Mini Oreos: largest launch in Oreo history
Mini Oreo brand cookies are being rolled out and into retail stores by Nabisco Biscuit Co. Archie Mack, business director for the Oreo brand said the company plans to produce 25 million pounds of the product and that the Mini Oreo is the largest product launch in the history of the brand.
Stores began getting the product on Monday, Aug. 14 in an 8-oz resealable bag selling for a suggested price of $2.39. Single serve pouches and vendor packs will also be available. The cookies, are about the size, in U.S. coinage, of a quarter dollar. Mini Oreo is the first "permanent" cookie to be launched in the Oreo brand stable in six years, when the the Reduced Fat line was introduced.
The mini version of Oreos, which Nabisco calls the "world's best selling cookie," contains 15.6 calories per cookie, while the original recipe has 53.3 calories. The Oreo brand accounted for about $550 million in sales in 1999.
A "guess how many cookies in the Dodge Caravan?" minivan giveaway contest. The cookies were loaded into the vehicle by a dump truck.
Other Oreo launches include:
• A limited edition Magic Dunkers Oreo that created swirls of blue when dunked in milk. It was introduced in April. Approximately nine million pounds of product sold out in six weeks.
• Double Stuf Oreo, which contains twice the crème filling, was introduced in 1975.
• The original Oreo was launched in 1912 and has become the world's top-selling cookie, according to Nabisco.
• Nabisco also makes mini Chips Ahoy and Nutter Butter Bites and Ritz Bits sandwich snacks.
About Nabisco and its divestiture
Nabisco Biscuit is the U.S. cookie and cracker business of Nabisco Holdings Corp., which posted $3.64 billion in 1999 sales. On June 25, Parsippany, NJ-based Nabisco Group Holdings (NYSE: NGH) announced definitive agreements for the sale of Nabisco Holdings (NYSE: NA) to Philip Morris Companies (NYSE: MO) for $55 per share and the separate sale of Nabisco Group Holdings to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (NYSE: RJR) for $30 per share.
Philip Morris will acquire by merger all the outstanding shares of Nabisco Holdings (NA), including NGH's 80.6% interest in NA. Based on the total number of NA shares - held by NGH and publicly traded - the transaction has a total equity value of approximately $14.9 billion and a total enterprise value of $18.9 billion.
Upon completion of the sale of NA to Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco will acquire by merger all the outstanding NGH shares. Based on the total number of the NGH shares, the transaction has a total equity value of approximately $9.8 billion. Both transactions are expected to close during the second half of this year.
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Edited by Bob Sperber