The Economics Of Oreos

February 6, 2015 in Daily Bulletin

Oreos are popular. Svati Kirsten Narula looked at just how popular:

  • $3.28 billion worth of Oreos were sold in 2014. This is triple the amount made by the next highest selling cookie in the world.
  • Their popularity is in part due to the cookie’s versatility. Deep fried Oreos are now fairly common at state fairs, and sports stadiums are experimenting with Oreo churros.
  • There are a myriad ways of eating them too – from twisting them apart, to dipping them in milk, to licking the cream off.
  • The company behind them has a smart social media strategy. There are more people who like Oreos on Facebook than there are people who like Starbucks.
  • Its makers dares to experiment. You can get Red Velvet Oreos, white fudge ones, peanut butter cup ones, cool mint ones, and even root beer ones.
  • They also tailor to local tastes. In China you can get green tea Oreos and in Mexico there is a “Trio Chocolate” version that has the standard crème filling, and then different creams lining each of the cookies.

See some charts that show just how completely Oreo dominates the cookie category, how it’s growth has climbed over time, and read more details here.

Source: Quartz