If you are a 90’s kid, you probably remember the good old days when you could munch on Oreo O’s for every breakfast. It is quite impossible to forget the heavenly combination of black Oreo rings and mini dried white marshmallows.
Because Oreo O’s was a huge hit, globally, people all over the world must have been disappointed when they were discontinued. However, South Korea is still producing this morning bite. How did this happen, and where did the rest of the world fall short?
This Is What Went Down
As you may know, Oreo is a famous product manufactured by the Kraft Foods Group. The idea of Oreo cereal came along since Post Foods could use this famous cookie recipe when they were owned by the Kraft at the time. In 2007, Post and Kraft became separate, and Kraft gave up the cereal unit to the Ralcorp Holdings, a private food manufacturing company. This relinquishing led to the discontinuing of Oreo O’s. Kraft lost the ability to produce cereals and Post lost the right to make Oreo-related products. Woop, there it is.
While everyone in the world was mourning the loss of Oreo O’s, people in the South Korea were chillin’. In Korea, Oreo O’s is manufactured by Dongsuh Foods, which was established by the joint venture of Dongsuh Companies Inc. and General Foods Corporation, (which merged with Kraft in 1988). Later, as Dongsuh Foods expanded its business to the cereal industry, they acquired a license from Post. The history of Dongsuh Foods makes them the only company in the world that is eligible to use both Kraft and Post recipes for Oreos and cereals.
Dongsuh Food’s Oreo O’s was recalled and discontinued in 2014 because of E. coli issues, but now it’s back. It’s also, apparently, extremely hard to find the cereal because the demand for it is so high. Currently, Oreo O’s is available for purchase for $8 in South Korea and $22 on eBay, which is quite expensive for cereals.
So, I guess the question becomes, how badly are you craving this taste of nostalgia? If it’s $22 worth of nostalgia (or a trip to South Korea) — you might just be in luck.