The World's Most Beloved Cookie Actually Got Its Start As A Knockoff
NEWS
BY ASPEN OBLEWSKI
The Oreo cookies we all know and love have a dark secret: they’re a copycat of their predecessor, Hydrox cookies, which were launched in 1908 by Jacob Loose.
Loose was a baker alongside his brother Joseph, and the two ran a bakery together but had a falling out when Joseph merged their company with rival bakeries despite Jacob's wishes.
These merged companies would become Nabisco. Jacob later created the iconic Hydrox cookie, and Nabisco responded 4 years later with a cheaper, nearly identical cookie called Oreo.
At first, the country was loyal to Hydrox — but Oreo has since become the most popular cookie in the world thanks to Nabisco spending millions of dollars to market the treat.
Hydrox cookies were discontinued in 2003, but in 2015, Leaf Brands began selling the treat under its original name and accusing Oreo of sabotaging Hydrox, the original cookie.
