaves of bread and plastic packages of cream-filled desserts — probably will be sold in bulk to a discounter or big-box store.

The company will attempt to sell its plants and its brands – think Twinkies, Ding-Dongs.

The names have decades of “deliciously retro” brand equity, and there is “pretty significant demand” for the products.

A fresh owner of the intellectual property, which includes everything from names to recipes to graphics, could revitalize the Hostess brands  with new flavors, limited-edition Twinkies, co-branded products, and  international reach.

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This entry was posted on November 16, 2012 at 10:35 am and is filed under Bankruptcy, Food & Drink, Mktg - Brands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.