Oreo (/ˈɔːrioʊ/^ⓘ; stylized in all caps) is an American brand ofsandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits with a sweetfondant^[3] filling. Oreos were introduced in 1912 byNabisco,^[4] and the brand has been owned byMondelez International since itsacquisition of Nabisco in 2012.^[5] Oreo cookies are available in more than 100 countries.^[2] Many varieties of Oreo cookies have been produced, and limited-edition runs have become popular in the 21st century.

Oreo

Two Oreo cookies
Product type	Sandwich cookie
Owner	Mondelez International[a]
Produced by	Mondelez International Nabisco Cadbury Continental Biscuits Limited
Country	United States
Introduced	March 6, 1912; 113 years ago (1912-03-06)[2]
Markets	Worldwide
Tagline	"Wonderfilled" "Milk's favorite cookie" "Only Oreo" "Stay Playful"
Website	www.oreo.com

Oreos are an imitation of theHydrox chocolate cream-centered cookie introduced in 1908, but it outstripped Hydrox in popularity so largely that many believe Hydrox is an imitation of Oreo. Oreo has been the highest-selling cookie brand in the world since 2014.^[6]

The origin of the name "Oreo" is obscure, but there are many hypotheses, including derivations from the French wordor, meaning "gold" (the original tin was gold-colored^[7]); the Greek wordὄρος (oros), meaning "mountain" (the cookie was originally conceived to be dome-shaped^[7][8]); or theGreek wordωραίο (oreo) meaning "nice" or "attractive".^[9] Others believe that the cookie was named Oreo simply because the name was short and easy to pronounce.^[10] Another theory, proposed by the food writerStella Parks, is that the name derives from the GreekOreodaphne, a genus of thelaurel family, originating from the Greek words 'oreo' (ωραίο) meaning 'beautiful' and 'daphne' (δάφνη) referring to the laurel. She observes that the original design of the Oreo includes a laurel wreath, and the names of several of Nabisco's cookies at the time of the original Oreo had botanical derivations, includingAvena,Lotus, and Helicon (fromHeliconia).^[11][12]

The "Oreo Biscuit" was first developed and produced by the National Biscuit Company (today known asNabisco) in 1912^[4][13][14] at itsChelsea,New York City factory in the present-dayChelsea Market complex, located onNinth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets.^[15] In 2002, this same block ofNinth Avenue was ceremoniously named as "Oreo Way".^[4][15] The name Oreo was trademarked on March 14, 1912.^[16] It was launched as an imitation of the originalHydrox cookie manufactured bySunshine company, which was introduced in 1908.^[17]

The original design on the face of the Oreo featured a wreath around the edge of the cookie and the name "OREO" in the center.^[18] In the United States, they were sold for$0.25 (equivalent to $8.15 in 2024) a pound (454 g) in novelty metal canisters with clear glass tops. The first Oreo was sold on March 6, 1912, to a grocer inHoboken, New Jersey.^[19]

The Oreo Biscuit was renamed in 1921 to "Oreo Sandwich";^[9] in 1948, the name was changed to "Oreo Crème Sandwich"; and in 1974 it became the "Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie",^[9] the name that has remained to this day. A new design for the face of the cookie was launched in 1924;^[18] the modern-day Oreo design was developed in 1952 by William A. Turnier,^[20] incorporating the Nabisco logo. In 1920, a second lemon crème-filled variety of the Oreo was introduced, as an alternative to the white crème-filled variety, but this was discontinued in 1924^[18] and the original flavor was the only version available for the next several decades.^[21]

The modern Oreo cookie filling was developed by Nabisco's principalfood scientist,Sam Porcello,^[15][22] who retired from Nabisco in 1993.^[15] Porcello held five patents directly related to his work on the Oreo;^[22] he also created a range of Oreo cookies that were covered indark chocolate andwhite chocolate.^[15][22] In the early 1990s, health concerns prompted Nabisco to replace thelard in the crème filling withpartially hydrogenated vegetable oil.^[23] This also made it possible for the bakery to become kosher-certified, a lengthy and expensive process for Nabisco.^[24] Similarly, Oreo cookies are popular with people that have certain dietary restrictions, such asvegans, as the crème filling does not use any animal products.^[25] However, there is still a risk of cross-contamination from other dairy-containing products made in the same production areas; in the FAQ section of the Oreo website, on the question of whether Oreo cookies are suitable for vegans, the response is "Many Oreo products are suitable for vegans but may include cross-contaminants of milk, so please check allergen advice."^[26]

