How the Hostess and The Twinkie Almost Died
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- čas přidán 7. 10. 2023
- Weird History Food is getting snacky with the History of Hostess. Maker of some of our favorite cakes and snacks, including Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Cup Cakes, and Ho Ho's, Hostess has been the mainstay of America's cupboards for decades. But where did Hostess begin? Well, get ready for a sugar high, we're going unwrap Hostess' long, sweet, and sometimes bitter, history.
#hostess #twinkies #weirdhistoryfood - Zábava
I remember those times, Hostess came back but they don't taste the same
I blame the transfat is bad craze. Maybe it is, but removing it definitely changed the taste of a lot of foods.
Meh I don’t eat them anywhere near enough to notice. Though they’ve always just tasted fake to me even as a kid. Plenty of snacks that taste way better.
Everything they sell tastes like Science.
That’s because the likely changed from sugar to another sweetener (probably Stevia) 🧁
They are also smaller than they used to be.
Zingers and some of the other products were actually under the umbrella of a subdivision of Hostess called Dolly Madison. Dolly Madison rather famously featured Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters as product branding on all their packages, and they were the featured sponsor for Peanuts holiday specials like Charlie Brown Christmas and It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown back in the 60's and 70's (with Coca-Cola being a co-sponsor of the original airing of the Christmas special.) In 2012, Dolly Madison was liquidated from Hostess, which was bought by Apollo Global Management in 2013 for around $430 Million. So selling it to Smucker's a mere decade later for $5.6 Billion was a pretty good return on investment.
Also, there was a Banana Crème Zinger that was my absolute favorite way back when and I need them to bring that flavor back before I shuffle off this mortal coil.
Call me dopey, but I thought Dolly Madison was it’s own entity and not part of Hostess… 🤔🫤
@@chrismayer3919 I doubled-checked my facts before I posted (seems as though I knew this before, but it had slipped my mind. Happens at my age.) But I do remember those slick filmed Dolly Madison commercials during the breaks. They almost felt like a special within the special. LOL
Zingers are far superior to Twinkies
@@AdamSnyder1234 there a quite a few people who would believe it’s the other way round. I always ate the top frosting first before going to town on the cake itself. YUM!
Watch out for the Zinger Zapper!
I love the powdered raspberry filled donuts. I don think they sell those anymore? Not only are they good but they have a special place in my heart. My uncle, who has since passed away used to sneak a box and share them with me ❤
Couple of things they should have included. The Drake's Cakes law suit over the Ding Ding vs their Ring Ding, and the banana cream of Twinkies until WW2. Very surprised at the omissions of these critical points in Hostess history.
The fact that the banana cream Twinkies weren’t brought up is kind of shocking. Seems like a major oversight and they’re normally pretty thorough.
Same!
I was about to post the same thing.
hahahaha
Drake's, makes me think of that Seinfeld episode.
I like seeing funny food references in movies (I know, weird, right?) One of my favorites is in Ghost Rider 2. One of the bad guys becomes decay. Everything he touches decays and goes bad or disintegrates. In one scene he is driving a car (don't ask why the car did not rust when he touched it) and he is trying to eat something while driving. He grabs a few things that go bad instantly. All but a Twinkie. He ate that just fine.
Request fir a follow up video. Zingers were originally produced and sold by the Dolly Madison Bakery and used Peanuts characters in its ads. Snoopy would appear in the ads as the Zinger Zapper. Hostess eventually bought Dolly Madison. And don't ask for a Zinger in Trinidad and Tobago - unless you want a chicken sandwich rather than a snack cake.
Kfc Zinger eh? It's here in south east asia too
I have not had a Hostess Twinkie in many, many years, but I do remember just how great a treat they were. I know they are full of sugar and people say they are bad for you. Only life is way too short not to enjoy a twinkie every now and then. After all we all are gonna die. Enjoy a twinkie before you kick the bucket~~~!!! Shalom
I'd cream fill a Twinkie
My dad keeps a stash of Hostess Twinkies in his cabinet for him to enjoy whenever he wants something sweet.
There are often treats in the break room at work. Last week somebody put out Twinkies. It was a good day.😀
I woulda been devastated had you not mentioned Zombieland in any way, shape or form.
Weird history food could do the history of solo cups and why they are used so much . Maybe would this go on the regular channel ?
