The World's Most Beloved Cookie Actually Started As A Knockoff

We love Oreo cookies! This dessert, boasting so many delicious flavors and sizes, has become a staple in so many packed lunches across the world. But our favorite classic cookie that we have all come to know and love actually has a dark secret: It's a copycat! Its predecessor, Hydrox cookies, were launched in 1908 by Jacob Loose. He was a baker alongside his brother Joseph, and the two ran a bakery together in Kansas City, Missouri. The brothers' bakery was extremely successful, but the two had a falling out when Joseph merged their company with rival bakeries despite Jacob's wishes. (These merged companies would become the National Biscuit Company, or "Nabisco.") Jacob would eventually return to the baking scene and open the Sunshine Bakery, where the iconic Hydrox cookie was born. The cookie was assembled with two chocolate wafers and a delicious vanilla center, and the country loved it.

However, Joseph was not going down without a fight. Four years later, Nabisco released a nearly identical cookie under the name Oreo and sold it at a cheaper price. However, the country was loyal to Hydrox, even if Nabisco was a bigger company. But after the Loose brothers died in the 1920s, Oreo has since become the most popular cookie in the world, beating out other popular brands like Chips Ahoy and Tate's Bake Shop. What happened?

Nabisco has since become a powerhouse of a company and found success with Oreo by putting millions of dollars into marketing the cookie and pushing the idea that it's the better cookie compared to Hydrox. The price of the cookie was raised in the 1950s, solidifying the company's premium cookie narrative. Unfortunately for Hydrox, Nabisco's clever marketing strategies and funding have caused the original cookie to be viewed as the imposter.

Hydrox cookies were discontinued in 2003 and were kept alive only by its memory until 2015, when Leaf Brands decided to not only begin selling the cookie under its original name but also accusing Oreo of sabotaging Hydrox on grocery store shelves due to the duo's shady, competitive background. Despite the fact that online critics claim that the current Hydrox cookie is actually just a knock-off of current Oreo cookies, there is no denying that the chemically-named cookie was the original cookies and cream treat.