Wal-Mart, Hostess partner for 'Deep Fried Twinkies'

Associated Press reporter Anne D'Innocenzio arranges frozen, deep-fried Twinkies on a tray before baking in New York. The deep-fried Twinkie is jumping from the state fair to an oven near you. Hostess is launching packaged “Deep Fried Twinkies” that mark its first foray into frozen foods.
Associated Press reporter Anne D'Innocenzio arranges frozen, deep-fried Twinkies on a tray before baking in New York. The deep-fried Twinkie is jumping from the state fair to an oven near you. Hostess is launching packaged “Deep Fried Twinkies” that mark its first foray into frozen foods.

NEW YORK — The deep-fried Twinkie is jumping from the state fair to the home freezer.

Hostess Brands, the maker of lunchbox treats like Ho Hos, is launching packaged "Deep Fried Twinkies" starting Friday that mark its first foray into frozen foods. The cream-filled snack in vanilla or chocolate is the result of a yearlong collaboration between Hostess and Wal-Mart, as both companies look to spark food sales with innovative products.

Battered and partially fried before being frozen, the Twinkies need to be finished for a short time in the oven, toaster oven or frying pan. They'll cost $4.76 for a box of seven and for the first three months are available only at Wal-Mart.

It has a "retro-cool factor," says Ellen Copaken, Hostess' vice president of marketing. "It plays into the comfort food trend. And it's fun."

For Wal-Mart, which gets more than half of its sales from food and other groceries, the partnership is part of a strategy of working closely with suppliers to come up with new twists on existing foods or developing new ones, and getting them to the shelves faster. The company opened a food lab in June for that teamwork, a process that can cut costs and shave several months off a product launch, says Charles Redfield, executive vice president of food at Wal-Mart.

The food lab at the company's Bentonville headquarters has 10 test kitchens and space to accommodate 12 individual taste tests at a time. Specific feedback from customers gathered there gets shared with suppliers to determine if an item needs more work. Being tested now: new flavors for its store brand sparkling water, frozen stuffed doughnut bites, and vacuum-packed Paleo meals.

At nine grams of fat and 220 calories, the vanilla flavor of the Deep Fried Twinkies compares to 4 grams of fat and 130 calories in a regular Twinkie.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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