comparison shopping

One year I celebrated my birthday in Alaska. My wife and kids put a "portable birthday cake" in my luggage. Of course, it was a box of Twinkies:



Almost a year ago the parent company of Hostess filed for bankruptcy. Jimmy Kimmel handed out Twinkies to his audience that night and the ladies on "The View" did the same thing the next morning. They said that every American should support Hostess and buy a Twinkie. Meredith Viera may have blamed low-carb diets for the declining sales. I think it might be simple economics.

I was recently enjoying a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie, which came in a box of 12 for $1.19. The price was printed right on the box. On my next visit to a convenience store I checked the price of Twinkies. They wanted $1.09 for a package of two. HoHos were also $1.09 for two. Meanwhile a similar sized package of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls could be had for 50 cents. Smaller Swiss Cake Rolls were only 25 cents. You don't have to be James Buchanan to realize which snack more people will buy. Hostess may be less focused on price since they own two of their former competitors, Drake's and Dolly Madison.

While we're on the subject, there was something that gave me the creeps on the Little Debbie box. They had an offer for a Little Debbie doll and a toy horse named Oatmeal Creme. Just let me eat my Creme Pie without that doll staring at me from the box.