96: Snack Attack: Oreo vs. Hydrox

About this episode

This episode explores the history and rivalry between the Hydrox and Oreo cookies.

Prepare for battle – a cookie battle, that is! Back in the early 1900s, two brothers invented a game changing cookie. It consisted of two crisp chocolate wafers, stuck together with a vanilla cream filling. It was delicious! It was fancy! They called it… Hydrox. Years later, Nabisco created their own knockoff version of Hydrox. They called it the Oreo. For decades, Hydrox was the undisputed king of chocolate sandwich cookies. But in time, the tables turned. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Business 2.0. “Oreos to Hydrox: Resistance Is Futile.” February 20, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020220054213/http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,4537,FF.html . Cahn, William. Out of the Cracker Barrel: The Nabisco Story From Animal Crackers to Zuzus . Simon & Schuster, 1969. CBC Radio. “The Best-Selling Cookie in the World Is a Copycat Brand.” January 11, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/the-best-selling-cookie-in-the-world-is-a-copycat-brand-1.7080582 . CBS, dir. Hydrox Cookies Turn 100 . 2008. 03:16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbFiS-1fhiM . Chenab Gourmet. “Crackers Through the Ages.” November…

People in this episode

Host: Norm

Topics covered

• cookie history
• Oreo vs Hydrox
• snack food
• food industry
• true crime

Keywords

• cookie battle
• Hydrox
• Oreo
• Nabisco
• snack history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nabisco, Business 2.0, CBC Radio, CBS, Chenab Gourmet, Jewish Action

Products: Oreo, Hydrox

Books & works: Out of the Cracker Barrel: The Nabisco Story From Animal Crackers to Zuzus

Places: Elmwood Cemetery

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