winkies hit store shelves again next week they will have a shelf life of 45 days, according to Hostess Brands L.L.C., which acquired the iconic brand earlier this year. Under previous ownership (Hostess Brands, Inc.), Twinkies had a stated shelf life of only about 26 days.Hannah Arnold, a spokeswoman for Hostess, said the change to extend the shelf life was made by the previous owners before they went bankrupt last October, with the longer-lasting cakes first hitting shelves on Nov. 1 of last year. But Hostess Brands, Inc. ceased operations on Nov. 16, meaning the Twinkies most people are familiar with had the shorter lifespan.
Ms. Arnold declined to say what changes were made to extend the shelf life, saying that it is proprietary information.
In addition to the longer shelf life, some Twinkies will begin shipping frozen to retail customers, Ms. Arnold said.
“Ninety per cent of the product will still be delivered fresh,” she said. “A select number of customers — representing only about 10% of Hostess' distribution — have explicitly requested to receive frozen product.
This allows the retailer to date the product for freshness, provides flexibility in filling their shelves and has no impact on the quality or taste of the products. The decision is up to the customer — the only stores that will receive frozen product are those that request it.”
Ms. Arnold said new ownership is “absolutely committed” to baking top quality snack cakes and is making “major investments” to ensure that Hostess products are as good, if not even better than before.
