I Saved the Twinkie

Photograph of a half-eaten twinkie on a white background with black text layered on top of the twinkie

The Twinkie is an American packaged sponge cake with cream filling invented in 1930. In November 2012, production was suspended after a union dispute led its former bakery to bankruptcy. In 2004, the brand’s parent company, Interstate Bakeries, filed for bankruptcy protection. Their profits had decreased, which the company credited to increased health consciousness, and which Wall Street credited to corporate strategy and debts. A private equity firm bought half of the stake in the company and renamed it Hostess Brands in 2009. They failed to reach a labor deal with the bakers’ union, which led to the speculation that they would close operations.

A Los Angeles Times report on the aftermath of the public announcement stated that the threat of the Twinkie's demise sparked hoarding of the treat and “shock waves through the country.” Hostess Brands was put up for auction in 2013 and the majority share of the business was bought by two private equity firms for $410 million. Twinkies returned to shelves soon after and the company stabilized. The return of Twinkies was possible through utilizing retailers like Walmart for shipment of goods and, according to The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) president David B. Durkee in 2013, hiring less experienced bakers to avoid union negotiations.