Oreo (; stylized in all caps) is an American brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits with a sweet fondant filling. Oreos were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco, and the brand has been owned by Mondelez International since its acquisition of Nabisco in 2012. Oreo cookies are available in more than 100 countries. Many varieties of Oreo cookies have been produced, and limited-edition runs have become popular in the 21st century.
Oreos are an imitation of the Hydrox chocolate cream-centered cookie introduced in 1908, but they outstripped Hydrox in popularity so largely that many believe Hydrox is an imitation of Oreo. Oreo has been the highest-selling cookie brand in the world since 2014.
The original design on the face of the Oreo featured a wreath around the edge of the cookie and the name "OREO" in the center. In the United States, they were sold for a pound (454 g) in novelty metal canisters with clear glass tops. The first Oreo was sold on March 6, 1912, to a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Oreo Biscuit was renamed in 1921 to "Oreo Sandwich"; in 1948, the name was changed to "Oreo Crème Sandwich"; and in 1974 it became the "Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie", the name that has remained to this day. A new design for the face of the cookie was launched in 1924; the modern-day Oreo design was developed in 1952 by William A. Turnier, incorporating the Nabisco logo. In 1920, a second lemon crème-filled variety of the Oreo was introduced, as an alternative to the white crème-filled variety, but this was discontinued in 1924 and the original flavor was the only version available for the next several decades.
The modern Oreo cookie filling was developed by Nabisco's principal food scientist, Sam Porcello, who retired from Nabisco in 1993. Porcello held five patents directly related to his work on the Oreo; he also created a range of Oreo cookies that were covered in dark chocolate and white chocolate. In the early 1990s, health concerns prompted Nabisco to replace the lard in the crème filling with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. This also made it possible for the bakery to become kosher-certified, a lengthy and expensive process for Nabisco. Similarly, Oreo cookies are popular with people that have certain dietary restrictions, such as Veganism, as the crème filling does not use any animal products. However, there is still a risk of cross-contamination from other dairy-containing products made in the same production areas; in the FAQ section of the Oreo website, on the question of whether Oreo cookies are suitable for vegans, the response is "Many Oreo products are suitable for vegans but may include cross-contaminants of milk, so please check allergen advice."
In June 2012, Oreo posted an advertisement displaying an Oreo cookie with rainbow-colored crème to celebrate LGBT Pride month; the cookie itself was fictional and was not being manufactured or made available for sale. The advertisement prompted some negative comments from conservatives, but Kraft stood by their promotion, stating that "Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values." This was followed during 2012 by a series of adverts commemorating other holidays and events, including a blue, white, and red crème Oreo to honor Bastille Day, a stream of cookie crumbs marking the appearance of the Delta Aquariids meteor shower, and a cookie with a jagged bite taken out of it to promote Shark Week on Discovery Channel.
When the power went out during Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, the Oreo marketing team tweeted "you can still dunk in the dark" from its social media command center; this was retweeted almost 15,000 times and increased Oreo's count of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram followers. One commentator remarked that this "solidified the viability and necessity of real-time marketing".
According to an April 2022 research report published in the journal Physics of Fluids, it was proven impossible to split the cream filling of an Oreo cookie down the middle. The filling always adheres to one side of the wafer, no matter how quickly the cookie is twisted.
Oreos were first introduced into Britain through the supermarket chain Sainsbury's. For several years, this was the only supermarket chain in the UK to stock the Oreo until May 2008, when Kraft decided to fully launch the Oreo across the whole of the UK. Its packaging was redesigned into the more familiar British tube design, accompanied by a £4.5M television advertising campaign based around the "twist, lick, dunk" catchphrase. In a 2020 national poll the Oreo was ranked the 16th most popular biscuit in the UK, with McVitie's chocolate digestive topping the list.
In the UK, Kraft partnered with McDonald's to introduce the Oreo McFlurry (which was already on sale in several other countries, including the US) into McDonald's locations across the country during its annual Great Tastes of America promotions; in October 2015, the Oreo McFlurry then became a permanent menu item at McDonald's in the UK. An Oreo-flavored "Krushem" drink was also on sale in KFC stores across Britain.
The ingredients of the British Oreo (as listed on the UK Oreo website) are slightly different from those of the US Oreo. Unlike the US version, the British Oreo originally contained whey powder, which was not suitable for people with lactose intolerance. Additionally, as the whey powder was sourced from cheese made with Rennet, the British version was also unsuitable for vegetarians. On December 6, 2011, Kraft announced that production of Oreo was to start in the UK with their Cadbury Trebor Bassett factory in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, being selected to manufacture Oreo in Britain for the first time. Production began there in May 2013.
