When I was a kid, I remember happily opening my Winnie the Pooh lunch pail to find the yummy treats my mom had packed for the day. My friends and I would barter with one another, exchanging string cheese for Gushers and Kool-Aid for Juicy Juice to spice up our lunch menu. But there was one snack I never let anyone get a hold of: my beloved Hostess Ho Hos.

These cylindrical cakes wrapped in soft, chocolate layers had a sweet cream filling that made them all the more delectable.

However, 10 years later, my charmed relationship with these tasty treats have come to an end — not by choice, but by unfortunate circumstance.

In November, Hostess Brands, Inc. — an Illinois-born company that began 83 years ago — announced its termination and liquidation due to a Bakers’ Union strike. In other words: Ho Hos, Twinkies and other cream-filled goodies were goners.

Tom Becker, spokesman for Hostess Brand, Inc., elaborated on the situation.

“The company’s initial plan, when it filed for bankruptcy in January 2012, was to find a way for the company to survive,” Becker said. “But by the end of November, the company could no longer afford to continue operating without all of its bakeries running in its capacity.”

Becker explained further that the company needed two things to survive: a collective bargaining agreement with the union employees and reduced compensation for its employees.

Though the Teamsters — a trade union of truck drivers — agreed to have a new collective bargaining agreement, the Bakers’ Union did not. Instead, baking employees chose to strike, ultimately crippling the company and leading it to liquidate.

This news left a bitter taste in the mouths of Hostess fans at the University.

“I felt very disappointed,” said Crystal Reeves, freshman in LAS. “I wish I could’ve gotten the last few that were left.”

Andrew Cai, freshman in LAS, and Savana Savage, sophomore in Engineering, echoed similar sentiments.

“I’ll miss them,” Cai said. “I used to eat them as a kid, and now they’re not being made.”

“I was shocked,” Savage said. “Then I was upset because I like how they make their products. Knock-off brands are a lot harder … and I don’t like them as much.”

These “knock-off brands,” such as Mrs. Freshley’s, have recently infiltrated shelves at Penn Station and 57 North with creme-filled cakes and cupcakes of their own. But despite the near identical packaging and appearance, Hostess lovers have expressed the subpar quality of these goods compared to the originals.

According to Reeves and Savage, the flavor is not as rich or as fresh, and the products have a much harder texture. However, both stated that they would choose to settle with the generic brand if that was the only available option.

Fortunately, this will no longer be necessary.

Following the liquidation, Hostess opted to market their assets to obtain the highest and best deals for their stakeholders.

Since then, major food industries have been placing bids on various Hostess assets. A federal bankruptcy judge recently approved the sale of rights for major Hostess brands on March 19.

According to the Hostess website, the majority of the company’s bread business — including Wonder Bread — was sold to Flower Foods for $360 million. Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread maker, purchased the separate bread brand Beef Steak for $31.9 million. Private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co. won control over Hostess snack cakes brand — including Twinkies and Ho Hos — for $410 million.

However, there are still two transactions that have yet to be approved.

According to Becker, Hostess is due in court on April 9 for the approval of the Drakes branded products sale and a sale involving a group of four bread brands based in the Northwest, totaling approximately $56.6 million.

All of these transactions point to a brighter future for Hostess products.

Though products may not look the same — the buyers will decide how its marketing, production and distribution will run — one thing is for certain: Twinkies and Ho Hos have been resurrected from the dead, giving Hostess fans a reason to celebrate.

“I feel really excited about it,” Reeves said. “I will be well prepared, and trust me, I will have (Twinkies) in my storage closet.”

Stephanie is a junior in Media and can be reached at [email protected].