Hostess Looks To Offer Gluten-Free And Healthier Snack Cake Options

Hostess was lucky enough to get bailed out of bankruptcy some months ago, and now that the company has a future, it is looking to put out products on shelves that will be hip and relevant snacks. To do so, the company is planning to put together a line of snack cakes that are as yummy and delicious as the Hostess products of the past, while perhaps hitting a lower calorie mark or even offering gluten-free options for buyers.

Don’t worry, the push toward new marketing won’t affect your Twinkies. The spongy yellow cake will still return to shelves on Monday, July 15 along with other classic cakes. Some other Hostess products hitting shelves include CupCakes, HoHos, Ding Dongs, and Donettes. At the time of this writing, we are t-minus 36 or so hours away from getting our hands on the snack cakes made famous over an 80+ year run.

For a while, the potential for the Twinkie to return didn’t look so hot. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time and fought in courts with the company’s unions to be able to close its doors. Eventually, companies picked up brand names like Wonderbread and Beefsteak Bread. Additionally, C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management eventually nabbed the rights to the Hostess snack cake line. However, battling for prominence on shelves isn’t going to be easy.

Hostess may have a long and storied history of creating snack cakes, but the brand won’t be able to rely on just its line of traditional products to gain market dominance. As a record of two bankruptcies shows, people aren’t lining up to munch on the snack cakes like they used to. According to the LA Times, the brand has plans to diversify its line of cakes by introducing the aforementioned lower calorie and gluten-free options, as well as options featuring peanut butter, whole grains, and more fiber. Additionally, the company has put together major marketing efforts to get people excited about the return of Twinkies, including social media networking and even food trucks. The company is updating its product line for the 21st Century, but it will update its tactics, as well.

Right now, the Twinkie is back in the news and is in a unique position to bargain with companies and decide where to put products on shelves. The company is currently working to diversify the brand along with creating new products by moving back to the convenience store shelves but also by selling to sports stadiums, to hotels for continental breakfasts, to movie theaters, and even cruise ships. There’s no telling whether all of these deals will come through or not, but needless to say, Hostess is going to work harder to remain relevant this time around, and hopefully we won’t hear any Chapter 11 news in the future.