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Charlene Gubash, NBC News
Mohamed Sarwat, who works at the Mecca Market in Ismailia, Egypt, shows off the Twinkies that the shop sells.
ISMAILIA, Egypt -- Worried about the fate of those moist yellow sponge cakes with a creamy white center? Look no further. Twinkies still reign supreme in the land of pharaohs.
On Friday, the iconic manufacturer of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread closed 33 factories and announced plans to lay off 18,500 workers over an acrimonious labor dispute. Hostess was headed to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Wednesday, seeking permission to liquidate its business.
But in Egypt – and most other Arab countries – Twinkies are popular treats that sell themselves.
On Monday, Hostess brands and its second-largest union agreed to a final mediation session in an attempt to avoid liquidation and a sale of assets. Even if the talks fail, several potential buyers are interested in the rights to Twinkies, Wonder Bread and other Hostess brands. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports.
Twinkies and Ho Hos are so popular that the local producer, Edita, no longer bothers to advertise and the treats still bring in a sweet 47 percent of the company's profit. Edita markets to the Arab Gulf, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and is expanding to other countries.
Hostess, union mediation fails liquidation; liquidation next?
"It is our top seller. Everybody buys it!" said Mohamed Sarwat, who works at the Mecca Market in Ismailia, Egypt, where Twinkies have pride of place behind the counter.
Twinkies are considered better than most of the locally produced packaged cakes and have the cachet of being a real American product made with high-quality imported ingredients. They taste like the real deal, if a little less spongy than their U.S. counterparts. That can't be said for fudgy tasting Boreos, a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time Egyptian knock-off of Oreos.
Twinkies are a favorite of school children in Egypt. The cushiony confections sell for an affordable 7 cents in school cafeterias and for 14 cents in stores. Imported snacks of a similar kind can run up to five times as much.
The local producer of Twinkies is suffering none of the ills faced by Hostess in the U.S. and its production is continuing as planned, a source close to Edita told NBC News. Since the ingredients for Twinkies are imported from outside the U.S. and are produced locally, Egyptian addicts should be able to look forward to that little foil-wrapped piece of comfort well into the future.
Hostess may be going out of business, but no need to despair. Giada De Laurentiis chats with the TODAY anchors about the topics making headlines today and demonstrates how you can make a homemade version of the beloved crème-filled treat.
There is also hope beyond the Middle East. Mexican company Grupo Bimbo may be angling to resurrect Twinkies from the ashes.
Mexican company Bimbo may be eyeing Twinkies
Grupo Bimbo reportedly had an eye on Hostess for almost a decade, since they saw it as a key ingredient to North American expansion. Additionally, economists say high sugar prices tied to U.S. trade tariffs were a big reason Hostess was struggling. Grupo Bimbo, with its access to lower-priced sugar in Mexico, could be a lifeline.
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Leave a Comment:
There is hope for America in the Arab World!
Yes, there are no unions there.
Bingo, Max. Cry about the unions killing your business so you can move your production facilities to Mexico
Max^108
There may also be a reduced number of greedy corporate CEOS who give themselves a 6.4 Million dollar salary, but ask the workers to take a reduction in their own paychecks and pay higher insurance premimums.
Course, Hostess did have 6 CEOS in 3 years and filed bankruptcy twice. Oh wait that's all the union's fault.
The only reason the company is going under is because of Unions and American made laws that kill business.
You reap what you sow ! or in this case miss out on the tasty goodness of Twinkies
"Twinkies are considered better than most of the locally produced packaged cakes and have the cachet of being a real American product made with high-quality imported ingredients. "
High quality ingredients? Frightening assessment.
Enriched wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, niacin, water, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable and/or animal shortening – containing one or more of partially hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed andcanola oil, and beef fat, dextrose, whole eggs, modified corn starch, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), salt, cornstarch, corn flour, corn syrup, solids, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, dextrin, calcium caseinate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, wheat gluten, calcium sulphate, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, yellow No. 5, red #40
Did you forget your /sarc tag, or do you not understand the situation?
According to Romney, Latin America will be our next China. I guess that means this won't be the last company to move south of the border. Self deportation might be the only way any of us have jobs, pack your bags America!
