IRVING, TX
The spongy baked goods of our childhood have been revived with vigor, bringing a sweet twist to the term “comeback.”
After devastating America’s sweet tooth with the announcement that Hostess would close its doors, the company bowed out of the snack category.
And now, just two short years later, the company everyone counted out has turned it all around with about $2 billion to show for it, according to Forbes.
“They’ve worked magic with their business concept and have made Hostess one of the most efficient and effective companies in the entire food industry,”said Joseph Gatto, Partner at Perella Weinberg, who brokered the sale of Hostess to its current owners, according to the Forbes report.
One of the men who turned it all around and new owner, C. Dean Metropoulos, who has resurrected brands like Bumble Bee Tuna, Chef Boyardee and Pabst Blue Ribbon, seems to think that nostalgia is also one of the reasons for recovery.
“People walk up and thank me for bringing back Twinkies,” he told Forbes. “No one ever thanked me for saving Vlasic pickles.”
And those thanks go all the way to the bank, as the company now reports putting out a million twinkies a day. The success of the little submarines have encouraged the company so much, in fact, that it is going to push forward in other areas as well.
A key player in the twinkie output table is the company’s $20 million Auto-Bake system, and they now have plans to invest the same amount on a second system for cupcakes.
Fingers crossed another revival are those quirky "where's the cream filling?" commercials.
It is safe to say that the name that America mourned is not to be counted out just yet.
