It seems as though the cookie industry is more cutthroat than meets the eye. While we are all happily indulging on our favorite cookies (even though we swore we'd go on a diet after the holidays), things are getting intense behind the scenes between the brands Oreo and Hydrox! The owner of Hydrox, the créme-filled cookies that bear a striking resemblance to Oreos, has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission accusing Oreo of 'hiding' their cookies on supermarket shelves. Hydrox's owner, Ellia Kassoff, told the Wall Street Journal that "the Oreo guys saw [Hydrox] as a threat, so they started hiding [their] cookies on shelves" in an attempt to get the brand discontinued (shadyyy!).
Hydrox first began launching accusations against Oreo in a Facebook post back in August 2018, claiming that Mondelez, the owners of Oreo, "have been undertaking a national program" to damage the brand.
However, a spokesperson for Mondelez has refuted all of these accusations, telling The Wall Street Journal that "much of [their] shelf placement is due to the fact that Oreo is the No. 1 cookie in the U.S., and retailers typically align premium placement to the fastest-selling products, based on consumer demand." They assert that Mondelez "always operates with integrity and are proud to be America's favorite cookie."
While Kassoff still hasn't heard back from the FTC, he wants to go as far as to get Congress involved in what is shaping up to be an all out cookie war. I can't wait to see how this cookie crumbles.