Going bananas over the new Deep Fried Twinkie
As part of its growth strategy, Hostess Brands has extended its offerings in the frozen food aisle by launching Deep Fried Banana Twinkies in major retailers across the US.
According to Burke Raine, chief marketing officer of Hostess Brands, this is a nod to Twinkies’ original Banana Crème flavor. It takes “Twinkie back to its roots”but integrates with the deep-fried line that was launched last year.
Deep fried delights
Deep Fried Twinkies and Deep Fried Chocolate Twinkies were introduced in 4,000 Wal-Mart stores in August 2016. The line was developed in collaboration with the giant retailer, which worked with Hostess to improve the taste, appearance, packaging and naming based on test and consumer insights.
The pre-packed Twinkies feature the classic golden sponge cake based wrapped around a sweetened crème filling. The snack cake is then battered and flash fried before frozen, and can be heated up in a toaster or regular oven in a few minutes.
The original flavors feature a cake batter, while the new Deep-Fried Banana Twinkies has a graham cracker breading for added texture.
Going frozen
Hostess Brands is forecast to feel another boost from its new ice cream partnership with Nestlé.
The two companies are expected to launch co-branded ice creams featuring Twinkies, Sno Balls and CupCakes early this year.
A Nestlé USA spokeswoman has confirmed that Nestlé and Hostess are working on ice cream products but won’t release further details until the launch.
