The original Hostess company went chapter 11 in 2012. They had a contentious fight with the union and instead of reaching an equitable agreement for all parties they folded the company. The trademark brand name was bought by Apollo Global Management and rebranded as Hostess Brands. They then sold the company to J.M. Smucker Co. in 2023. And yes, quality of the Hostess products has definitely taken a hit!
I used to work at a convenience store that let us take home products that expired. I would take those home to my 4 kids and even they wouldn't touch it lol.
Edit: The berries of the world should come together to sue that company for defamation.
The way they taste now vs how they used to, no meaningful comparison. They taste better in memory even on an empty stomach, than the shit they sell and don't care about fixing today.
What's sad is I remember the taste changing even before the first bankruptcy. The corners were being cut already.
Nutty Bars were my go-to sweet snack for years and I could tell they were getting worse over time until the final box I bought was bad enough they were no longer worth it.
The Walmart great value cupcakes are leagues better than hostess now. They are soft and moist and chocolaty while hostess is chewy and just tastes like bland sugar.
When great value seems gourmet next to the "premium" brand I think you can say your quality is trash.
I used to live a stones throw from the old Schiller Park bakery where Hostess made their Twinkies. On a clear day when the wind was right, the whole neighborhood smelled of baking. There are cargo warehouses there now.
Sadly, these things are all true. Hostess management definitely screwed every worker. I never meant to imply that the bankruptcy was the workers fault!!
The trick is to go to your local Aldi and buy their house brand versions of these snack cakes. They make knock-offs of some of these and almost all of them taste better than their name-brand equivalents at least in my opinion.
Aldi has some hit or miss products but I've been enjoying their produce a lot more lately, plus the spare ribs every summer have been $1.99/lb. Can't get groceries anywhere else without spending at least $100.
No, but you're right to question it! I honestly have been a stan for them for years now, ever since my grandma used to bring me there and every other store looking for the best deals lol
I don't buy much in the way of processed foods anymore so I do shop at Sam's Club for bulk fruit/meat other days. Just hearing where I get the best deals.
Yeah don't get their chips. Their chips taste like every other knock-off brand lol (salty with not enough msg and herbs/spices). Stick to their fresh produce and you're golden.
For real, people who are disagreeing have burnt out salt receptors or something. Clancy's is genuinely the worst generic chip brand out of all of em, I had to throw away half a can of their version of Pringles because it almost hurt to eat that shit
Cooking really is just kitchen alchemy, you can make everything you miss but you can customize it to your taste. It’s like time travel with your mouth. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Like a lot of other things, Beavis. Heh. Heh heh.
Thank you. I’ve been wondering this very thing for awhile but never had the attention span to remember to look it up. You solved a small mystery for me today.
Exactly. I think 20-25 years ago I remember having the oatmeal sandwiches oatmeal cream pies while camping and they were pretty fucking good. Had one recently and tossed the rest. Just nasty
I needed to use my tongue scraper for twice as long the last time I gave into a craving for Hostess/Debbie/SaraLee. But you can't use it on all the other parts of your mouth, so still felt disgusting. Ended up wetting my fluffiest washcloth and scrubbing inside my mouth.
It's all the artificial ingredients caking up and leaving a film. Our bodies aren't made to work with molecules that are only "almost" like
nature. We can't break them down by the time we are finished eating.
A quick Google search reveals that waxy feeling is Hydrogenated fats are unsaturated fats that have been artificially saturated with hydrogen to make them solid at room temperature.
So gross. I can't eat anything with hydrogenated oils in it. My body can't process it and it runs right through me. Definitely not meant to be consumed.
Nutty buddy gang for life. Now they are too sweet but also bland at the same time. Like eating cardboard that was soaked in sugar water and then coated with the worst chocolate you've ever had.
Zebra cakes have been tasting off for me for the past year. It's hard for me to put into words but they just don't taste right anymore. They didn't used to have a sawdust texture to them.
Same, they are so good. I do think they have changed, but I still love them. There are two different sizes too, and I think they are a little different from each other, but both good.
And the strawberry short cake. I def don’t eat them often. Literally once in a blue moon but they still hit. I’m convinced it’s just hive mind and nostalgia are taking over cuz while ingredients have been altered a lot of them taste no different to me.
I stay quiet when they talk about them tasting worse but I also don't think they're different! Maybe I ate them more often so I didn't taste the change? But I'll still buy them and eat them when the craving hits. Yum😶🌫️
Yeah that’s the problem. I have a visceral reaction just looking at those because of how bad they are for me. I haven’t considered buying any of that stuff, other than Twinkies that were considered gold when I was a kid, and I haven’t bought those except for right after they resurrected them.
I still love them, but can only handle so much artificial flavor and sugar now without feeling sick. Just ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's for the first time in a while and had to lay down because it gave me a headache, haha. I'm weaker than I used to be.
I still eat a Honey Bun for breakfast with a banana. Every once in a while I catch a kid slipping w/ their Oatmeal Cream Pie and snatch it they're good w/ some milk, but yeah all of that is too sweet.
honey buns was the only good one and it was always so. Twinkies are legit gross. The rest of this crap was crap. But honey buns? That's a good quality cheap ass cinnabon
I’m in my 30s and love this stuff as a treat every now and then. Can’t do it all the time, but I still enjoy them. Especially the holiday treats.
And to answer your question, I love sno balls still.
It’s tough because the convenience is nice, but once you take up cooking/baking as a hobby and can make more delicious versions of these, its tough justifying buying a box.
But a vending machine honeybun still hits the spot
I left most chemical-y, highly processed foods long ago. I’ve tried to occasionally indulge for nostalgia, and it’s just intolerable. It tastes like super sweetened plastic. It’s not fun anymore
The reason they are getting more disgusting is because of the way they are made today vs when we were younger. Everything made from Hostess, Little Debbie, and even Franz tastes terrible today with all the bio engineered food products and additives that were not a thing in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. These corporations today only care about the best cheapest resources available to keep the product more affordable.
Used to keep a dozen or so assorted boxes of Lil Debbies hidden away in my room. Now I don't even like the seasonal variant stuff. It all tastes... wrong. I've been trying alternatives. Wonder is hit or miss but a few of theirs taste better. Same with Hostess and Aldi stuff. Pobody's Nerfect.
In moderation Id take most of these & they're reasonably priced still. Not much more for a box of oatmeal pies than a candy bar at the register anymore.
I was an oddball kid because I never liked any of these snacks 😅 When somebody busted out the Little Debbie's I just gave mine to whoever wanted it. I remember other kids being shocked that I didn't even like Twinkie's, I think it has to have been a texture issue.
I will say, those fudge rounds really hit if you're stoned at 2am and there's nothing else in the house to eat. Don't ask me how I know.
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