Farewell to Twinkies?

November, 18, 2012 — It was hard to ignore reports of the demise of Twinkies^® this week. When Hostess, the manufacturer of Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Wonder Bread declared bankruptcy this week, politicians, pundits, and experts of all kinds poured out their feelings. 

You can find at least three stories on the subject at Politico.com: "End of the Twinkie is Stinky" and "Petiton Wants Obama to Save the Twinkies" and "Bain-Style Killing of the Twinkie."

Branding experts opined in the New York Times that the brand has emotional qualities that "keeps people drawn to Twinkies, their status as the butt of innumerable jokes notwithstanding."

Naturally, reporters took no time to start tapping into lame stereotypes as they asked N.J. Governor Chris Christie for his thoughts on the subject. He replied, "I am not answering questions on Twinkies. It’s bad that I even said the word ‘Twinkies’ from behind this microphone."

And that brings us to the nutrition experts. Even they are grieving, according to NBC. Said Marion Nestle of NYU, "I am mourning the death of Twinkies. I would say Twinkies are an enormously important cultural icon. It is the epitome of American processed food, made from ingredients lasting forever, chemically based.”

"There is a lot of emotional happiness tied up with something like Twinkies or Sno Balls or Yodels or whatever it is that you like,” said Madelyn Fernstrom, diet and nutrition editor for the Today Show and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The most encouraging analysis comes from an economist. James Surowiecki writes in The New Yorker that Twinkes were doomed by management that could not adapt to a marketplace demanding healthier options.

Wouldn’t it be great if foods that offer more harm than health were systematically driven from the shelves by market forces? We’ll see.