Innovation

If Americans can pour billions into the auto industry, why not set aside a few crumbs to save the nation’s favorite snack cake?

Pittsburgh-based Rose Stein Inc. has launched a national campaign to rescue the beloved Twinkie, the cream-filled, golden sponge cake that became popular during the depression years and went on to spawn creations such as the deep-fried Twinkie and terms like the “Twinkie defense,” derived from the criminal defendant who blamed his wrongdoing on the eating of junk food.

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the Kansas City-based baker, is in bankruptcy and will start liquidating the company unless financial assistance becomes available. IBC employs 22,000 people across the country who will lose their jobs. GE Capitol, the only banker who will not honor a signed agreement to fund IBC and bring them out of bankruptcy, received billions of dollars in TARP funds last year, says Dena Rose, co-founder of Rose Stein.

“This may not be Wall Street or The Big Three, but its impact is far-reaching,” says Elizabeth Stein, also a co-founder of Rose Stein. “If the Twinkie goes, we’re all doomed.”

Twinkie lovers are asked to join "Save America's Cake" by adding their name to the online petition. To join the fight, click here.

“This is something we’ve all grown up with; somebody has to step in,” Stein adds. “The man who created it, John Dewar, developed it during the Great Depression. We may need it to get us through the Second Great Depression.”

A 15-year-old marketing and PR firm, Rose Stein plans to move into a new space on Smithfield early this year. Stein and her partner Dena Rose consider the campaign serious business. They hope to raise enough money to hire legal assistance and take the petition all the way to Congress. 

“It’s such a sweet topic for our times,” says Stein.

To receive Pop City weekly, click here.

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Elizabeth Stein, Rose Stein Inc.