• Despite US woes, Twinkies reign supreme on the Nile

    Charlene Gubash, NBC News

    Mohamed Sarwat, who works at the Mecca Market in Ismailia, Egypt, shows off the Twinkies that the shop sells.

    By Charlene Gubash, NBC News

    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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  • Mexican company Bimbo may be eyeing Twinkies

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    The Hostess family: Twinkies, Golden Cup Cakes and Zingers. Hostess Brands Inc. will liquidate its business after striking workers with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union did not come to an agreement with company management.

    By Adrian Carrasquillo, NBC Latino

    Next week may be Black Friday but sweets lovers across the nation hung their heads in sorrow on a dark Friday yesterday as Hostess announced they would cease making their line of products, which include the iconic Twinkies brand, because of the Bakers Union Strike.


    But now as the brand heads towards liquidating and selling off their assets, a Mexican company may be angling to resurrect the golden Twinkies.

    Read the original story at NBC Latino

    According to the Christian Science Monitor, while food producers ConAgra and Flowers Food, the American company behind Nature Valley granola, have expressed interest along with Little Debbie baker McKee Foods, Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo may hold the inside track.

    Grupo Bimbo is the world’s largest bread-baking firm, which already owns parts of Sara Lee, Entenmann’s and Thomas English Muffins and previously made what was considered a low-ball offer of $580 million a few years ago, Forbes reports. Now Hostess may only be worth $135 million.

    Economists say high sugar prices tied to US trade tariffs were a big reason Hostess was struggling, but a Mexican company could be a lifeline for Twinkies because it would be able to take advantage of access to lower-priced sugar in Mexico.

    While Hostess was clearly struggling, analysts believed Grupo Bimbo had an eye on them since the early 2000s because they saw Hostess as a key ingredient for North American expansion with delivery routes that penetrated across the country into convenience stores, gas stations and grocery markets, according to Forbes.

    Daniel Servitje Montull runs Grupo Bimbo, which was founded by his family in 1954. His family is worth $4 billion.

    Servitje Montull, has already worked magic before, taking on Mexico’s tortilla market and positioning white bread in Latin America.

    If Grupo Bimbo pulls off a deal with Hostess for Twinkies, his next challenge will be resurrecting an American favorite.

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