WalMart Twinkies Debut: Special Edition 'First Batch' Box Now Available
After a more than six-month hiatus, Twinkies will make a new debut on Friday.
Two days before any other store, Wal-Mart has announced that they will have Twinkies on the shelf this Friday. Demand for Twinkies rose at the end of last year after the company responsible for making the sweet treat went out of business.
Wal-Mart will be selling the new Hostess Twinkies in 1,600 stores as of Friday. The snack will be available in 3,000 stores by Sunday. The first Twinkies to debut, however, will come complete with a collectible box, marking the sweet treats' first return.
Each new box will read "First Batch" on the packagaing and the new Twinkies tagline: "The Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever."
"These are the first production of Twinkies since production restarted," Wal-Mart company spokeswoman Veronica Marshall told Fox News. "Each box that arrived to us contains fresh Twinkies and not frozen ones."
The initial plan was to begin reselling Twinkies on Monday, but Wal-Mart has since moved up the date after being able to "get the inventory earlier," Fox reported.
The Hostess company announced bankruptcy last November after more than 80 years of business. Apollo Global Management, a private equity group, bought the company from bankruptcy for $410 million. Headquarters have since moved from Kansas City, Missouri to Irving, Texas.
Apollo also purchased rights to Dolly Madison. Other brands owned by the company have been sold off separately. United States Bakery Inc. bought the popular Eddy's. Flowers Food bought up Nature's Pride and Wonder Bread. Grupo Bimbo had also expressed interest in purchasing Wonder Bread but was apparently outbid.
After Hostess announced bankruptcy, a number of customers were rooting for the company's return. One of the biggest concerns early on was the lack of Twinkies in the world.
"I hope Hostess makes it through this. I use to love those treats as a kid. Everyone kid should experience hostess snake at least once," one user wrote on the Forbes blog.