Yesterday the announcement came that Home Pride Bread officially has a new owner.
Flowers Foods posted a press release that confirmed that they have finished the acquisition of Home Pride, Nature’s Pride, Wonder, Merita and Butternut bread brands from Old HB, Inc. You may wonder why this is not Hostess Brands. There is a new company called Hostess Brands that not only bought the name, but also the snack cake business. The original company became known in court documents as Old HB, Inc.
Along with the bread brands Flowers Foods also acquired 20 bakeries and 36 depots. Flowers Foods operated 44 bakeries before the acquisition so this is a major increase in their number of bakeries.
The president of Flowers Foods made the following statement: “Consumers across much of the country can expect to see these well-known and loved bread brands returning to store shelves over time.”
I hope that we see more details soon. There are already some news reports from different localities where the former Hostess bakeries are located speculating as to when they will reopen. I will be watching the news sources for more information.
In the meantime, the bread quest continues.
Last week I have been trying Nature’s Own Honey Wheat. Before last week Rainbo Butter Top Wheat and Rainbo Butter Top White had been the front-runners in the quest for a replacement for Home Pride Wheat bread.
After this week I can tell you which side of this picture is my choice. My choice is Nature’s Own. I still have other breads to try from Nature’s Own, but already the Honey Wheat has outperformed the Rainbo breads.
I really like the texture of the Honey Wheat bread. The bread is nice and soft and makes great sandwiches. When toasted it has enough firmness for spreading butter or jam, but still remains a bit soft. It absorbs the butter very well. I have one small complaint that the crust is a little dry and flaky when toasted, but that is something that I can live with.
I am really excited to try Nature’s Own Butter Top this week.
Since Home Pride Wheat is a butter top bread, this may come closer to the taste and texture than the Honey Wheat. The bread does look a bit light in color though, so maybe it is more like a white bread. I will have to see. I have a few more slices of Honey Wheat that I want to finish before opening the package that I bought this evening.
While at the grocery store I also spotted another Nature’s Own product.
Flowers Foods has a wide range of other products, including these Thin Sliced Bagels. I bought a package and had a nice snack when I got home from the store. I am looking forward to more of their products filtering into the food supply here in Northern California.
Have you been looking for Twinkies and not been able to find them? I saw a news report that the demand for them has been very high and the new Hostess Brands has been unable to meet the demand. I have not seen another box of Twinkies since I bought one last Sunday. They are just not available here.
Be patient, eventually the newness will wear off, production will ramp up and you will be able to find them without problem 🙂
Hopefully we will get news about our bread soon!
Steven
Braman's Wanderings 
That has been quite the process.
I recently went to a Blue Man Group show that included a segment where they ate Twinkies. I assume they bought them recently–though I suppose that they could have purchased a large supply of Twinkies months ago to use in the shows.
Things are looking up. Can’t wait. Thanks!!!
Love those old yellowed music sheets. I love to sing too, my favourite Sunday School song as a child was ‘This little light of mine’.
A friend brought me a box of Twinkies today from the Greenwood Wal-Mart!!!! They are delicious!!!!!
Glad that you finally got some. They are in short supply. They can’t keep up with the demand.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the Nature’s Own bread. The thins have been surprisingly popular since being introduced to this market. One bit of info I would like to share with you is that the Nature’s Own bread is baked by Flowers Foods. In California, the Sara Lee brand is still being baked in Bimbo bakeries. We expect that once we get our bakeries up and running in CA, the quality of the Sara Lee brand will increase. Once this happens I would be interested in a new taste test for Sara Lee breads. Meanwhile, enjoy the new breads and thank you for the feedback on our products.
Thanks BK, I will have to give Sara Lee a try again some day. I really do like the Nature’s Own breads. I will write soon about where some of the 20 bakeries are that Flowers Foods bought. I have a list of the bakeries and depots. One of the bakeries is not too far away.
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The new “Home Pride” is definitely not the same recipe. Yes, it is lighter in color and in flavor. It is more like white bread with coloring. I’ll still be on the hunt for a new favorite.
