Hostess Brands, the makers of iconic childhood favorites Twinkies, Ring Dings, Devil Dogs, and Wonder Bread, has ceased all baking as of today and we could see the effects almost immediately.
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Short Order spoke with a spokesperson for Hostess Brands who said the very last Twinkies were baked today as the bankrupt company shuttered nearly 40 bakeries across the United States.
The last Twinkies, baked around 2 a.m., are being boxed for shipment, with the last deliveries of these iconic baked goods, and all other breads and cakes under the Hostess Brand going out today.
Twinkies and all other Hostess treats have an official shelf life of 28 days, despite urban legend that the snack cakes have a shelf life of thousands of years.
When we asked the spokesperson if that means south Florida will see a shortage in Hostess products, his answer was far bleaker:
"You won't see a shortage. You'll see a complete vanishing."
Though it's likely big box warehouses will have extra product in storerooms, take into account the 28 day freshness guaranty when finding a box of Twinkies a few months down the road.
Hostess brands that will start to vanish include Twinkies, Cup Cakes, Ding Dongs, Ho Ho's, Sno Balls, Donettes, Drake's Cakes and Dolly Madison cakes. Bread brands include Wonder, Nature's Pride, Merita, Home Pride, Butternut, and Millbrook, among others.
Though Hostess plans on selling or auctioning the brands, there is no time frame or guaranty when we'll ever see these snack cakes in stores again.
In an open letter to consumers, Rich Seban, executive vice president & chief marketing officer said:
"This Wind Down announcement brings our current relationship to an end and I want to take this time to thank you for your continued support and loyalty throughout the past several years.
It has been a great pleasure working with you and I wish you all the best in the future."
Florida consumers aren't the only ones being hit. 306 of the 18,500 people who were given a pink slip by Hostess are from Florida. Two small bakeries located in the Sunshine State were closed as of today with 128 workers fired from the Jacksonville location and 178 let go from the Orlando bakery.
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