Twinkie Makes "Sweetest Comeback"

NEW YORKTwinkies, the famous cream-filled yellow treats, are back on store shelves several months after Hostess Brands went out of business.

In what is being dubbed "The Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever", a multimillion dollar advertising, marketing and PR campaign, the new Twinkie features a number of changes.

The snack's shelf life has been expanded to 45 days from 26 days, and the boxes now weigh 13.58 ounces; that's down from 15 ounces for much of last year, CNNMoney reported.

The cakes are listed as containing 270 calories for 2 cakes, or 135 calories for one of the treats, according to The Associated Press. Before Hostess went out of business last year, the predecessor company told AP Twinkies had 150 calories per cake.

Under new ownership, 50 million Twinkies will be shipped to 100,000 stores in the first two weeks of launch, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to the Hostess website, half a billion Twinkies are made each year. Hostess reports that 100 million snack cakes, including Twinkies, CupCakes and bags of Donettes, will hit store shelves over the first two weeks of the launch.  

Clearly retailers and consumers could not wait to have Hostess snack cakes back in stores, said Rich Seban, President of Hostess Brands, LLC, in a statement. We are already hearing early reports of products flying out of stores almost as fast as theyve appeared on shelves.  As orders have continued to pour in, we are doing everything possible to fulfill them equally and timely for everyone. 

"Because of the overwhelming demand, Hostess will have five times more Twinkies on the market during the first two weeks of the comeback than during the same two-week period last year," the company said in a statement.

A bankruptcy judge last year approved Hostess Brands' request to wind down its business and sell its assets. The bankruptcy paved the way for Apollo Global Management LLC and Metropoulos & Co. to scoop up several Hostess brands, including a famous snack that was invented in 1930 by James Dewar: Twinkie. That invention was 11 years after the Hostess CupCake debuted.

C. Dean Metropoulos, CEO of Hostess Brands, LLC, said one objective of the new launch is to expand the availability of the iconic treat.

Our goal is as simple as it is ambitious: wherever consumers can buy a candy bar, they should be able to purchase a Twinkie, he said in a statement.

Although July 15 is the official launch date for Twinkies, the world's largest retailerWal-Martreportedly began selling the snack three days earlier.

Hostess Brands' new owners plan to invest roughly $100 million this year making upgrades to bakeries and facilities. The company also plans to open a fifth bakery in 2014, at a cost of $75-80 million. Hostess products are currently produced in four bakeries: Schiller Park, Ill.; Emporia, Kan.; Columbus, Ga.; and Indianapolis, Ind.