Despite people increasingly eating healthier, snack cakes remain relatively popular. According to the website Snack Food & Whole Sale Bakery, bakery snacks pull in roughly $3.5 billion in annual sales with revenues increasing even during the pandemic. In other words, you certainly aren’t alone if you are a fan of these tasty treats.
Here you will find 11 snack cake brands for you to try if you haven’t already. At the end of this article, there is a poll. Please consider voting for your favorite snack cake brand if you have one.
Brands of Snack Cakes
Cakebites
Website: cakebites.com
Cookies United is an employee-owned company that makes Cakebites. They are marketed as the only snack cakes to come in three layers with three bite-sized cakes in each package. Its rainbow snack cakes are its signature products but there are a lot of flavors to choose from as you can see below.
Cake Bites makes these flavors of snack cakes:
- Vanilla Iced
- Minion Vanilla
- Minion Chocolate
- Italian Rainbow
- Chocolate Tuxedo
- Iced Blueberry Cobbler
- Frosted Coffee Cake
- Ultimate Party Cake
- Sweet Lemon Layers
- P.B. Chocolate Ripple
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Elf Christmas Cake Bites
- Elf Hot Cocoa Cakebites
- Hulk Cakebites
- Spiderman Cakebites
- Black Panther Cakebites
This snack cake brand can be found at numerous retailers such as Stop & Shop, 7-11, Pilot, WinCo, Meijer, Rite Aid, and many more stores. Visit Cakebites Buy Now webpage to find its products near you.
Drake’s
Website: drakescake.com
Drake’s is the company behind one of the most popular snack cakes, Ring Dings. They’ve been in business since 1896 when Newman Drake opened N.E. Drake Baking Company in Harlem. His first product was pound cake. This snack cake brand is now owned by McKee Foods, the owner of Little Debbie and Sunbelt Bakery.
Drake’s makes these cakes and desserts:
- Mini Pound Cake
- Fudge Dipped Devil Dogs
- Devil Dogs
- Ring Dings
- Yodels
- Yankee Doodles
- Funny Bones
- Coffee Cakes
- Fruit Pies
- Donut Delites
If you are curious about the difference between Drake’s Ring Dings and Ding Dongs made by Hostess, check out our article titled Ring Dings vs Ding Dongs. If you visit this article, be sure to vote for your favorite between the two brands if you’ve tried both.
Entenmann’s
Website: entenmanns.com
Entenmann’s has been producing baked goods for over 120 years. It all started in Brooklyn, New York when William Entenmann opened his bakery that relied on deliveries for a large part of its business.
During the 1950s, the company phased out home deliveries and began supplying grocery stores with its products like today. It was during this time that Entenmann’s became the first company to use boxes with clear tops so that customers could see the products.
During the early 1970s, the company brought its baked goods nationally, which were quickly a hit with customers across the United States.
Today, the company makes a large assortment of cakes, cookies, donuts, muffins, buns, and more. We are fans of Entenmann’s chocolate creme-filled cupcakes which are similar to Hostess Cupcakes with the white swirls on top.
Hostess
Website: hostesscakes.com
Hostess launched in 1919 with its first product being Hostess Cupcakes. These are those chocolate cupcakes with the white squiggly icing on their surface and the creme-filled center. However, the company is better known for making Twinkies which first were on store shelves in 1930.
Hostess briefly stop operation in late 2012 and into early 2013 because of bankruptcy. However, Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos purchased Hostess which ultimately saved it from its demise.
Today, Hostess makes the following snack cakes and related products:
- Birthday Cupcakes
- Golden Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Orange Cupcakes
- Scary Cakes
- Iced Pumpkin Cakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Iced Lemon Cupcakes
- Twinkies
- Ding Dongs
- Ho Hos
- Snoballs
- Coffee Cake
- Zingers
- Iced Marble Cake Slice
- Pound Cake (Cream Cheese) Cake Slice
- Iced Lemon Cake Slice
- Honey Buns
- Donettes
- Pecan Spins
- Crispy Minis
In addition to the above, Hostess makes Danishes, Brownies, Cinnamon Rolls, Muffins, Bread, and more.
Katz
Website: katzglutenfree.com
Katz specializes in producing gluten-free baked goods. The company was started by Mrs. F. Katz who had two children who had gluten intolerance. Mrs. Katz saw a need for gluten-free products that actually tasted good, which she could proudly serve to her children. This inspired her to make her own gluten-free baked goods that would be sold under the Katz brand name.
