Hostess (snack cakes) facts for kids
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Hostess Twinkies
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| Type | Snack cakes |
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| Owner | Hostess Brands |
| Country | U.S. |
| Introduced | 1919 |
| Markets | North America Europe (United Kingdom) |
Hostess Cake, often called just Hostess, is a popular brand of snack cakes. It's known for tasty treats like Twinkies and CupCakes. The brand started way back in 1919 when the first Hostess CupCake was sold. Later, in 1930, the famous Twinkie joined the family.
Hostess products are sold by a company called Hostess Brands. Over the years, the ownership of Hostess changed a few times. It was once part of the Continental Baking Company. Then, in 1995, it became part of a company that later changed its name to Hostess Brands. After facing some challenges, the company stopped making snacks for a short time in 2012. But don't worry! A "new" Hostess Brands company bought the cake business in 2013. This brought Hostess snacks back to stores on July 15, 2013.
Fun with Comics: Hostess Ads!
In the 1970s and 1980s, Hostess had a really cool way to advertise. They put full-page comic strip ads in popular comic books! You could find these ads in comics from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and others.
These ads featured a complete story on one page. Famous artists from the comic companies drew them. Imagine seeing Neal Adams draw for DC or Frank Miller draw for Marvel, all for a Hostess ad! In these stories, superheroes often saved the day by using Hostess snacks. Sometimes they would distract a villain with a Twinkie or a CupCake! There were even ads where villains like The Joker or the Penguin tried to use the snacks, but failed. It was a fun way to mix snacks with superhero adventures.
Meet the Mascots
Hostess has had several fun mascots over the years. These mascots are like cartoon versions of their snacks! The most famous one is Twinkie the Kid. He's a Twinkie dressed up like a cowboy or "wrangler."
Other mascots include:
- Captain Cupcake
- Fruit Pie the Magician
- Chauncey Chocodile
- Chipper Brownie
- Chief Big Wheels
- Happy HoHo
- King Ding Dong
- Suzy Q
Tasty Treats: Hostess Products
Hostess makes many different kinds of snack cakes. Here are some of their popular products:
- Big Wheels
- Brownie Bites
- CupCakes - These are chocolate cakes with a creamy filling.
- Chocodile Twinkies - These are like regular Twinkies, but they are covered in chocolate.
- Ding Dongs - These are round chocolate cakes with cream filling and a chocolate glaze.
- Donettes - Small doughnuts.
- Fruit Pies - Flaky pastries with a sweet, flavored filling.
- Ho Hos - Chocolate cakes with a cream swirl, dipped in chocolate. They are like a mini Swiss roll.
- Kazbars - These have layers of chocolate cake, cream, crunchy candy bits, and either caramel or chocolate fudge, all covered in more chocolate.
- Mini Muffins
- Sno Balls - These are covered with marshmallow frosting and coconut flakes.
- Suzy Q's - An oblong sandwich of devil's food cake with white cream or banana-flavored filling.
- Twinkies - This is their most famous product! It's a golden sponge cake with a creamy filling.
- Tiger Tails
- Zingers - Similar to a Twinkie with creamy filling and icing on top. They were first sold under the Dolly Madison brand.
See also
- Little Debbie