I’ve always loved the cherry and berry pies, the chocolate cakes, and the lemon cakes.
I grew up in Chicago with a Hostess factory nearby. They had a factory store. We ate like KINGS!
I suspect someone bled the company dry, profiting handsomely until they bankrupted the company. Happens a lot when companies lose market share. Someone swoops in, cashes out what they can, the company goes bankrupt and nobody's the wiser. I'm a Capitalist at heart, but milking struggling companies dry causing them to quickly collapse, is not right.
@JDoors We had a Hostess Bakery as well as an outlet store where I live. Back in the days before direct deposit I would go to the bank located by the bakery to cash my check. Ah, the AROMA of fresh baked cinnamon raisin bread! The factory is now a craft brewery. I can live with that, too.
That's what capitalism is all about. Forget Adam Smith.
@@garryferrington811 I don't agree it's "what its all about," but it's definitely one way to ... uh-hem ... Capitalize on the system. You can choose to be a nice guy, or you can choose to be a bad guy. I think all systems are subject to various levels of abuse, from "Hey now, that ain't right" to "You deserve to go to prison."
The story of Allegheny City sounds quite interesting.
The population hated the idea of a merger, but it was popular in Pittsburgh.
Anybody else remember Hostess gaslighting us by changing the name of Ding Dongs to King Don's... and then back to Ding Dongs?
This was something I was expecting to see mentioned in the video. Hostess was sued by Drakes Cakes, because the Ding Dong was too similar to their Ring Ding. The court ruled that the combination of devil's food, fudge frosting, and cream filling weren't distinctive enough to be considered trademark infringement, BUT the name was too similar. So, in the areas that sold Ring Dings (primarily the northeast), they had to be rebranded King Dongs.
Yes, to anyone who thought the Ring Ding was the copycat, it actually came first. Like Hydrox is older than Oreo.
Were yours called "King Dongs" or "King Don's"? The ones I'm picturing had a little cartoon cake character with a crown but it was def "Don's" on the ones we got..@@wattsisnaim8111
At minute mark 8:47 and 8:50 of this video they show the King Don's.
@cobra5088
They show the mascot, and they show the product packaging, with NO explanation as to why the name difference. Indeed, from the voice-over, one would think that the "king" was exclusively part of the mascot name.
Ah! I must've missed it--I was cooking while listening :) Thank you for the info!@@cobra5088
Sno Balls were always my favorite. In addition to the taste, I was always fascinated by the stretchy marshmallow exterior covered in sweet, coconutty flecks of goodness before diving into the cream-filled chocolate cake inside.
I liked removing all the marshmallow, eating it first, then eating the cream center, saving the cupcake for last.
Eating anything hostess, always had a ritual, to prolong the yummy.
@@LambentLark I hear you about developing rituals around eating treats like this. “Prolong the yummy” is an excellent way of putting it!
My favorite as well. 👍👍
Hostess didn’t introduce the Zinger, beyond creating the slightly larger Twinkie.
Zingers were created by the Dolly Madison Company; which was eventually purchased by Continental Baking Company.
Several other Hostess’ items were acquired that way, along with the current version of the Hostess Fruit Pie.
Hostess and Dolly Madison produced snd sold fruit pies. The difference in them was Hostess had a thinner crust with a bit more ‘fruit’ filling while Dolly Madison’s had a thicker crust with slightly less filling, though they had a couple more types including chocolate. Hostess changed their pies to the thicker crust/less filling version, and added chocolate-filled, after buying their competitor. That’s also when Hostess started selling other ‘new’ items like mini muffin cakes, mini carrot cakes, individual crumb-topped cakes along with others.
I always associated the Zinger with Dolly Madison as well. As a kid in the eighties there was a Dolly Madison bakery near my hometown and they also had an outlet/discount store across the street that sold products that didn't pass quality control or were close to going out of date.
No. They were created by the Gretzinger Baking Company, hence the name "zinger".
@@timthegemyup. These CZcams guys don't even care anymore. Ten seconds of research to find Gretzinger. Hostess must be funding their research, Mandela effect, retcon everyone into thinking they invented everything snakky. Sadly enough, that's the world now. Especially since they can just unplug history, then plug it back in and rewrite it. Printed books are going away due to a nefarious reason disguised as convenience. Why do we need this old ratty Magna Carta when we can just google it? Or the constitution, for that matter.
