Our Story
We’re an American original. A taste bud tantalizer. A silver screen sensation. Legendary golden child. A creamy-filled center icon. A pop culture phenomenon. And a snack cake superstar. From the pantry to your social media feeds, Hostess Brands has a long, delicious history of making lives a little more joyful. Our treasured treats have been captivating legions of fans for over a century. And we’re not stopping there. Here’s to the next 100 years. We’ve got pretty sweet journey in store for you.
1919: CupCake Introduced
The company first opened its business and gained a national audience from its base of operations in Kansas City, Missouri in 1919. The company, known as Continental Baking at the time, wanted to start a line of sweet treats in addition to their popular bread. In 1919 they launched the original Hostess® CupCake which had no squiggle icing or crème filling. Don’t worry, we fixed it!
1930: Twinkies® Introduced
Six years later, Continental Baking wanted to add a line of cakes to sell. This new line of sweet treats became known as Hostess®. And a brand was born.
The ubiquitous snack cake and American icon was thought up by James Alexander Dewar. They originally cost 2 for 5 cents!
1940: Donettes® Introduced
Hostess® Donettes® were launched at a time when Americans wanted inexpensive ways to treat themselves.
1950: SnoBalls® Introduced
Americans made SnoBalls® immensely popular after WWII flour and sugar rationing came to an end.
The Squiggle Introduced
While working in the experimental bakery, D.R. “Doc” Rice was given the task of further developing the existing CupCake. His improvements included filling the CupCakes with the same vanilla crème filling popularized by Twinkies® and adding the signature squiggle to the top in order to distinguish the Hostess® CupCake from other brands.
1960: Suzy Q’s® Introduced
Suzy Q’s® were named after the daughter of Continental Baking Company VP, Cliff Isaacson.
1967: Ding Dongs® Introduced
The name Ding Dongs® is derived from a Hostess television campaign featuring a ringing bell.
1970: HoHos® Introduced
These Swiss-filled chocolate cakes were originally hand-produced by a San Francisco bakery.
Zingers® Introduced
With a name like Zingers®, you might be surprised to know they’re actually pretty sweet. Enjoy Devil’s Food, Raspberry and Vanilla Iced flavors.
1984: Hostess® on the Big Screen
In 1984, Hostess® Brands was featured in the highly acclaimed movie Ghostbusters, where the character Egon Spengler uses Twinkies® to describe a speculated level of psychokinetic energy.
2009: Hostess® on the Big Screen
In the fan-favorite movie, Zombieland, characters happen upon a Hostess® truck filled with Twinkies®
2019: Birthday CupCakes Introduced
Hostess® turns 100! The celebratory CupCake is introduced to commemorate our “Sweetennial™.”
