Food - Drink
The Failure Of Oreo's First Non-Chocolate Flavor
By BRIANNA CORLEY
Nabisco reportedly sells over 30 billion Oreos annually, and as of October 2022, consumers have 85 different versions of these iconic sandwich cookies to choose from. Given that Oreos are so successful, you may not know that Nabisco's first ever non-chocolate Oreo flavor, released in the 1920's, was a total failure.
The Oreo, which hit the market in 1912, found quick success and soon prevailed over Hydrox-brand cookies, the original chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookie. However, when Nabisco kept riding the Oreo wave and decided to debut a new flavor — lemon — consumers of the 1920's had a very lukewarm reaction.
The original lemon Oreos were swept off shelves after just a few years, but America's tastes have changed, resulting in the huge selection of Oreos in stores today, including a new and improved lemon flavor. Since Nabisco began churning out novelty Oreos in the mid-2010's, sales of the original Oreo have nearly doubled.
