Hostess Twinkies make a comeback July 15

Do you love Twinkies and did you rush to stores to buy the last boxes on store shelves last fall?

There won’t be a Twinkie shortage for long. Hostess cakes are returning to shelves next month bearing an immortal snack tagline, “The Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever,” according to an Associated Press report.

Following liquidation in November 2012 Hostess sold off its major brands to several different companies. Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management, both companies who buy troubled brands then revamp and sell them for profit, bought Twinkies and other Hostess cakes for $410 million.

According to former Hostess workers the bankruptcy was due in part to years of mismanagement of brands. This included low distribution rates and failure to update the healthiness of the products during the health food revolution the last few years. Hostess will now reach nearly all convenience stores in the U.S. and dollar stores, and work on developing gluten-free, added fiber, low sodium and low sugar options, said new Hostess President Rich Seban, former Hostess chief operating officer. Seban is also interested in exploring textures beyond the spongy, sweet and creamy, and said different textures - such as crunchy - could be introduced in the future.

While Hostess took its sweet time to return to the market several impostor brands filled the snack shelves of convenience stores, and Twinkies went on-line. Last November several boxes of Twinkies were sold on Ebay for up to $10,000. Expired boxes of Twinkies, and occasionally a squished single, are still being sold on Ebay for roughly four times their original, and a future price of $3.99 is being offered for a box of 10.