Help Save Tastykake!
How can we let Philly's landmark snack die on the assembly line?
Help Save Tastykake!
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
NOOOOOOOOOO!
Our very own snack-food powerhouse, Tastykake, announced today that it might merge with another company or sell itself, thanks to miserable finances.
It's a shock to the system, isn't it? Like the shock you'd get from washing down a pack of Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes with a bottle of Jolt?
The company 's move to the Navy Yard was supposed to bolster Tasty's bottom line by improving production efficiency. But CEO Charlie Pizzi says that commodity costs - you know, flour and eggs and such - are higher. Plus the company's biggest buyer is in Chapter 11 and not purchasing as many krimpets, cakes and pies as it used to.
Please.
Folks I know say sales are off because Tastykakes just aren't as good as they used to be. I haven't recently purchased anything other than Krimpets (do NOT get between me and that butterscotch icing...), so I'm dying to hear your thoughts about Philly's home-grown junk-food company.
What do you think of Tastykakes these days? The ingredients, the taste, the packaging, the overall quality - anything at all having to do with the quintessential Philly experience of inhaling a locally baked combination of sugar and fatty goodness?
From a customer's point of view, what do you think Tastykake can do to save itself?
How can we Save Our Snacks?
In general the taste went down when they started making them with less fat and healthier for you. It's a desert snack, it's not supposed to be healthy for you! I'm a Butterscotch Krimpet fan from way back when they had wax paper wrappers. I remember the trick where you would rub the top of the TKBK on a desk top before opening to prevent the icing from peeling away from the cake when you opened the wrapper. Those were the days of GREAT Tastykakes!
But nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake - still. I doubt there's much that can be done. But we can all hope and still keep buying the ones we love.
While I LOVE the Butterscotch Krimpet, I enjoy every one at one time or another throughout the year...except for the pies. I'm just not a pie sort of person. :-)
I'll be buying cases of these things before they go out of business and hope there are enough preservatives to keep 'em fresh. LOL!— KarenLPA- Dear Karen and other complainers about Tastykakes healthier no trans fat recipes. Why not commend our favorite cupcake factory for looking out for our health while delivering delicious foods we like. Did you all complain about McDonald's and Wendy's recipe changes to rid their products of trans fat? I visited the hospital recently and patients all around me were getting treated for high blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol complications. I appreciate businesses -- like Tastykake--giving us healthier choices. I'm tired of paying for people's health problems. — esfoodie
- For the price, you can't beat a Tastycake. People are comparing a Tastycake today to when they were 11. You just think they tasted better when you were 11 because you didn't know any better. Or you're comparing Tastycake to mom's home baked apple pie. Duh. Compared to Hostess or Little Debbie's, Tastycake makes awesome product for a still cheap price (yes, $1.49 costs more than the $.69 you paid for it in 1986). Support your local economy - buy some tastycakes!
- Totally agree, freesamuel! There is nothing like a Tastykake! — burrrningman
Comment removed.- Ed Herr...SAVE US!!!!!— Edn
- I am convinced that somewhere along the line Tastykake management decided to use cheaper ingredients in order to increase profits. Plus, the prices have become beyond ridiculous. Plus, as I understand it, they fired a lot of their long time workers to hire prison inmates who cost a lot less.— eldiablodelsol2009
The quality is horrific. Tell Pizzi to go try a tasty pie from any store. The top of the pie just sits on top of the rest. It isnt crimped together and they are always dry and brittle. The pie crumbles in your hand. I used to like the coffee cakes when they actually had more than a pearl sized portion of cream in them. Bottom line...quality sucks!- It's all junk-food that is highly processed and disgusting, to be honest. Let the company die. I don't put that kind of s@#% in my body.— chrissmith
- The pies are completely different, the tops of the pies come off as soon as you remove the pie from the tin container
- I mainly buy the Butterscotch Krimpets. They're the best. The Kandy Kakes are good too and I love the coconut juniors. The pies are aweful. I use to love their pies but they suck royally!!! The price for an individual cake is way too much. I buy in bulk, i.e. the family packs because they're the better value. Why pay $150 for an individual cake (example 3 pack of Krimpets) when I can pay $375 for a box of 12? In some cases the family boxes are sold 2 boxes for $5. Overall the quality has gone down. That's the case with most products.— MrBigDizzle
- Comment removed.
- I've noticed that the 3pack of kandy Kakes sold individually in stores taste fresher than the 2packs which you can buy in grocery stores. The PB & choc seem really fresh on the 3packs. The boxes of 2 packs seem like they've sat in storage for a while. Actually now that I think about it, the choc cupcakes with the white icing and black stripe down the middle also are fresher in a 3 pack vs. the box of 2pack at the grocery. I dont know why this is, but it just is.
- When Tastykake changed its recipes to meet the politically correct standards of the diet nazis, its once unique products began to taste like packing pellets.— BillyFortune
- Being a Philly boy living in Florida, I always stock up with pies on my visits back. They do import the krimpets, cup cakes and tandytakes.
I was disappointed to find that stupid metal tin under my favorite Peach Pie. Breaking open one end and being able to slide the pie down one bite at a time was 1/2 the fun. What would posess anyone to change that? And yes, I don't think the pies were cooked to the little browned edge. Knowing that familiar picture was also comforting. Why would they change something that has worked so well for 100 years? I was hoping that with the new factory and increased production, a larger variety might find its way down here.. So far nothing. One of my favorites is a dark chocolate covered tandytake with a thin strip on green mint. They only made these 1 time a year. Simply to die for.— dedhed
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
