Egad, Hostess corporation, makers of the "Twinkie" (your must-have nuclear fallout survival snack) has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  You can read about it HERE, and I'll say for the record that there are a lot of jobs at stake, probably good manufacturing jobs the likes of which are hard to come by in today's economy.

For full disclosure's sake, I probably haven't eaten a twinkie since the early 80s, and even then didn't care for them.  But I recognize the Twinkie as being iconic.  For better or worse, it's a proud member of essential Food-related Americana, like Apple Pie or the Hershey bar.  The Twinkie took new meaning to me when Michael Pollan pointed out the ridiculousness behind a Twinkie costing less than a bag of carrots. Pollan refers to a Twinkie as an "iconic foodlike substance", a term that I have found very useful while writing this blog.

But I'm not writing to pick on the Twinkie.  That'd be too easy, and it's not nice to speak ill of the sickly.  And all of you out there that have ever eaten a Twinkie, well good for you- it's cheap, it'll keep you alive, nuf said.  But Hostess?  The largest baker in the United States is on the verge of collapse, and yet I can still find Twinkies in probably 8 stores within a couple blocks of my office.  I assume that somebody high up at Hostess has been saying to any nearby ear, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  But obviously, it's broken, and has been for years.

Hostess has had plenty of success over the years, and employed a heck of a lot more people than Peeled Snacks has.  Though there products have never been healthy, excepting maybe Wonder-Bread, Hostess has never said that they were.  But with all that distribution, and all those employees, Hostess has for decades had the capability of really getting good stuff out there.  But it hasn't bothered.  It hasn't changed.

Perhaps bakeries just shouldn't be big companies.  Perhaps bread should be distributed only as far as a truck can ship it can get while still cooling from the over.  Perhaps people just shouldn't eat food that doesn't rot.  But there's no "perhaps" about Hostess' missteps- a company with so many employees and so much reach that fails to adapt to a changing world has let a whole lot of people down.  Investors, consumers, employees, families.

The food world is changing while I type.  Peeled Snacks is trying to help lead that change, but if we achieve our goals, if we make real food really available and offer a real challenge to products with average sugar, great.  But if we get there, it'll just mean that there's someplace else to go.  Maybe there was somebody high up at Hostess who saw this coming and shouted, "fix it!  Fix IT!"  He or she should have shouted a lot louder.

There's a dang good chance that somebody will buy some or all of Hostess' catalog and production capacity.  If and when that happens, I'll be watching to see if the new owner can update that "Foodlike substance" for the times.  Chances are, though, I still won't eat it.  Sayonara, Hostess.  It's the end of that era.  But, then again, it's the start of ours.

Happy Snacking,

Peeled Skinny

Posted by iankusc at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This was me, Noha Waibsnaider, Founder & CEO of Peeled Snacks, in high school. I think back on that time and remember being lethargic, constantly grumpy, and on a perpetual diet to lose 20 pounds. My friends and I would crash diet, limiting lunch to a piece of bread and a slice of American cheese. I'd be starving all day, but then come home to binge on sugary snacks. My blood sugar would yo-yo, and I'd end up exhausted and depressed. By dinnertime, I wasn't hungry for anything substantive. I would eat nonetheless, rather than be hungry later. Then I would repeat the cycle the following day, feeling powerless to stop it, hating the result, and hating myself for my inability to stay on track.

I struggled with my weight until my mid-twenties. A combination of living a more active lifestyle and getting control over my food intake helped me kick my bad eating habits and those 20 pounds, which felt significant on a 5'2" frame. I learned to eat breakfast, incorporated more protein, and cut out sugary drinks. I stopped feeling tired and started truly enjoying my meals.

Years later, I worked at a large food company and learned about the ingredients and processing that goes into food. I realized my addiction to food was well engineered: people are biologically programmed to crave sugar, fat, and salt. Many large food companies process food to take advantage of those traits.

I realized big food companies were great at processing food, but they weren't offering food that make people feel good about snacking. For years, I had struggled to find real food that was naturally nourishing, yet tasted great and was fulfilling. I thought, I can give people that option. I can create a snack that makes you feel good and is available everywhere you need a snack. I launched Peeled Snacks with that goal in January 2005. Seven years later, our snacks are available nationwide. And we're getting close to achieving the goal of making them available everywhere.

This new year, the Peeled Snacks team has made a resolution to inspire our community to start off the year right: feeling energized and balanced throughout the day. We partnered with health and wellness experts to create the Real Energy Challenge. We put together a Real Energy Guide, tips from experts, and an online forum to share our experiences and your stories. We're also offering 50% off on Peeled Snacks and a chance to win a month supply of snacks (a $200 value). I invite you to join us in this challenge and sign up here.

