Egad, Hostess corporation, makers of the "Twinkie" (your must-have nuclear fallout survival snack) has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  You can read about it HERE, and I'll say for the record that there are a lot of jobs at stake, probably good manufacturing jobs the likes of which are hard to come by in today's economy.

For full disclosure's sake, I probably haven't eaten a twinkie since the early 80s, and even then didn't care for them.  But I recognize the Twinkie as being iconic.  For better or worse, it's a proud member of essential Food-related Americana, like Apple Pie or the Hershey bar.  The Twinkie took new meaning to me when Michael Pollan pointed out the ridiculousness behind a Twinkie costing less than a bag of carrots. Pollan refers to a Twinkie as an "iconic foodlike substance", a term that I have found very useful while writing this blog.

But I'm not writing to pick on the Twinkie.  That'd be too easy, and it's not nice to speak ill of the sickly.  And all of you out there that have ever eaten a Twinkie, well good for you- it's cheap, it'll keep you alive, nuf said.  But Hostess?  The largest baker in the United States is on the verge of collapse, and yet I can still find Twinkies in probably 8 stores within a couple blocks of my office.  I assume that somebody high up at Hostess has been saying to any nearby ear, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  But obviously, it's broken, and has been for years.

Hostess has had plenty of success over the years, and employed a heck of a lot more people than Peeled Snacks has.  Though there products have never been healthy, excepting maybe Wonder-Bread, Hostess has never said that they were.  But with all that distribution, and all those employees, Hostess has for decades had the capability of really getting good stuff out there.  But it hasn't bothered.  It hasn't changed.

Perhaps bakeries just shouldn't be big companies.  Perhaps bread should be distributed only as far as a truck can ship it can get while still cooling from the over.  Perhaps people just shouldn't eat food that doesn't rot.  But there's no "perhaps" about Hostess' missteps- a company with so many employees and so much reach that fails to adapt to a changing world has let a whole lot of people down.  Investors, consumers, employees, families.

The food world is changing while I type.  Peeled Snacks is trying to help lead that change, but if we achieve our goals, if we make real food really available and offer a real challenge to products with average sugar, great.  But if we get there, it'll just mean that there's someplace else to go.  Maybe there was somebody high up at Hostess who saw this coming and shouted, "fix it!  Fix IT!"  He or she should have shouted a lot louder.

There's a dang good chance that somebody will buy some or all of Hostess' catalog and production capacity.  If and when that happens, I'll be watching to see if the new owner can update that "Foodlike substance" for the times.  Chances are, though, I still won't eat it.  Sayonara, Hostess.  It's the end of that era.  But, then again, it's the start of ours.

Happy Snacking,

Peeled Skinny

Posted by iankusc at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This was me, Noha Waibsnaider, Founder & CEO of Peeled Snacks, in high school. I think back on that time and remember being lethargic, constantly grumpy, and on a perpetual diet to lose 20 pounds. My friends and I would crash diet, limiting lunch to a piece of bread and a slice of American cheese. I'd be starving all day, but then come home to binge on sugary snacks. My blood sugar would yo-yo, and I'd end up exhausted and depressed. By dinnertime, I wasn't hungry for anything substantive. I would eat nonetheless, rather than be hungry later. Then I would repeat the cycle the following day, feeling powerless to stop it, hating the result, and hating myself for my inability to stay on track.

I struggled with my weight until my mid-twenties. A combination of living a more active lifestyle and getting control over my food intake helped me kick my bad eating habits and those 20 pounds, which felt significant on a 5'2" frame. I learned to eat breakfast, incorporated more protein, and cut out sugary drinks. I stopped feeling tired and started truly enjoying my meals.

Years later, I worked at a large food company and learned about the ingredients and processing that goes into food. I realized my addiction to food was well engineered: people are biologically programmed to crave sugar, fat, and salt. Many large food companies process food to take advantage of those traits.

I realized big food companies were great at processing food, but they weren't offering food that make people feel good about snacking. For years, I had struggled to find real food that was naturally nourishing, yet tasted great and was fulfilling. I thought, I can give people that option. I can create a snack that makes you feel good and is available everywhere you need a snack. I launched Peeled Snacks with that goal in January 2005. Seven years later, our snacks are available nationwide. And we're getting close to achieving the goal of making them available everywhere.

This new year, the Peeled Snacks team has made a resolution to inspire our community to start off the year right: feeling energized and balanced throughout the day. We partnered with health and wellness experts to create the Real Energy Challenge. We put together a Real Energy Guide, tips from experts, and an online forum to share our experiences and your stories. We're also offering 50% off on Peeled Snacks and a chance to win a month supply of snacks (a $200 value). I invite you to join us in this challenge and sign up here.

Here's wishing you a healthy and happy new year, filled with all the energy you need to achieve your goals. -Noha (below in red, with the Peeled Snacks team.)

Posted by iankusc at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)