Lower-calorie Twinkies planned

Hostess Twinkies are becoming the latest product remade and repackaged into 100-calorie snack packs, a product some analysts say could do well given that more people are packing their own lunches in the slumping economy.

The maker of the golden yellow, creme-filled cake has launched “Twinkie Bites” nationwide. It’s also introducing a snack pack featuring strawberry cupcakes as it extends the 100-calorie pack line originally aimed at women who wanted to snack more sensibly.

Hostess launched its 100-calorie cupcakes in 2007 but held off on making a version of the Twinkie because the 150-calorie product was a favorite overall, said David Leavitt, vice president of snack marketing at Hostess owner Interstate Bakeries Corp. Some 500 million Twinkies are sold every year.