I'm pro union, but whatever happened.... Hostess is dead because the union killed them..... when you are negotiating and you shoot the guy that is paying your paycheck.... it's on you
If you are given a choice between two options, and neither one saves your job, how is that YOUR FAULT that your job is going away?
What are they supposed to do when an independent financial analyst tells the union that management's plan won't work? Ignore the independent guy, and trust the people who've given themselves massive pay increases and bonuses while the workers pay has decreased!?
You must also think Bain is a fine example of corporate stewardship.
The problem was greed by the CEO,s.
There's a rumer that they found some Twinkies with King Tut that were still fresh. NAAAAA.
Long live the Twinkie!
It would be cheaper to have these sent in from Egypt than to by them here on Ebay...LOL
The prices that some people have been asking for boxes of Twinkies on E-Bay are absolutely ridiculous. I can understand that people like Twinkies and want to get some while they can, but it is highly unlikely that there will be a long term interruption in the supply and there is certainly no justification for the absurd prices. My money is on Grupo Bimbo out of Mexico taking over manufacturing of Twinkies and many other Hostess products. They seem to have the inside track on acquiring the non-material assets of Hostess. They have no need or desire to acquire the bakeries because it is far cheaper for them to make them in Mexico. Between not having to deal with paying union wages and not having to pay the high US sugar tariffs, it makes far more economic sense for them to manufacture south of the border.
I'll bet the prices go up if they move the operation to Mexico. They will no longer be Hostess cream filled cakes, they will be Bimbo coke filled cakes. There main outlet will be on a shady corner near you.
GM PAN
the local plant in Waterloo isn't closed and as of yet they wont be moving the operation...only the money made... oh and the union will be replaced with a few of those "undocumented" immigrants that this administration loves, there's plenty of em around.Obama will be thrilled with that news.
IA.ScooterTramp
Suprised the local Waterloo plant hasn't closed yet, but I am sure it will be impacted. The workers can be replaced by undocumented immigrants which THE GOP really loves. This way, they can pay them lower than the minimum wage, fire them at will, ensure their working environment is unhealthy, and give the CEOs a larger raise on top of it. No wonder the GOP likes cheap labor, it's how they can get richer and not be 'greedy'.
P.S. Isn't it interesting that Romney hired illegal undocumented immigrants? I am glad my home state of Iowa REJECTED Romney in the last election and went Democrat again.
@ IA.ScooterTramp,
Romney said Latin America will be our next China and the President wants us to turn into China only with better pay. I see Mitt's way winning this argument.
so like its been documented that Mitt Romney has pioneered sending jobs to China from the US , he has his friends starting businesses in Latin America too?no wonder you voted for a MITT
For the love of God STOP IT WITH THE TWINKIES CRAP ALREADY!!!
Gee, for some reason I can't really put a finger on it, but the Arab company is having no problems with production, and it thriving using this brand. I wonder if it's because they don't have a union demanding seperate trucks for the different brands they make, and drivers can't load or unload their trailers, and seperate forklift driver for the different brands, and paying these people $20 per hour for a $10 per hour job. No wonder Hostess is shutting down.
Thank you Jacob! I love hoho's myself, but enough is enough
ummmm jacob,..... your here reading and commenting......
perhaps. they probably also don't have a ceo that they just gave a 200% raise to while the business was failing.
ummmmm Scooter..... and your point is??
If all else fails and Twinkies are gone in the US I am moving to Egypt to get my steady fix.
Sure, the Egyptians are making and selling Twinkes, but, they are using our technology. I'm not blaming Bush or Obama, but, we are losing our Nation pride and leadership in snack production. And, I am a serious as I can get on this subject.
Allah doesn't like Edita which markets to the Arab Gulf, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and is expanding to other countries.
So does this mean some billionaire sheik will buy the company and yet another American born company goes to the Arabs?????
Yeah, the arabs still have twinkies and dingdongs but we have hoho's in Bangkok..... We also already have euro's, a twinkie knock off.
I can't find evidence of a hostess factory overseas,yet, the twinkies box is in arabic. Oh, and the Prada shirt on the smiling guy...it's counterfeit. Counterfeit dingdongs?
Dont buy imports, dont reward outsourcers. You know bloody well thats the plan here. I bet you a box of ding dongs they are back in business somewhere else, faster than you can say "Screw you American workers".
Hostess can go to hell.