Here's wishing you a healthy and happy new year, filled with all the energy you need to achieve your goals. -Noha (below in red, with the Peeled Snacks team.)

Posted by iankusc at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a thing for Solstices.  Starting at 12:30 on December 22nd, EST, the northern hemisphere becomes as dark as it ever gets, and then, just like that, it starts to get brighter.  Ever day, for the next 6 months, there's a little more light at dawn, and a dusk lasts a little longer.  And that makes me cheery.  Sure, tonight is dark, but tomorrow?  Brighter.  And the next day?  Even brighter.

Is that an uplifting prospect or what?  With that astronomical incident in mind, I think about 2012 with a whole heap of optimism.  Peeled Snacks has had a great year- we've grown, we've successfully launched a new line, we've brought on some wonderful new team members (you know who you are!).  And we may have, probably, in all likelihood made some headway in our main corporate goal of giving people the option of better, easier snacks.  And that feels good.  Real good.

But as good as 2012 is likely to be to Peeled Snacks, the economic climate in general is brightening.  The world didn't fall apart as was often predicted, the US pulled OUT of Iraq, the world lost 2 of its crazier leaders (who we hope won't be succeeded by even crazier leaders), and though the race for US president is in full swing (and ample fodder for the late-night comedians), we KNOW it'll all be sorted out by 2012's end.  And that's a comforting thought.

On a more personal note, in 2011 my wife and I welcomed our 2nd child, a cute and cheery daughter, and now that we're getting back to sleeping somewhat regularly, life's pretty sweet.  Babies mean hope.  Even if you don't want one for yourself, cool, no problem, just remember that all the late-night comedians of the world started as babies.  So hurray for babies.

Come 2012 we've got a lot of work to do- new products, new markets, new customers, new procedures, and hopefully soon even a new office.  In spite of all the hard work, it's actually getting EASIER to get our good snacks out there, and for that I'll say thank you to YOU.  Isn't that an uplifting thought?  You, yeah YOU, make my life easier.  I hope I'm doing the same for you.  Happy New Year, and happy darkest day of the year.  I guarantee, tomorrow will be brighter.

Peeled Skinny, who loves this time of year

Posted by iankusc at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ah, Thanksgiving!  The veggies have all been harvested, the potatoes beckon, and the turkeys lie fat and happy.  Thanksgiving has long been a favorite holiday of mine, since I was a little kid and realized that stuffing tastes SCRUM-didly-UMPTIOUS, and since I came to the miserable realization that it pretty much only gets served at Thanksgiving (boo hoo).  Thanksgiving ranks as probably the biggest holiday in my family, and we have a long list of rituals, maintained every year, that keep Thanksgiving at the top of my favorite holiday list.

But  regardless of my family's tradition, Thanksgiving around this country amounts to a holiday about FOOD, and REAL food to boot.  We've no shortage of eating holidays- without dwelling on the non-secular options, I love me some Memorial Day and 4th of July BBQs, and though Labor Day competes with "back-to-school" melancholy, I usually picnic on that typically lovely day.  But Thanksgiving?  Nothing beats that holiday for its vital vittles.

And unlike most other holidays, almost everybody gets behind the "Real Food" tradition.  According to my favorite crowd-sourcing site, Wikipedia, 45 million turkeys were sold for Thanksgiving in 2009.  That's one Turkey for every 7 people or so.  Statistically speaking, everybody got fresh cooked turkey in 2009.  And let's hope that every one of those turkeys were stuffed with yummy stuffing.

Thanksgiving also reinforces seasonal food choices- carrots, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts (yummmmm...); to say nothing of the seasonal pie choices.  Sure, stuffing COULD be made year-round, but almost everything else is native to November.  I'm not sure how sensitive most of America is to that seasonality, but it does prevent proof in the concept that even non-foodies can crave and enjoy seasonal food.

So here's my issue- Thanksgiving being so undeniably delicious a holiday, when do we only have one per year?   Why not enjoy a national "Spring Greens" holiday, or play a "Fruit Bowl" come August?  Perhaps the Obama's should put forward a new Spring Food Holiday, one with lamb and eggs and scallions.  Perhaps we could call it, ahem, "Thanksgetting"?  Think about it and get back to me.  Happy Season of Eating,

Peeled Skinny, look forward to some stuffing next week

Posted by iankusc at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)