Should be noted that the whole reason Hostess went under like it did was because the Board of Directors didn’t want to pay their workers fairly or provide health benefits, failed to squash the union, then slammed the company into the ground so they could make millions each.
Twinkies aren’t the only thing that should be eaten.
ok liberal
Do commies really?
Don't think it was mentioned that twinkies originally had banana cream filling and switched to sugar cream
I was expecting that too. They changed to vanilla in WW2 due to supply issues. In the end, vanilla stuck.
I think the Twinkie scene from Ghostbusters was part of the public outcry to bring Twinkies back. Never underestimate the power of pop culture to save a brand, I guess...
I miss the Hostess store, now if I want Twinkies or other hostess products I have to go to Safeway or Lucky or Target
Hostess came back, but it's not the same. Little Debbie never left. She's the only one you can trust now.
This edit is chaotic and I love it
From the days of the 1960s......I remember 'Scooter Pies' , but recently spotted them again in packaging that appears to be produced in Mexico.
Though it’s bad for me, chocodiles are my fave go-to Hostess snack! (With Dingdongs being a close second) 🤤
Chocodiles are great but my favorite of all has to be the Suzie Q. I can never get enough of those things.
@theoldman7739 I'm with you on the SuzyQs. As a starving teen, those were a lot of snack for the same price as many smaller offerings.
@@theoldman7739 I thought both weren't being made anymore? I haven't seen them in ages.
Mmm my dad used to put a box of ding dongs in the fridge and them eat them cold with us after a few hours, so good!!!
@@dcastleb69 they still make them, but they’re rarer than hen’s teeth; I like them as well.
Now I want a Twinkie 🤣😛🤪
Go to the store and get one
Suzy Q’s and Olympia beer… what a great combo.
🙋🏼
Twinkies were made by a different company in Canada, so we never saw a drop in production during the crisis. We did lose the baked pies though.
As a Philadelphian I must ask that you guys do a video on Tastykakes please
They make a great candy substitute for Halloween.
Oh yeah, favorite Hostess snack? The cream filled cookies, I used to stick candles in them and sing "Happy birthday cookie" to my nephew when he was 3, he is 18 now, he still laughs if I put a candle in a cookie. My nephew was a baby at the time, and while it was not his birthday, he NEEDED to blow out some candles, and not wait almost a year for it to happen again.
The hostess potato chips should be included in this video. I grew up on those chips. Great video
You forgot to mention the old Hostess fruit pie advertisements in Marvel and DC comic books. They were tales filled with HIGH ADVENTURE!!!
brotha this channel is a gem
I love them all! Twinkies, Cupcakes, Ho-Hos, Sno-balls, Ding-Dongs, Zingers, Fee-Faws, Wah-Wahs, Doo-Doos, et al.
Why is Hugh Ward's face censored?
I know this is 6 months old but think it’s due to not having pictures of him accessible so the editor probably just used a random photo and blocked the face out.
This was a fantastic video, Weird History! Thank you for talking about the Hostess Mascots, as I think they're super cool and underrated, especially Captain Cupcake. Will you talk about the history of M&Ms, as well as the evolution of the spokescandies? I also hope that when you make a Jack In The Box video, you'll talk about the 70s animated incarnation of Jack and the Jack In The Box Bunch, voiced by Paul Winchell! Onion Ring Thing even sounds exactly like Tigger. A few of the 1970s Jack In The Box animated commercials, as well as the three comics with records [my favorite being How A House Makes Noise], are on CZcams for reference. I'd also love to see you cover Domino's Pizza's post-Noid mascots, such as Donny Domino [as well as the Ollie Vs Domino's Pizza lawsuit that spawned from him], and Bad Andy [who actually drove sales down].
this channel needs more attention
Twinkees, bar none, are my favorite Hostess snack. Growing up, I remember that every single time my family went to visit my grandparents, they would always have several boxes of Twinkees that they bought just for us. I love the Twinkee and was devastated when they filed for bankruptcy back in 2012 and no longer appeared on shelves anywhere. Boy was I glad that they made a comeback as they are a huge part of Americana and my childhood. And it appearing in Ghostbusters, my favorite movie of all time (which I can quote forwards and backwards) is really the icing inside the cake for me. That certainly is a big Twinkee.
The voice! The voice! I love this narrator.
