Could Hostess’ Demise be Tastykake’s Gain?


This is our moment, Philadelphia. We’re in a position to be America’s savior, to rescue ourselves from our nation’s most recent upset, to be the face of something really special. We have in our possession something that replaces the unreplaceable, something that stands comfortably in bigger shoes, something that can effortlessly hold up America’s legendary obesity epidemic on a grandiose scale.

We have the Tastykake.

Since the Hostess brand’s bankruptcy liquidation, there’s been a void in the marketplace, and Tastykake looks to be the answer.

In a Philly.com post by Joseph DiStefano, Steve Sylven, a spokesman for Shaw’s supermarket chain in New England says “with the Hostess situation there was a need in the marketplace and we accelerated the roll-out. Stores began receiving their first deliveries this past Saturday and we expect all of our stores will be carrying Tastykake by this Thursday.”

The question is, are we just the substitutes, or are we the new face of cake-like snacks in America? It won’t be easy, with a better product comes a shorter shelf-life, and higher costs up the supply chain.

Tastykake does make a mean product though and there will always be the need for a creme-stuffed-cupcake to-go, or a Koffee Kake at afternoon tea, so someone has to step up—why not us? Yes, it’s a heavier load to bear by retailers, yes it’s not as cost effective as Hostess, and yes, it’s not going to be confused with health food, but if we pull ourselves together, as a city, as a nation, our coffee will never go Krimpet-less —and that’s something to say about Philadelphia.

UPDATE: Tastykake’s parent company, Flower Foods is interested in Hostess. We guess that’s a win.

Tastykakes replacing Hostess [Philly.com]