The Great Value Hostess Dupe Fans Swear Is More Moist (And Delicious) Than The Original

We love our name-brand products, but sometimes dupes can surprise us by being better than the original. (We were appropriately shocked when the Walmart copycat of Panda Express' orange chicken ended up being superior in a head-to-head taste test.) In the case of one popular snack cake, Walmart produces a copycat of the familiar cream-filled chocolate cupcake by Hostess (the one with that signature squiggle of white icing on top) under its Great Value house brand. It's rated a high 4.7 out of 5 stars (with more than 5,000 ratings), with customers saying they prefer it over the bona fide Hostess version.

One reviewer said of the Great Value Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes, "These are BETTER than the name brand, much better. Moister, more chocolate flavor, bigger in size whereas the name brand is dry and lacking flavor." Another person raved, "These cupcakes are much better than any other than I've tried including Hostess." To rival (if not best) the name-brand version is no small feat — we once did a ranking of 10 Hostess snacks and the chocolate cupcake came out on top, so it's already our personal favorite.

Many of the Walmart reviewers understandably like the cheaper price of the Great Value dupe, but there's some key taste elements that really seal the deal. One reviewer noted, "The cream filling is slightly thicker and less airy than whipped cream, which I heavily prefer." The reviewer also mentions that the cake contains the "right amount of moisture." 

One Walmart customer did the heavy lifting and conducted a side-by-side comparison during a taste test at home. They said, "Family had brought over hostess version and i had these. Everyone hands down preferred these. they are moist and heavy in a good way, the filling is thicker and creamier frosting doesn't taste waxy. [sic]" All-in-all, it sounds like Walmart customers generally hail this Hostess chocolate cupcake dupe the winner after doing their own personal research. It looks like Hostess has a lot of competition these days, as we also liked the Ho Hos dupe we found at Dollar Tree. So in the case of generic snack cakes, giving them a chance might be a good idea.