I don't want to live in a world without Twinkies....
bye
Just another example of American workers screwing America. Unions are EVIL and strive on ignorance.
Sure they are. And the management who is raping the Hostess corporation is simply being abused by the evil workers? Never mind that managements 'plan' wouldn't save the company, and would only enrich management?
You don't seem to have a very good grip on the facts. Ignorance appearsto be your bailiwick.
American workers made America. Union or not makes no difference. Just like the slaves made the pyramids but , the pharoahs got the credit for building the pyramids; according to the history books.
Likely issues on both sides, but I must admit I am tired of greedy management continuing to rake it in even after making colossally bad decisions while us worker-bees take it on the chin. And they get a "golden parachute" while moving to another company to make the same stupid mistakes, while we lose our jobs and have to fight to get anything else or live in our cars (or on the streets). Unions aren't perfect either (I still see no reason why public workers need any kind of union), but they seem to be all we have to fight for our rights. Soon we will be in the same boat as workers in 3rd world countries, slaving away for pennies, working in dangerous conditions with no relief in sight. I am depressed now.
I don't like Twinkies but sure am going to miss Ding-Dongs...
Marie the (CEO,s) ding-dongs will just move to another company.
Reminds me of an old Bobcat Goldthwaite joke. He mentions that Twinkies have a FIFTY YEAR shelf life, and then wonders if at 50 years and one day, if someone bites into one, would they ask you to try it, and see if it tasted ok?
let the USA unions kill them....we can then import them from Egypt and maybe Mexico..problem solved except for the 18,000 new unemployed in the USA.. no problem..our gov't will take care of them...
Everybody seems to be picking a side........ it's management's fault, or it's the union's fault. I'd say both sides are guilty and created this problem together.
This is another company leaving the U.S. I think the unions are chasing out the companies with their high wages and benefits. As a professional who does not get a company pension, why do these laborers think they should? Why don't you begin your career by saving all by yourself? I've been saving my entire life and depend on no one for my future. I refuse to be a slave to any company or pension they offer for the moment.
heyjoe1 try a little fact checking on hostess and you will see it is not the union!
No Mexican Bimbo HoHo's for me.
so he mexicans buy it, fire the union and move their own people in to do the job. only real difference is no union and the money will now go to mexico. 18,000 more unemployed, of course somehow the unemployment rate will stay the same or go down , and people will believe it........amazing ......
Sounds just like Romney at Bain. Let's buy companies, saddle them with debt, export the jobs to another country, get a GOP sponsored tax credit for it, steal the workers life savings and retirement, file bankruptcy, get the american tax payer dollars for it, and then write themselves a big ole check for it. Who cares if those people are unemployment?
P.S. Romney.. ' Should have left detroit fail and really increased the unemployment. That way, we have something else we can blame on Obama and say it was all his fault"
Oh if only Americans would just agree to work for 3rd world wages then everything would be better here.
Henry Ford needs to come back from the grave and smack your pointy head.
yes we can
yes we can
yes we can
wait a minute...whats that you say....no job?.....oh well our messiah will make it all better thats why we voted for him
yes we can
yes we can
yes we can
Snarf like an Egyptian.
i'm no fan of unions for the most part. but it's really hard to blame this entirely on them, when the ceo was just given a 200% raise and the workers had their pay cut. think logically.
Tampa, you are asking for way too much from this group. Its easier for them to blame the unions than to actually read beyond the headline or a brief nbcnews article, hell, scootertramp apparently thinks we should blame Obama. Damn you Obama, you took my twinkies away! He must be a muslim!
You can't expect these folks to think logically, you will be forever disappointed.
Nobody seems to want to hear that anymore TampaBayRays1 it's the fault of the greedy workers not willing to work for slave labor like the rest of the world. The corporations are the ones that deserve all the money and the workers deserve only the crumbs. It just keeps getting dumber and dumber but unfortunately that seems to be the world we live in today.
Let's invade Egypt and take over their Twinkie factory! Finally, a new reason for war! Yummy
It isn't just cheaper sugar. Corporate executives accept a tiny fraction of what U.S. executives demand. Remember, while the brass were demanding hege concessions from workers at Hostess, the executives were lavishing splendid salaries and bonuses on themselves and establishing golden parachutes for use when they sank the company.
When is America going to learn we had our chance at making things better and we voted to keep things terrible.