Twinkies Return To Stores Nationwide!

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — After an eight-month hiatus, Twinkies returned to store shelves nationwide Monday!

Several major U.S. retailers started selling the popular snack Friday, including Walmart, which unveiled collectible "first batch" boxes.

Twinkies and other iconic Hostess product have been out of production since November.

Pick-A-Side: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE HOSTESS TREAT?

Hostess Brands Inc. was struggling for years before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in early 2012. Workers blamed the troubles on years of mismanagement, as well as a failure of executives to invest in brands to keep up with changing tastes.

The company said it was weighed down by higher pension and medical costs than its competitors, whose employees weren't unionized.

Two private companies, Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management, teamed up to buy the company for $140 million, paving the way for the Twinkies, and other Hostess favorites like CupCakes and Donettes, to return.

The company says the cakes will taste the same but that the boxes will now bear the tag line "The Sweetest Comeback In The History Of Ever."

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