Twinkie’s rivals sure missed a sweet opportunity.
After a six-month absence from store shelves, the iconic cream-filled sponge cake will return next month — beating out bakery competitors that were hoping to displace it.
Apollo Global Management and veteran food exec Dean Metropoulos, who bought Twinkies and other snack brands from bankrupt Hostess Brands earlier this year, said the beloved cakes will start appearing July 15.
Meanwhile, the firms that bought other Hostess brands out of bankruptcy, including Drake’s snack cakes, are trailing Twinkie.
McKee Foods, the maker of Little Debbie’s, bought Drake’s and gained Yodels, a chocolate-covered, cream-filled sponge cake that is actually a bigger seller in the New York area than Twinkies.
However, McKee is planning a September launch at the earliest for Yodels, a source close to the situation said.
“We will reintroduce Drake’s in late summer or early fall,” a McKee spokesman confirmed.
He said McKee is taking time to ensure the product is right and true to the original.
“We’re not taking our Swiss Roll and passing it off as a Yodel,” the spokesman said.
The new owners of Hostess not only beat Drake’s to market, but also Mexico’s baking giant Grupo Bimbo, which is months behind schedule in launching a Hostess knock-off brand under the Sara Lee label.
Bimbo, which also owns Entenmann’s, has so far failed to reach a deal with the local Teamsters unions in the New York area to carry the new product line aimed at filling the Hostess void, a source close to the situation said.
Bimbo wanted Entenmann’s drivers to carry the new line for a lower commission than they receive on the products they now deliver.
“Everything is on hold at Bimbo,” a source close to the situation said. “The union did not accept their contract offer.”
Bimbo has introduced six to eight snacks, including a Hostess Cupcake and Twinkie knockoff, in some parts of the country — but not in New York City.
The baker has two groups of drivers for each of its Stroehmann and Entenmann’s brands and needs union approval before giving either group more product.
“I know the Entenmann’s guys are not accepting cheaper commissions,” said a source. “They are fighting tooth and nail.”