I wish they would bring back Choco Bliss
I feel like Twinkies don't taste the same anymore! Also I'm sad Wonder Bread is dead though! 🍞
I haven't been able to find Suzie Qs for years now. They were my favorite with Snowballs being 2nd favorite.
“That is one big Twinkie” - Winston Zeddemore
A+ video!
Awesome video, such great sweets!
Love to see a video of the rise and fall of Automats. With a nod to their compact replacement, vending machines and japan’s love for them.
I'm always liked swiss rolls and nutter butters! Yum :D
Interesting video! Love Hostess, always like Ho Ho’s and the Cupcakes! Never been a fan of the Twinkie. Did not realize all the fun flavors they have put out over the years! Crazy! 🤔😲😋Also love the mascots! So cute! 🥰
Twinkies with mustard, in a classic scene of The Deerhunter.
Let us not forget those fruit pies.
I loved the fruit pies. I never see them anymore, though.
Deep frying a Twinkie makes it healthy, right?
- Jim Gaffigan
little debbie out here giving hostess a run for their money
Sno Balls have always been my favorite, with Twinkies coming in a close second.
Grew up in a town with a Dolly Madison/Hostess factory. I have fond memories of field trips to the factory. Imagine a class full of 8 year olds wearing hair nets in order to tour the factory. 😂 At the end of the tour, you were led to a huge pile of snack cakes and you could take as many as you could fit into your hairnet!
It's an American classic! I'm hungry now. Grab me something to eat please, Weird History Food
I remember as a kid sometimes you would hear a joke involving "Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Ho Hos". It's as if they never thought the names through very well.
Unfortunately, they don't make Suzie Q's anymore. I loved those things
You made me wait the whole episode for the Zombieland reference.
Well played.
Twinkies are my favorite since the early 90s 😊.
Since they mentioned "Ghostbusters" and the "massive Twinkie" as pop culture references. There are a couple of others they didn't mention:
1. In Weird Al Yankovic's "Fat" music video, a parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad" music video. One of the fat, gang members try to tempt Weird Al with a Ding Dong. "Yo! Ding-Dongs man! Ding-Dongs!"
2. In the 1970's, and early 80's. Marvel Comics used to have in their comics, a quick little adventure where a villain was defeating a Marvel Hero, usually, it's Spider-Man until that hero tossed a Hostess product. Most of the time it's Twinkies but sometimes it's a Hostess Cupcake. The villain wants it so he stops his attack and goes after the Hostess product, then that hero will stop the villain. Marvel revisited that again in 2014 during their "Spider-Verse" event. Unfortunately, Twinkies weren't enough for Spider-Man as the big villain of that event, Morlun, killed Spider-Man & then took those Twinkies.
1:59 your humor gets better with each video.
I like the hostess chocolate cupcakes 😊
First is still best, long live the Twinkie!
The recipes have obviously changed over the decades. The products taste nothing like they did when I was a kid. There used to be much more filling and some actual fruit in the pies
Mrs. Baird's. That's my favorite Hostess snack 😅
Sno Balls! Sno Balls?! Where are the ******* TWINKIES?!?!?!” - Woody Harrelson in Zombieland as “Tallahassee”
Bless him.
His love for those treats was wholesome.
There is one thing to be aware of. Hostess Snow Balls does not survive if you leave it in a hot car. One of our busy salesmen at the radio station I worked for, didn't have time to stop for lunch between sales appointments so he grabbed a hot dog and a Hostess snowball while at a gas station getting fuel for his car. While rushing to his next sales appointment and gobbled down his hot dog but left his Hostess Snowball as a victory treat after he closed the sales deal he was going to. He left his Snowball on the dash of his car as he ran to his future advertising customer. Upon leaving his successful meeting, he unlocked the door of his car only to find a empty Hostess Snowball wrapper on his dashboard. As his investigation of what he thought was a robbery he discovered the Snowball wrapper was still sealed and his dash was a sticky mess. That is when he realized leaving his Snowball in his hot car on a hot summer day is what robbed him of his victory treat.
Hostess Honeybun 😋
I have had some Hostess products, but I’ve never had a Twinkie.
Ah yeah the thing people are obsessed with especially in zombieland 😂
They ruined hostess, the dings now taste like wax.
