The Twinkie Will Return To Supermarket Shelves This Summer

You hear that sound? It’s probably your stomach rumbling with gleeful excitement after catching wind of today’s delicious, gluttonous and creamy-filled news. Twinkies will be making a triumphant return to supermarket shelves next month, and if the knee-jerk response to the company’s bankruptcy last year is any indication, the snack cakes should get lassoed off the shelves at incredible speeds.

After the company was first purchased in bankruptcy court by Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co, it was widely assumed a Twinkie comeback would happen sooner or later, but the exact details weren’t made official until the brand’s Facebook page and updated website revealed July 15 as the big day. Here’s how the official site looks…

The Twinkie was first invented by James Alexander Dewar all the way back in 1930. He originally used banana cream, but during World War II, he switched to vanilla and saw sales skyrocket. Over the next half century, the Twinkie slowly and steadily ingrained itself into American lore, thanks in part to pop culture appearances. Unfortunately, over the past decade or so, the health food craze took a huge bite out of parent company Hostess’ business, and sales dropped by a few percent each year. That might not sound like a huge deal, but when you’re moving millions of units, it can be a killer, especially when the added stress of a baker’s strike is thrown into the mix (pun intended).

Moving forward, Hostess is reportedly planning to try and implement various Twinkie alterations to adjust with changing health standards. Of course, the classic Twinkie will still be available in all its glory, but in the future, low sugar, low sodium, gluten free and additional alterations will also be options, as per ABC News. That business plan is something the company should have implemented a long time ago, but unfortunately, executives initially seemed paralyzed by history and tradition and were unwilling to change anything. The old adage might say, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”, but if sales aren’t growing, or even worse, if they’re decreasing, a company really needs to branch out and find a way to update to modern times without ruining what everyone loved in the first place.

In addition to their more famous brother the Twinkie, Ding Dongs, CupCakes, Donettes and more of the brand’s classic products will also hit shelves on July 15. As a child who grew up consuming way too many of the tasty treats, I will be in line waiting to fork over my $3.99 for a box. Here’s to hoping quite a few other Americans will be there with me.