Oreo cookies were introduced onto the Indian market by Cadbury India in 2011. In Pakistan, Oreo is manufactured and sold by Continental Biscuits Limited under the LU brand. In Japan, Oreo and other Nabisco products were produced by Yamazaki Baking until Mondelez terminated their licensing deal in favor of moving production to China. A year later, Yamazaki introduced their version of Oreo called "Noir", which is produced at the former Oreo factory in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Special edition Double Stuf Oreo cookies are produced during springtime, and around Halloween and Christmas. These have colored frosting reflecting the current holiday: blue or yellow for springtime; orange for Halloween; and red or green for the Christmas holiday. One side of each seasonal cookie is stamped with an appropriate design; the spring cookies feature flowers, butterflies, etc., while the Halloween editions feature a jack o'lantern, ghost, cat, flock of bats, or broom-riding witch. The 2017 Halloween Oreo broke with this tradition, having orange-colored crème filling (albeit with classic vanilla flavor) but carrying no seasonal designs.
In some countries, Oreos come in a variety of flavors that are not familiar to the U.S. market. For example, Green Tea Oreos are only available in China and Japan, while Lemon Ice Oreos were only ever introduced in Japan or Blueberry Ice Cream available in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Additionally, there are alfajor Oreo cookies available in Argentina, composed of three Oreo cookies with vanilla filling between each, and covered in chocolate.
Limited-edition runs usually feature a crème filling that has been flavored to replicate the taste of a specific fruit or dessert, from familiar flavors such as lemon or Mentha, to the more specific and unusual flavors of blueberry pie or red velvet cake. They may also incorporate different varieties of cookie wafer, for example Cinnamon-Bun Oreos featured cinnamon-flavored wafers and "frosting-flavored crème". In recent years, some limited editions have paired Oreos with other recognizable confectionery brands, including Reese's, Swedish Fish, and Peeps.
Oreo's six-person team in charge of special flavors is extremely secretive; the company will not disclose even the group's name. The limited-edition flavors largely serve as advertising for Oreo's regular varieties.
+List of limited edition Oreo flavors !Name !Release !Description | ||
Birthday Cake | February 2012 – July 2012 | Created to celebrate Oreo's 100th birthday. Made up of two chocolate Oreo cookie wafers with a birthday cake–flavored crème filling and sprinkles inside. On one of the two wafers, the traditional design was replaced with a birthday candle and the words "OREO 100". The birthday cake flavor has since been reintroduced, with a "double stuf" amount of crème filling, in both chocolate and golden Oreo varieties, except that the cookies no longer display the "OREO 100" print. Now permanently available. |
Lemon Twist | 2012–2013 | A golden Oreo with a lemon-flavored crème filling. |
Watermelon | Summer 2013 | A golden Oreo with watermelon-flavored crème filling. Largely unsuccessful. |
Strawberries n' Cream | 2013 | A golden Oreo with a crème filling consisting of two halves, one strawberry-flavored and one similar to traditional Oreo crème. |
Fruit Punch | 2014 | A golden Oreo with fruit punch-flavored crème. |
Cookie Dough | March 2014 | A chocolate Oreo with cookie dough–flavored crème filling. |
Root Beer Float | July 2014 | A golden Oreo filled with root beer–flavored crème. |
Pumpkin Spice | September 2014 | A golden Oreo with pumpkin spice–flavored crème filling. |
Red Velvet | February 2015 | First released in February 2015, and since reintroduced. Two red Oreo cookie wafers with cream cheese-flavored crème filling. Designed to emulate the popular red velvet cake. Also available in Indonesia. |
Key Lime Pie | July 2015 | Two Graham flour-flavored Oreo cookie wafers filled with key lime-flavored crème filling. |
Cinnamon Bun | January 2016 | Two cinnamon-flavored cookie wafers filled with frosting-flavored crème filling. Designed to emulate a Cinnamon roll. |
S'mores | Summer 2016 | Two graham-flavored cookie wafers with a double layer of crème filling, one layer chocolate-flavored and one layer marshmallow-flavored. Inspired by the traditional campfire snack. |
Fruity Crisp | June 2016 | A golden Oreo with a fruity and colorful rice crisp crème filling, similar to Fruity Pebbles. |
Blueberry Pie | June 2016; 2017 | Two graham-flavored cookie wafers with a blueberry-flavored crème filling. |
Swedish Fish | August 2016 | A chocolate Oreo with a red crème filling, flavored to resemble the red-colored Swedish Fish candy. Originally released exclusively through Kroger stores in the United States. |
