Hostess pitches ‘healthy’ Twinkies to prospective buyers

Twinkie is back — and it’s not as bad for you as you think.

Believe it or not, that’s the sales pitch the owners of Twinkie and other Hostess snack cakes are making to prospective buyers who are dealing with a rising tide of junk food-averse consumers, The Post has learned.

The owners claim in their sales presentations that Twinkie — which typically gets an “F” from nutritionists — actually stacks up pretty well against energy bars that are widely regarded as healthier alternatives.

Hostess compares its cream-filled cake to both Kind and Clif brand energy bars, along with Snickers and Twix candy bars and a Starbucks scone. (The comparisons are made on a per gram basis instead of serving size, which is what consumers see on nutrition labels.)

Of the five, Twinkie comes out the lowest in calories per gram, while Kind is the highest, according to Hostess’ pitch. It’s also near the lowest in terms of fats and in the middle of the pack when it comes to carbs and sugar. It scores the worst of the bunch in sodium.

Twinkie’s supposed competition claims there really is none. Clif Bar & Co. registered dietitian and nutrition strategist Tara Dellalacono said because Hostess “doesn’t speak about what vitamins and minerals are present,” its methodology is largely meaningless.

Dellalacono said Twinkie is mostly sugar and flour, which explains why it’s not very high in fat. Kind bars have the most fat because they are chock full of nutritious nuts.

She added that while Clif bars have almost as much sugar per gram as a Twinkie, they are packed with fiber and protein, which help slow digestion and avoid the sugar rush caused by Twinkie’s empty calories.

The owners of Hostess, Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management and Dean Metropoulos, are seeking $2 billion for the business they bought for $410 million out of liquidation. Grupo Bimbo, Flowers Foods and Aryzta are among the suitors.

Part of Hostess’ pitch is that any prospective buyer should be able to grow sales from the current $650 million annual level to the pre-bankruptcy $1 billion.