Hostess Brands facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: TWNK (Class A) |
| Industry | Food (bakery) |
| Predecessor | Old HB |
| Founded | June 2013 |
| Headquarters | Lenexa, Johnson County Kansas, United States |
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Key people
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Jerry D. Kaminski (Chairman of the Board) Andy Callahan (CEO) |
| Products | Brands such as Hostess, Voortman, Dolly Madison, Donettes, Twinkies, CupCakes, Ding Dongs, HoHos, Zingers, Snoballs |
| Revenue |  US$1.358 billion (2022) |
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Operating income
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US$220 million (2022) |
| US$164 million (2022) |
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| Total assets | US$3.492 billion (2022) |
| Total equity | US$1.797 billion (2022) |
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Number of employees
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2,000 |
| Parent | The J.M. Smucker Company (2023–present) |
Hostess Brands is an American company that makes delicious snack cakes. It was started in 2013. Its main companies are Hostess Brands, LLC, and Voortman Cookies Limited.
The company owns several bakeries across the United States. These bakeries make popular snack cakes like Hostess and Dolly Madison brands. Its Canadian company, Voortman Cookies Ltd., makes tasty wafers and cookies. Hostess Brands has its main office in Lenexa, Kansas.
In September 2023, another big company called The J.M. Smucker Company decided to buy Hostess Brands. The deal was worth about $5.6 billion. The purchase was completed in November of the same year.
Contents
Hostess Brands: A Sweet History
Hostess Brands was created in June 2013. It began when two investment groups, Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company, teamed up. They wanted to buy parts of an older company called Old HB.
Old HB used to be known as Interstate Bakeries and Hostess Brands Inc. It had run into serious money problems. Because of this, it had to sell off its assets through a special court process. Apollo and Metropoulos bought the cake-making parts of Old HB.
They took over the Hostess name, its famous brands, and many of its products. This included four bakeries. These bakeries were located in Columbus, Georgia; Emporia, Kansas; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Schiller Park, Illinois. One of these bakeries, the Schiller Park one, closed in October 2014.
Becoming a Public Company
In July 2016, Hostess announced a big change. It planned to become a public company. This meant its shares would be sold on the stock market. The company was valued at $2.3 billion at that time.
Instead of a traditional public offering, another company called The Gores Group bought most of Hostess. Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company became smaller owners. Gores Holdings then changed its name to Hostess Brands, Inc. It also changed its stock symbol to TWNK, which is short for Twinkie, a very famous Hostess snack cake.
In April 2018, the company announced a new leader. Andy Callahan became the new CEO in May 2018.
Recent Ownership Change
On September 11, 2023, The J.M. Smucker Company agreed to buy Hostess Brands. The deal was worth $5.6 billion. This big purchase was completed on November 7, 2023.
Hostess Brands: Mergers and Acquisitions
Hostess Brands has grown by buying other companies. This helps them offer more types of snacks.
- On June 14, 2016, Hostess bought Superior Cake Products. This was the first company Hostess acquired since it restarted in 2013.
- On February 1, 2018, Hostess bought the Big Texas and Cloverhill Bakery brands from another company called Aryzta.
- On August 1, 2019, Hostess decided to sell Superior Cake Products. They sold it to Sara Lee Frozen Bakery for $65 million.
- On December 2, 2019, Hostess announced a big purchase. They bought Voortman Cookies Limited, a Canadian company. This deal cost about US$320 million. The purchase was finished in January 2020.
Hostess Brands: Popular Products
Hostess Brands makes many well-known snack cakes and baked goods. Here are some of their popular products:
- Baby Bundts
- Bouncers
- CupCakes
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Coffee Cakes
- Danish
- Ding Dong
- Donettes
- Fruit Pies
- Hot dog buns
- HoHos
- Jumbo Honey bun
- Kazbars
- Mini/Mega Muffins
- Sandwich bread
- Sno Balls
- Suzy Q (This product is no longer made.)
- Twinkies
- Chocodile Twinkies
- Zingers
See also
In Spanish: Hostess Brands para niños
