Baking & Snack - December 2014 - 114

NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Hostess Brands bolsters its breakfast portfolio to boost sales
at convenience stores and beyond.

In January Hostess will offer
Danish pastries in Apple
Cinnamon, Berries & Cream
Cheese, Cream Cheese, and
Chocolate & Bavarian Cream,
along with new jumbo muffin varieties, to complement its current
breakfast product line.
Hostess Brands

Nothing quite competes with the hype surrounding the
2013 return of the Twinkie and other Hostess sweet goods
- dubbed the "Sweetest Comeback in the History of
Ever." However, Kansas City, MO-based Hostess Brands
LLC is resolved to start the New Year with a fistful of new
ways for consumers to start their day.
Beginning Jan. 3, the company will offer nationally
four hefty 5-oz Danish pastries in Apple Cinnamon,
Berries & Cream Cheese, Cream Cheese, and Chocolate
& Bavarian Cream varieties as well as three 5.5-oz Jumbo
Muffins in Banana Nut, Blueberry and Chocolate Chip
flavors. The new products, including a 3.7-oz Glazed
Donettes pack, complement Hostess' current breakfast
line of Donettes, coffee cakes, honey buns and cinnamon
rolls.
With the decline in dollar sales of Danish pastries
and jumbo muffins during the past year, a number of
retailers - specifically, convenience store chains -
turned to Hostess Brands to wake up these sleepy subsegments of the breakfast usage occasions, according to
Andy Jacobs, the company's senior vice-president and
chief customer officer.
Mr. Jacobs noted the premium-branded products are
made with real fruit or real chocolate. "In our Danish pastries, we have increased the level of filling over and above
what you would find in the market today," he said. "You
can instantly tell the difference with the Hostess quality
when you take your first bite."
At the National Association of Convenience Stores exposition this fall, where the products were first displayed

114 Baking & Snack December 2014 / www.bakingandsnack.com

to the trade, Mr. Jacobs shared Nielson c-store data that
showed Hostess dollar sales are up $59.1 million for the
12 weeks ending Sept. 6. During that period, Hostess
products contributed more than 164% total category
growth for sweet baked goods in c-stores.
Mr. Jacobs attributed the success in part to the company's warehouse delivery model. "Our distributor partners
have done an excellent job penetrating all of the traditional retail channels, including convenience, but also other
key channels like dollar, drug, club and mass merchandisers in ways that we were never able to do in the old, highcost DSD [direct-store delivery] model," he said.
Moreover, Mr. Jacobs noted the new "Hostess Partner
Program" offers merchandising incentives to c-stores to
provide continued and even accelerated category growth.
Inside convenience stores, the Danish and Jumbo Muffins
should be placed next to or near Hostess Donettes. The
new products will be merchandised in the Hostess rack
or within the breakfast section of a retailer's in-line sweet
baked goods set. The company is also supporting the
launch with in-store dedicated merchandizing shippers.
Initially, the Danish and Jumbo Muffins are available in only single-serve packs meant for immediate
consumption.
And there are plans to expand the line if the situation warrants. "We are launching the most popular flavor varieties right out of the gate, but we have additional
products ready for line extensions when the time is right,"
Mr. Jacobs explained.
- Dan Malovany

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - December 2014

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