Hostess Twinkies Survey: Bankruptcy May Continue to Impact Sales

Today, Americans celebrate National Hostess Twinkie Day. After Hostess’s bankruptcy a few years ago, the iconic American snack became unavailable for several months. But the treats are again available for sale under the Hostess name. So how many people continue to buy Hostess Twinkies? And has their popularity been impacted at all by Hostess’s bankruptcy?

Hostess Twinkies

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 50% of respondents said they have a positive opinion of Hostess Twinkies. Just 18% have a negative opinion of the snack food. And 32% were neutral. In general, 61% of respondents said they’ve eaten Twinkies many times. Another 30% have eaten them just once or twice. And 9% have never even tried Twinkies. Not surprisingly, those who have eaten Twinkies multiple times were 17% more likely to have a positive opinion of them. Those who have eaten them just once or twice 11% more likely to have a negative opinion of Twinkies.

Eating Habits

Though many people have eaten Twinkies at some point, just 7% of respondents said they currently eat Twinkies at least once a week. 11% eat them a few times per month. 9% eat them about once per month. 28% said they usually eat Twinkies a few times per year. 9% eat them just about once per year. 14% rarely ever eat Twinkies. And 23% of those who have eaten Twinkies said they never eat them anymore. While most would agree that Twinkies are enough on their own, some people have favorite other foods to pair with them. And others have even come up with recipes that use Twinkies as ingredients. 13% said they have favorite foods that they regularly pair with Twinkies, the most common being ice cream. But others have used Twinkies as part of cake recipes, or paired them with milk, fruit or other Hostess desserts.

Hostess Bankruptcy

Overall, 57% of respondents said they eat about the same amount of Twinkies as they did before the Hostess bankruptcy. 35% said they eat Twinkies less often now than they used to. And just 4% said they eat Twinkies more often now. But the decrease in Twinkie consumption could possibly be due more to growing health concerns than to the bankruptcy.Looking forward, 48% of overall respondents said that they are likely to eat Twinkies again in the future. 36% said it’s unlikely that they’ll ever eat Twinkies again. And 16% were neutral or unsure about the idea. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Twinkies: Comics Lied! from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on April 3 via AYTM’s online survey panel.