Katz now makes many different products including donuts, pies, fritters muffins, cookies, English muffins, bread, and more. These products are some of the ones you want to try if you are looking for snack cakes:
- Vanilla Crème Cakes
- Lemon Crème Filled Cupcakes
- Chocolate Crème Cakes
- Caramel Apple Crème Filled Cupcakes
- Chocolate Crème Filled Cupcakes
- Strawberry Crème Filled Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Spice Crème Cakes
- Peppermint Crème Cakes
Little Debbie
Website: littledebbie.com
Little Debbie is one of the premier snack cake brands in the United States. The company began in 1928 when O.D. McKee, the founder, sold his first snack cake from his vehicle. O.D. and Ruth, his wife, expanded into their own bakery in 1934 where they reportedly also lived. The Little Debbie name did not come around until 1960 when O.D. and Ruth named a family package of products after their granddaughter Debbie.
Today, descendants of the original McKee family still operate the business, including Debbie. According to the company’s website, these are the best-selling products made by Little Debbie: Oatmeal Creme Pies, Nutty Buddy, and Swiss Cake Rolls.
Little Debbie’s cake products include the following:
- Chocolate Chip Cakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Devil Cremes
- Devil Squares
- Fancy Cakes
- Frosted Fudge Cakes
- Strawberry Shortcake Rolls
- Swiss Rolls
- Zebra Cakes
- Zebra Cake Rolls
- Seasonal Cakes (i.e. Christmas Tree Cakes)
Marinela
Website: marinela.com
This brand was launched in Mexico during the 1950s. While the parent company of this brand is still located in Mexico, its products are readily available in the United States.
The company makes an assortment of snack cakes and related foods. Try Gansito for a unique snack cake shaped like a candy bar with a strawberry creme filling and chocolate exterior. Additionally, Pinguinos (similar to Hostess Cupcakes) or Submarinos (like Twinkies) are excellent options for snacking when you desire something sweet.
Mrs. Freshley’s
Website: mrsfreshleys.com
Mrs. Freshley’s is a youngster in comparison to other snack cake brands. It start in 1994 in vending and soon after retail sales began. Mrs. Freshley’s is owned by Flowers Foods who also is the parent company of many other recognizable brands in baked goods such as Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder Bread, and Sunbeam.
Mrs. Freshley’s makes a large number of baked goods including brownies, cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls, cookies, fruit pies, and other treats.
These are the specific snack cake products made by the company:
- Chocolate Bells
- Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Dreamies
- Raspberry Dreamies
- Pink Snowballs
- Swiss Rolls
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Hershey’s Triple Chocolate Cakes
- Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme Cakes
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcake
- Hershey’s Swiss Rolls
Other popular snack foods made by Mrs. Freshley’s include Buddy Bars, Oatmeal Cremes, and Donut Sticks.
Moon Pie
Website: moonpie.com
Original Moon Pies are made with marshmallows, graham, and chocolate. On their interior is a sandwich of two graham cookies with a marshmallow center. This sandwich is covered in chocolate to form the outer layer. This classic dessert treat was invented in 1917 in Tennessee.
In addition to the classic Chocolate Moon Pies described above, there are several other flavors available. These flavors are:
- Chocolate
- Vanilla
- Mint
- Strawberry
- Banana
- Salted Caramel
- Pumpkin Spice
- Valentines (Strawberry)
Various sizes of Moon Pies are available including mini, standard, and double-decker sizes.
Reese’s
Website: hersheyland.com/reeses
It’s safe to say that when people think of Reese’s, peanut butter cups are the first to come to mind. In 2020, however, Reese’s introduced Reese’s Snack Cakes. The interior of these cakes are made with soft-baked chocolate cake that is topped with Reese’s classic peanut butter. The interior is surrounded by a generous layer of milk chocolate.
Reese’s discovered that many people eat desserts before noon, which is why these snack cakes were marketed as mid-morning snacks. Your best bet to find these locally is at a local convenience store. They come in regular and crunchy versions.
Tastykake
Website: tastykake.com
Similar to Mrs. Friendley’s featured above, Tastykake is owned by Flowers Foods. The company has been in business for more than 100 years and is based out of Philadelphia. It has traditionally distributed its products regionally on the East Coast but has since started to expand.
Tastykake makes a variety of products such as bars, donuts, honey buns, pies, pastries, and cakes. Check out this snack food manufacturer’s product page for a full list of what they produce. However, here is a list of the products that most closely resemble snack cakes:
- Buttercreme Iced Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
- Koffee Kake Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes
- Swily Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cany Kakes
- Coconut Kandy Kakes
- Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes
- Butterscotch Krimpets
- Creme Filled Krimpets
- Jelly Krimpets
- Chocolate Juniors
- Chocolate Kreamie Juniors
- Coconut Juniors
- Koffee Kake Juniors
- Chocolate Bells
- Creme Filled Snowballs
Poll: Favorite Snack Cake Brand
Do you have a favorite snack cake brand? Vote for it in our poll below.
Sources:
- Image Credit – Romana Klee/flickr
- Parker, L. (2020, June 30). State of the industry 2020: Snack cakes remain portable and delicious. Snack Food Wholesale Bakery RSS. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.snackandbakery.com/articles/94867-state-of-the-industry-2020-snack-cakes-remain-portable-and-delicious
