Oreo accused of having reduced the quantity of cream in its biscuits in the United States, the brand defends itself (in vain)

2023-12-28 19:02:36

“Cookiegate” alert. In the United States, the Oreo brand is accused of having reduced the quantity of cream placed between its two iconic biscuits, reports BFMTV. In the midst of soaring prices, this change is not happening.

A consumer shared his doubts on the Internet a few weeks ago about a reduction in cream in the famous black and white cakes. Social media immediately picked up on the topic, with many of the brand’s customers comparing the old and new Oreo boxes and noting a drop in the amount of cream or the total weight of the product.

???? Is there less cream in Oreos?

In the United States, we don’t joke about the amount of cream in the cookie at all. #shrinkflation

▶️ #JT20H pic.twitter.com/cic5HBzEnE

— Info France 2 (@infofrance2) December 22, 2023

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“Consumers no longer believe big brands”

The affair grew so big that even political figures got involved, like this American senator who studied the cookies and confirmed a change in the recipe. Accusations of “shrinkflation”, this technique consisting of reducing the quantity of a product without changing its price or its packaging, were not long in coming.

For its part, Oreo assured that it had not changed the proportion of cream in the cookies. However, its precision was not convincing. “Even if Oreo has not reduced the quantity of cream, the fact that it is turning into a scandal shows to what extent consumers no longer believe what the big brands say,” analyzes Mark Stiving, founder of the company Impact Pricing, on RFI.

For the moment, the scandal does not seem to have impacted sales of biscuits, produced by the giant Mondelez. In the United States, 20 billion Oreos are sold each year: the country is the brand’s largest market.