The personal health advancements of the last few decades, which turned the majority of Americans away from fatty junk food and moved many to prefer protein bars over Twinkies, have also forced Hostess Brands to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. By filing for bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than ten years, the creator and distributor of iconic brands like Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Sno Balls hopes to weather the current economic storm. Even if the company successfully navigates the maze of bankruptcy law and emerges in a financially viable form in the future, Hostess Brands faces a bleak long term prognosis. With so many Americans adopting healthier dietary habits, including a widespread shift from white bread to its more nutritious wheat alternative, Hostess Brands has become the home of an increasingly outdated product.

With an obesity epidemic raging throughout America, the media, politicians and the public have all been increasingly focused on changing destructive eating habits. People who were raised on rich, decadent snack foods which featured heavy doses of sugar, cream and fat are now teaching their own children to eat and enjoy healthy snacks like yogurt, health bars and other fat-free options. As such, the 87-year old Hostess Brands has seen its once dominant share of the American snack food market chewed up and swallowed by the health food revolution. Rival snack purveyors Bimbo Bakers, whose famous Entenmann’s display in your local grocery market is likely a favorite, Sara Lee, Kraft Foods and others have moved in Hostess Brands territory by shifting towards healthier ingredients. It remains to be seen whether or not the imperiled brand that gave us Ding Dongs, a miniature chocolate cake which contains nearly 20 grams of fat and 368 calories and comes conveniently packaged in a belt busting two-pack, will make similar changes in the name of survival.

Another anchor weighing down the sinking ship known as Hostess Brands is the issue of employee unionization. Unlike many of its competitors in the snack food game, Hostess Brands operates within the entire continental United States and employs more than 19,000 workers. Because these employees are members of a union, Hostess Brands incurs significantly higher pension costs and expenditures for medical benefits.

While the union issue may be tough, it will assuredly remain intact, which means the company is rightfully focused on renovating its public image. By introducing an array of healthier options in the near future, including a line of low sodium versions of their existing favorites, Hostess Brands hopes to rebrand itself as a company which has seen the light and shifted to a healthier attitude. With a cleverly executed nationwide marketing campaign, complete with informative store signs which announce these new health conscious offerings, the company which has fed America for nearly nine decades might just have another run left. No matter how concerned we become with keeping slim and fit, that sweet tooth still remains and a Twinkie will always hit the spot … in moderation of course.