"Grupo Bimbo, the biggest baker in America, is working quickly to launch knock-off Hostess products before Twinkies and other snack brands come back to market, The Post has learned.

Bimbo has told Teamsters locals it wants them to carry “a newly introduced snack cake product line to fill the Hostess void,” a source close to the situation said.

The six to eight snacks will include a Hostess-like cupcake and a Hostess-like Twinkie, a second source said.

Hostess shut down in November, and the new owners that bought its assets out of bankruptcy will likely be re-introducing its snack cakes in the fall, according to sources.

Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management bought Hostess’ snacks business, and Little Debbie’s maker McKee Foods acquired Drake’s.

Bimbo has been weighing such a snack-aisle attack under its Sara Lee brand for months but, sources noted, waited to see if it could first buy any of the shuttered Hostess brands instead.

“I’m hearing Bimbo wants to get [the new products] to market within the next month or two,” said Richard Sheehan, president of New York Teamsters Local 802.

Sheehan said there are 260 New York and Northern New Jersey Teamsters drivers for Entenmann’s cake and that he expects within a few weeks to begin negotiations with Bimbo.

Bimbo, which also owns the Entenmann’s and Stroehmann brands — and has two groups of drivers, one for each of the brands — needs the union OK before giving drivers new product.

The Mexico-based baker will likely be offering commissions on the Hostess knock-off products that are up to one-third less than what New York-area drivers make for delivering Entenmann’s cakes.

Roughly 40 Midwest Teamsters locals in the last several days voted in favor of a deal to carry the new products for a 6 percent commission if they fully service the account, or 3 percent if they just drop them off, Sheehan said.

A deal with us “is not going to happen in that area. That I can tell you,” Sheehan said, talking about the commission rate.

Bimbo’s Entenmann’s drivers in New York — the regional brand is not sold in the Midwest — have seen business take off since Hostess shut down.

“Some drivers have doubled their business,” Sheehan said.

An average route driver who was selling $15,000 a week is now generating $23,000, he said.

These drivers work 50-hour weeks and can earn up to $100,000 a year with benefits, Sheehan said.

One Entenmann’s driver, speaking of the offer from Bimbo to carry the new product, told The Post he believes he is in a no-win position.

If the lower-commission deal is accepted, Bimbo may force him to carry so much new product that it would eat into his pay.

If the Teamsters reject the deal, the driver said his colleagues fear Bimbo will create a third group of drivers, specifically for the Sara Lee brand, which will compete against them.

However, the driver believes a deal will be reached.

Bimbo declined comment."

Tastycake already has knock off Twinkies, fruit pies and the cupcakes w/ the chocolate icing and white squiggle.

Bimbo ruined Entenmanns. I used to LOVE their cakes and cookie.

Now they are AWFUL.


I won't eat them. And, I can get tons for FREE. [The benefit of a step-relative who's a Entenmanns driver.]

I like their blue line of products, but not all stores carry them and they are priced more than the white line.

You have a low threshold for "like".

I blame Stalin.

Yeah, the Entenman's cakes keep getting thinner.

My old man used to swear that Ebinger's was better, but they went out of biddness before my time. I think after Dodger's games his father and uncle would take him there to get some treats.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/cu...n-blackout-cake

I was wondering why Entenmann's started tasting like public school cafeteria garbage. Now I know.

Is your step-relative Entenmanns driver a profsoyuznaya suka?

Thanks for the heads up. Haven't had anything from Entemann's in years and was getting nostalgic in the market this past weekend.

Bimbos ruined Friehofer's too.

Use to love their small chocolate chip cookies.




It was a fun thing to bring Entenmann's upstate and have a chocolate chip cookie taste off against Freihofer's.

Often the person who grow up upstate and swore by Freihofer's would choose the Entenmann's while the LI person who lauded Entenmann's would choose the Friehofer.

No. But, I hear your mother is.




See why it's a stupid and lame comeback?

btw, my stepdad says his nephew was promoted to dispatcher.

So now he's got the same title as THE Twins mom. Truck dispatcher is what she's been doing since her failed talent manager career fell through.