I didn't hear you mention anything about hostess pudding pies in that's what I want back
Mark McGwire!
King Ding Dong 😂
I haven't been able to find a Suzy Q's in Pittsburgh in some time. That is my go to... well it was anyways. We had a Hostess store out by Century III Mall that was my Mecca as a kid! Wall to Wall of nothing but Hostess. They had every product available in the same store which now seems insane to me. I drive by it now and think back to when I was a kid, and all the times spent in there. Nothing last forever tho. Helps me remember to stop and smell the roses, appreciated something while you have it. Even if it's just a snack cake.
Surprised you didn't point out that the stadium is a beer brand - that's pretty damn American, too.
I love those chocolate cupcakes.
I like snowballs but im from Texas so im all about that lil debbie. 🎉🎉❤
Loved twinkies but i think my favorite was suzy Qs, or maybe zingers. Ah hell i loved them all.
I've never been a fan of snack cakes, but Hostess orange cupcakes are so good!
Everyone lost their minds when Hostess stopped pushing out sugar fix. I would know, I was 1 of them. 😂
They did die. What came back does not taste like it did. A bit smaller, darker, greasier, and the filling is not right either. One bite, and it was just toss the rest away. RIP Twinkie. The world is darker since you left....
Didn’t hostess make a chocolate cake that had chocolate fillings and icing?
It was in a twin pack. They were so good
AMAZING
Wow 😲
I would have been so disappointed if Woody and Zombieland were not mentioned!
As someone who used to live next to a hostess factory and would regularly hit their tiny attached store to pick up the "not pretty", "defective" products on the cheap (I miss it, still empty to this day)... Whatever they did to change the recipe after 2012, just.... Killed the Twinkie. Something to do with the filling, it's a lot more.... Grainy? And has an aftertaste that just sits on my tongue wrong. Cake's nowhere near as moist as it used to be either.
RIP Twinkie. Your 2.0 (3.0?) can't compare.
Raspberry Zingers for the win.
Cheer big wheels was red hot indian good. Thank you come again
That’s Ding Dong The Usurper to you! He was a mere pretender to the throne!
Yes, Hostess snacks now have a shelf life of 65 days but I preferred them when they had a shelf life of around 30 days. They were changed from baked goods to... I'll say it...
baked bads.
I agree. Baked goods should not have such a long shelf life. They're sacrificing quality.
I hate to break it to you, but they were always baked bads with no redeeming nutritional value. They're not going to be any healthier without preservatives.
I love banana pudding mega muffins, creamcheese and blueberries danish and jumbo honeybuns.
When I was a kid in the 80s my favorite was the pudding pies.
2:44 I scored two transfer associate degrees on National Cupcake Day (December 15th).
At the end of this year on December 15, the film Wonka (tells the origin story of Willy Wonka) has its theatrical release.
Ding Dongs were my jam, cream filled chocolate hockey pucks.
I normally don't like Hostess products but if you get me two-pack of Hostess birthday cupcakes and stick it in the freezer for a bit I'll devour it in 2 seconds
The only 2 things I crave every now and again are the Raspberry Zingers and the SnoBalls. The craving for their Twinkies died when they changed the flavor of them - idk what they did, but my tastebuds rejected them.
i literally, at 2:45 am just went to the only gas station with a store open in my town, because i watched the first four minutes of this video and desired a package of twinkies and cupcakes. the night guy started to grab my smokes off the shelf that is usually the reason i go late night/early morning in that store. he's from India and was amazed when i told him about how old these delicious snacks are as well as important to the building of America. he told me he never had a twinkie and i said not assholy but "are you glad to be an American" he said "absolutely. i think it is greatest country in the world, especially for my wife and children" i said "well, then you need a piece of American history" i gave him one of the two twinkies and he took a bite. he said "oh my. thank you very very much." then he shoved the rest in his mouth and said mmmmmm. i laughed and said "now you see why i am out in the middle of the night just to get them. and he started laughing with a full mouth of twinkie.
God i love this country
Bribes of snack cakes... there's a Chris Christie joke in there somewhere.
You back off from Chris Christie you Donald Duck!
🤩🥴😵😵💫
Hostess is good, but it's got nothing on Vachon. Ah caramel, Joe Louis, and Billots!
8:41
"⁹Scared, nancy boy?"
Tallahassee's Favorite is:
Twinkies From Zombieland