Becky, I have seen it change a bit since it was first re-introduced. I think that they are still trying to fine-tune the baking process. The last couple loaves I have bought have been closer to the original. I also have a sneaky suspicion that Home Pride was not as uniform at every bakery as what we might have thought. We were used to the bread baked at the closest bakery.
I have a brand new loaf and just ate my favorite peanut butter and honey toast. That’s what prompted me to Google for info. I hope they figure it out soon
I wrote over 50 posts throughout the entire saga, including a lot of different bread reviews. You can find them by clicking on the Home Pride Bread Link at the top of the page.
For now, I am glad that bread is back and it is getting better.
We were out of country for 6 years and I’m heart broken to get back and our favorite bread can’t be found. 😦 I’d love to try the new one. So far we just are not too thrilled with any of them and the hunt continues.
Home Pride Bread is the best bread please bring Home Pride back. I saw it it meijers now every time i go to meijers they no longer sell it.
Ok I don’t know what corporate idiot made the decision to stop selling Homepride ButterTop wheat bread but I hope it made their pockets big and fat! Now we’ve been FORCED to eat cardboard flavored bread and its not right! Nature’s Own tasted like a cardboard box with butter smeared all over it & I do like Sara Lee,however I’m not a fan of the butter flavored or honey wheat,so we’ve been trying to get used to Wonder bread and its just white bread with no substance,PLEASE bring Homepride bread back to Oklahoma!!!!
Where is Home Pride Bread what have you done with it it’s the only Bread I’ve eaten all my life bring it back now, please “NOW”!!!
Home Pride is the BEST bread there is–at least the Home Pride I was buying last month. Nature’s Own is awful compared to Home Pride. PLEASE supply stores with the original Home Pride butter top wheat bread. Why is it every time you find something you really like. it is discontinued?
I live in Massachusetts and the home pride bread is always stale, and it has been for months, I will not buy it anymore. It used to always be wonderful, soft and fresh. Gotta let it go….
My family and for years only eat Home Pride Wheat because we are bread lovers have tried many brands,Hime Pride trumps all. In saying this here lately I am extremely disappointed in the freshness of the bread. Never before have I experienced this problem, and I do check the expiration date on my products. So I need to know why I’m experiencing this problem with the bread now. Bread is way to expensive to be upset and disappointed. Will appreciate a response, Thank You Cheryl in Jersey
Cheryl, you should contact Flowers Foods. They are the owner of Home Pride.
Why have you changed this bread? I used to buy it all the time and loved the texture and the taste. Switched to whole wheat years ago. Recently bought a loaf of home pride and was very disappointed.
My bread don’t feel right and it didn’t hold up with meat on it.First time I’ve ever dislike it
Hey get your head out of the sand and check the quality of you Home Pride Wheat bread. It’s discusting. Not the taser it’s still great but the shape of the bread is terrible.
Hey get your head out of the sand and check the quality of your Home Pride Wheat bread. It’s discusting. Not the taste it’s still great but the shape of the bread is terrible. Sorry for the spelling in the other comment I made.
I love Home Pride Wheat bread. Where can I order it from..
Is Homepride bread frozen before it’s delivered to stores?
My Grandmother Loved Home Pride Wheat Bread she started me too eating the bread;I know know going through a new owner, I can’t wait till my favorite bread returns.
Thanks.
Please either make Home Pride Bread available or sell it to a company who will see the value in putting the product back into production for people like myself who loves this product and cannot find a better brand.
PLEASE BRING BACK THE HOME PRIDE CRACKED WHEAT!!! WE CAN’T FIND ANOTHER WHEAT. READ WE LIKE, HAVE BEEN EATING THIS FOR YEARS!!!!!
My favorite white bread is home pride, use it for everything, dressing, meatloaf, etc. I feel so lost without it; I do not care for orowheat bread, really any of them. I live in Palo Alto CA and grocery shop in menlo park, ca., Safeway and draeger’s. and neither one has home pride white. When will it be available?