Hostess Brands to reopen closed Arkadelphia factory; $120 million investment, 150 jobs

Snack company Hostess Brands, Inc. announced it will convert an idled factory in Arkadelphia into a state-of-the-art bakery.

The new location is expected to be operational in the second half of 2023 and bring approximately 150 new jobs to the community over the next three years.

Hostess Brands, whose iconic foods include Donettes, Twinkies, CupCakes and Ding Dongs, plans to invest $120 million to $140 million to transform the 330,000-square-foot facility in Arkadelphia into a next-generation bakery.

The new bakery will increase the company’s capacity across its bakeries on its Donettes and cake platforms by approximately 20%. It will also enable the company to accommodate production growth in the future.

“We’ve been profitably gaining market share across the snacking categories in which we compete,” said Andy Callahan, president and CEO of Hostess Brands. “The addition of this new bakery signals our confidence that we expect the growth we have demonstrated over the last several years to continue.”

Hostess Brands’ decision to renovate an existing building will reduce the company’s costs for the new bakery as well as minimize environmental impacts.

“We are emphasizing a sustainability-first approach to this project while leveraging best practices from across our network of bakeries and we anticipate this bakery will be our most efficient and greenest operation yet,” said Callahan. “We are grateful for the help and support that we received from the city of Arkadelphia and the Arkadelphia Alliance, Clark County, the state of Arkansas and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the partnerships we have entered into with these entities. We look forward to welcoming new team members to our newest bakery when it becomes operational in 2023 and to becoming a part of the Arkadelphia community.”

“I could not be more excited to welcome Hostess to the Arkansas family of businesses,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “Arkansans of all ages have enjoyed Hostess products for more than a century, so it is no wonder they are now a leading snack company. The company’s selection of Clark County speaks volumes about the confidence they have in the area’s business climate and workforce, and I am confident Hostess will find success in Arkansas.”