Product type | Sandwich cookie |
---|---|
Owner | Leaf Brands (2014–present) |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1908 |
Related brands | Leaf Brands |
Previous owners |
|
Website | leafbrands.com |
Hydrox is a creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie currently owned and manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in the United States in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. [1] Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, three years after Sunshine was acquired by Keebler, which was later acquired by Kellogg's which in turn sold the cookie line and the rights to the Keebler name to Ferrero SpA. [2] In September 2015, the product was reintroduced by Leaf Brands.
Oreo was created in 1912 as an imitation of Hydrox. Oreo eventually surpassed Hydrox in popularity, which resulted in the Hydrox cookies being perceived by many as an imitation of Oreo, despite the opposite being the case. [3] Compared to Oreos, Hydrox cookies have a less sweet filling and a crunchier cookie shell that is less soggy when dipped in milk. [4]
In 1908, the cookie's creation was inspired by "purity and goodness", with a name derived from the hydrogen and oxygen elements within the water molecule. [3] [5]
Sunshine Biscuits was purchased by Keebler in 1996, and in 1999, Keebler replaced Hydrox with a similar but reformulated product called "Droxies". [3] Keebler was acquired by Kellogg's in 2001, and Kellogg's removed Droxies from the market in 2003. [1] Kellogg's then marketed a similar chocolate sandwich cookie under the Famous Amos brand, along with sandwich cookies of other flavors, but also discontinued the line. [4]
On the cookie's 100th anniversary, Kellogg's resumed distribution of Hydrox under the Sunshine label in late August 2008 in direct response to 1,300 phone calls from fans as well as an online petition with 1,000 signatures, a Hydrox fan website with the essay "Nonconformists don't eat Oreos", and dozens of forum posts, asking that production resume. The cookies were available nationally for a limited time, and less than one year later Kellogg's removed Hydrox from their web site. [5]
The Carvel ice cream franchise sold ice-cream goods manufactured with Hydrox cookie crumbs until 2012. Carvel used the cookie's all-kosher status as a selling point, because the original Oreo recipe used lard. [4] The cookies were not specifically mentioned by name on the Carvel website, but they were identified as "hydrox" [sic] on the in-store posters. Carvel currently uses Oreo cookies in its ice cream goods.
In 2014, Leaf Brands registered the "Hydrox" trademark, which had been abandoned by former owner Kellogg's. [6] Leaf began production of its version of Hydrox on September 4, 2015, at the company’s facility in Vernon, California. [7] In 2017, the recipe was changed to remove artificial flavors that had been used for 50 years [8] and the company obtained non-GMO certification. [9]
Leaf Brands filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission in 2018 against Mondelez International, maker of Oreo cookies, for hiding Hydrox cookies from customers on store shelves. [10] [11] [12]
A cookie or biscuit is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts.
Oreo is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet fondant filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers, and splits, both Nabisco and the Oreo brand have been owned by Mondelez International since 2012. Oreo cookies are available in over one hundred countries. Many varieties of Oreo cookies have been produced, and limited-edition runs have become popular in the 21st century.
The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It, Chips Deluxe, Club Crackers, E.L. Fudge Cookies, Famous Amos, Fudge Shoppe Cookies, Murray cookies, Austin, Plantation, Vienna Fingers, Town House Crackers, Wheatables, Sandie's Shortbread, Pizzarias Pizza Chips, Chachos and Zesta Crackers, among others. Keebler slogans have included "Uncommonly Good" and "a little elfin magic goes a long way". Tom Shutter and Leo Burnett wrote the familiar jingle.
Ferrero International SpA, more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world. Ferrero SpA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms".
Butterfinger is a candy bar manufactured by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. It consists of a layered crisp peanut butter core covered in a "chocolatey" coating. It was invented by Otto Schnering of the Curtiss Candy Company in 1923. A popularity contest chose the name.
Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-It, was purchased by Keebler Company in 1996, which was purchased by Kellogg Company in 2001. Around then, Sunshine Biscuits was headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Keebler was located until 2001.
An animal cracker is a particular type of cracker, baked in the shape of an animal, usually an animal either at a zoo or a circus, such as a lion, a tiger, a bear, or an elephant. The most common variety is light-colored and slightly sweet, but darker chocolate-flavored and colorful frosted varieties are also sold. Although animal crackers tend to be sweet in flavor like cookies, they are made with a layered dough like crackers and are marketed as crackers and not cookies.
Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.
Famous Amos is a brand of cookies founded in Los Angeles in 1975 by Wally Amos.
Arnott's Group is an Australian producer of biscuits and snack food. Founded in 1865 by William Arnott, they are the largest producer of biscuits in Australia and a subsidiary of KKR.
Vienna Fingers is an American brand of cookie made by the Keebler Company, a division of Ferrero SpA. They consist of a sandwich of vanilla flavored outer crust filled with vanilla cream flavored filling. Akin to an Oreo, the surface is textured and embossed with the product name, but Vienna Fingers have a round-ended 'finger' shape. They come in a red and yellow accented rectangular package with the words "Vienna Fingers" in white lettering. Nabisco's Cameo is similar.
E.L. Fudge is an American snack food introduced in 1986 and manufactured by the Keebler Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero SpA. They are butter-flavored shortbread sandwich cookies with a fudge creme filling. The company describes their shape as "elfin", though it is actually various Keebler elves, each identified with a name tag.
Club Crackers are crackers made by the Kellogg Company. They are somewhat similar in resemblance to saltines, but are rectangular and have 18 holes in a 3x6 pattern instead of the 13 holes in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern that are on a saltine. Also, their short edges are even, not perforated. A square variant used in Club & Cheddar sandwich crackers retains the saltine shape and hole pattern. They have a buttery flavor and a large amount of fat, 3g per serving, or 84g per 13.7 oz box not found in regular saltines. The crackers contain 70 calories per serving with four total crackers in one serving. Originally branded as a product of Keebler, it became a product of Kellogg's after the mega American manufacturer acquired the brand in 2001, before subsequently selling the Keebler cookie lineup as well as rights to the Keebler brand name in 2019.
Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.
Murray Sugar Free Cookies, also known as the Murray Biscuit Company, is a commercial bakery in Augusta, Georgia, United States, that produces calorie-reduced biscuits. The company is part of the Ferrero Group, an Italian company best known for its Nutella hazelnut spread, and operates as a division of Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. It was founded by John L. Murray, a salesperson who accepted a cookie machine as payment for a $500 debt.
A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie made from two thin cookies or medium cookies with a filling between them. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, lemon curd, or ice cream.
Domino is a brand of cookies manufactured by the Finnish food company Fazer. Domino cookies consist of three layers, of which the upper and lower layer are made from cocoa-flavoured biscuit and the middle one is a soft vanilla-flavoured creme filling.
Negresco is a Brazilian sandwich cookie brand created by Nestlé, originally being sold by its now defunct subsidiary Biscoitos São Luiz in 1987. The product was created as a competitor to the Oreo brand, consisting of two chocolate biscuits with a filling usually in vanilla flavor. After the end of São Luiz in 2002, the cookies began to be sold under the Nestlé label. It came onto the Brazilian market and is still only sold there as Biscoitos Recheados and Biscoitos Wafer.
Leaf Brands L.L.C. officially relaunched Hydrox cookies on Sept. 4 with the onset of production at the company's facility in Vernon, Calif.