Peeps | February 2017; February 2018 | Originally released for Easter 2017. A golden Oreo filled with pink "marshmallow Peeps"–flavored crème. Second version, released in February 2018, made with Peeps-embossed chocolate Oreo cookie wafers and purple "marshmallow Peeps"–flavored crème filling. |
Waffle and Syrup | May 2017 | A golden Oreo with a ring of vanilla crème filling and a blob of maple syrup–flavored crème in the center. Exclusive to Albertsons stores in the United States. |
Chocolate Hazelnut | January 2018 | A golden Oreo with a "Nutella-like"-flavored crème filling. Released January 1, 2018. |
Salted Caramel | 2018 | A golden Oreo with a salted caramel flavor crème filling. |
Firework | Two classic Oreo cookie wafers with Pop Rocks candy within the crème. Released around the Fourth of July in the United States. | |
Peppermint Bark | October 2018 | Two classic Oreo cookie wafers with "double stuf" amount of peppermint-flavored crème with red sugar crystals. |
Easter Egg | January 2019 | A chocolate Oreo in an oval shape to resemble an egg, with purple-colored crème filling and four Easter-related designs on the wafer: a bunny in a basket, a baby chick wearing bunny ears, and spots and stripes to resemble the painting of an Easter egg. |
Chocolate Marshmallow | January 2020 | Includes marshmallow pieces in the cookie wafers and chocolate marshmallow crème filling. |
Caramel Coconut | January 2020 | Caramel crème filling with coconut flavor and coconut pieces. |
Supreme | March 2020 | Double-stuf Oreos branded by Supreme. |
Oreo Thing Prints | 1996 | Two classic Oreo cookie wafers with the top wafer displaying one of ten designs featuring the Nabisco Thing, the company mascot from 1995 to 2000. |
Lady Gaga | January 2020 | Salmon-colored cookie wafers with malachite-green filling; same flavor as a golden Oreo. Released to promote Lady Gaga's album Chromatica (2020). |
Strawberry Frosted Donut | March 2021 | A golden Oreo with two layers of crème filling, made up of one layer of glittery pink strawberry-flavored crème and one layer of donut-flavored crème. |
Hot Chicken Wing | Exclusive to China. | |
Wasabi | Exclusive to China. | |
Crispy Tiramisù | ||
Carrot Cake | ||
Jelly Donut | ||
Mississippi Mud Pie | ||
Piña Colada | Oreo Thins. | |
Banana Split | ||
Peanut Butter and Jelly | ||
Mystery | Churro-flavored. | |
Team USA | 2020 | A chocolate Oreo with three layers ("Triple-Stuf") of filling, colored red, white, and blue. Released to promote the United States Olympic Team. |
Mint | ||
Reese's | 2014 | |
The Most Stuf | 2019 | Regular Oreos with four times the amount of crème filling. |
Triple Double Chocolate Mint | A chocolate Oreo with chocolate and mint crème filling. | |
Android | Green crème filling. Promotional flavor with Google. | |
Coconut Delight | Regular Oreos with coconut crème filling. Exclusive to Indonesia. | |
Strawberry Milkshake | Strawberry crème filling. First introduced in Canada; later released in the United States. | |
Strawberry | Available in Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. | |
Green Tea | Available in China and Japan. | |
Lemon Ice | Exclusive to Japan. | |
Orange Ice Cream | 2011 | Available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. |
Oreo DQ Blizzard Creme | April 2010 | Promoted the 25th anniversary of the Dairy Queen Blizzard. |
Oreo Trio Chocolate | Exclusive to Mexico. | |
Oreo Pokémon | 2021 (US) 2024 (Asia) | Promotion for the Pokémon franchise. One side of the wafer has one of sixteen Pokémon, including Pikachu and the rare Mew. Introduced in 2021 in the United States and 2024 in Asia. |
Oreo Batman | 2022 | Promotion for 2022 film The Batman. Has a Batman face on the wafer. Available in Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. |
Oreo Blackpink | 2022–2023 | Pink-colored cookie wafers with dark chocolate crème filling. A special package is available with an exclusive photo card. Promotion for the Korean girl group Blackpink. First available in Indonesia; later in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and South Korea. |
The Most Oreo Oreo | 2023 | Crème filling contains small bits of Oreo cookie wafer. |
Oreo Cajeta Coronado | May 2024 | Exclusive to Mexico. |
Oreo Coca-Cola | September 9, 2024 | Part of a campaign with Coca-Cola, which made its own Oreo-flavored Coca-Cola product to match. |
Post Malone Oreo Cookies | January 2025 |
In 2021, the chair of the Lamar County Democrats, Gary O'Connor, compared South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the only African-American Republican in the United States Senate, to an Oreo after Scott gave the Republican response to Joe Biden's joint address to Congress. Amid fierce criticism, O'Connor apologized for his remarks and offered his resignation. However, the Lamar County Democrats chose not to accept his resignation and O'Connor wrote a public letter of apology for his remarks.
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