As more than 50 million Twinkies start making their way to stores next week, the first order of business for the 83-year-old brand's new owner is to let customers know a classic is back, the Wall Street Journal reported today. But behind the return of the familiar cream-filled sponge cake is a leaner operation, free of the union labor and the $1.3 billion in debt that saddled the brand's previous owners. With that clean slate, the new owner and chief executive, C. Dean Metropoulos, plans to launch into an ambitious growth plan and avoid the problems that led to two chapter 11 bankruptcies, the last of which ended in liquidation. Metropoulos said that the new Hostess Brands LLC, based in Kansas City, Mo., will be focused on innovation, efficiency and getting more Twinkies in more places. The previous distribution system involved roughly 6,000 drivers—all with union wages and pension benefits—delivering products to stores and placing them on shelves. The old Hostess distribution was governed by complicated work rules that required drivers to deliver bread and cakes on separate trucks, adding costs. Now Mr. Metropoulos is using third-party drivers to deliver products to retailers' warehouses, which he said will enable big expansion.