In January 2006, Nabisco and its parent (at the time) Kraft Foods eliminated thetrans fat in the Oreo cookie and replaced it with non-hydrogenated vegetable oil as one of the main ingredients for Oreo cookies in general.^[23][27][28]

In June 2012, Oreo posted an advertisement displaying an Oreo cookie with rainbow-colored crème to celebrateLGBT Pride month;^[29] the cookie itself was fictional and was not being manufactured or made available for sale. The advertisement prompted some negative comments fromconservatives, but Kraft stood by their promotion, stating that "Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values."^[30] This was followed during 2012 by a series of adverts commemorating other holidays and events, including a blue, white, and red crème Oreo to honorBastille Day, a stream of cookie crumbs marking the appearance of theDelta Aquariidsmeteor shower, and a cookie with a jagged bite taken out of it to promoteShark Week onDiscovery Channel.

When the power went out duringSuper Bowl XLVII in 2013, the Oreo marketing team tweeted "you can still dunk in the dark" from its social media command center; this was retweeted almost 15,000 times and increased Oreo's count of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram followers.^[31] One commentator remarked that this "solidified the viability and necessity of real-time marketing".^[32]

According to an April 2022 research report published in the journalPhysics of Fluids, it was proven impossible to split the cream filling of an Oreo cookie down the middle. The filling always adheres to one side of the wafer, no matter how quickly the cookie is twisted.^[33][34]

Oreo cookies are distributed worldwide through a variety of sales and marketing channels. As their popularity continues to grow, so too does the amount of distribution that comes with it. According to theKraft Foods company, the Oreo is the "World's Best Selling Cookie".^[35] In March 2012,Time magazine reported that Oreo cookies were available in more than 100 countries. Overall, it is estimated that since the Oreo cookie's inception in 1912, over 450 billion Oreos have been produced worldwide.^[19]

Oreos were first introduced into Britain through the supermarket chainSainsbury's. For several years, this was the only supermarket chain in the UK to stock the Oreo until May 2008, when Kraft decided to fully launch the Oreo across the whole of the UK. Its packaging was redesigned into the more familiar British tube design, accompanied by a£4.5M television advertising campaign based around the "twist, lick,dunk" catchphrase.^[36] In a 2020 national poll the Oreo was ranked the 16th most popular biscuit in the UK, withMcVitie'schocolate digestive topping the list.^[37]

In the UK, Kraft partnered withMcDonald's to introduce the OreoMcFlurry (which was already on sale in several other countries, including the US) into McDonald's locations across the country during its annualGreat Tastes of America promotions; in October 2015, the Oreo McFlurry then became a permanent menu item at McDonald's in the UK. An Oreo-flavored "Krushem" drink was also on sale inKFC stores across Britain.

The ingredients of the British Oreo (as listed on the UK Oreo website) are slightly different from those of the US Oreo. Unlike the US version, the British Oreo originally containedwhey powder, which was not suitable for people withlactose intolerance. Additionally, as the whey powder was sourced from cheese made withcalf rennet, the British version was also unsuitable forvegetarians.^[38] On December 6, 2011, Kraft announced that production of Oreo was to start in the UK with their Cadbury Trebor Bassett factory inSheffield, South Yorkshire, being selected to manufacture Oreo in Britain for the first time. Production began there in May 2013.^[39]

Oreo cookies were introduced onto the Indian market byCadbury India in 2011.^[40] In Pakistan, Oreo is manufactured and sold by Continental Biscuits Limited under theLU brand.^[41] In Japan, Oreo and other Nabisco products were produced byYamazaki Baking until Mondelez terminated their licensing deal in favor of moving production to China.^[42] A year later, Yamazaki introduced their version of Oreo called "Noir", which is produced at the former Oreo factory inIbaraki Prefecture.^[43]

By 2017, more than 40 billion Oreo cookies were being produced annually in 18 countries around the world.^[2] Oreo cookies for theAsian markets are manufactured in India,^[40] Indonesia, Bahrain, and China.^[42] Oreo cookies for theEuropean market are made inSpain and at the Cadbury factory in the UK;^[39] they are made inRussia (Mondelēz Rus) for consumers in severalCIS countries;^[44] and those sold inAustralia are manufactured in Indonesia, China or Bahrain, depending on the flavor. The version produced in Canada (sold under the Christie's brand) includedcoconut oil but as of 2023, the ingredient list included vegetable oil and modified palm oil, similar to the American cookies.^[45] Manufacture of Oreo biscuits began inPakistan in early 2014, in collaboration with Mondelez International of the United States and Continental Biscuits Limited (CBL) of Pakistan, at the CBL production plant inSukkur.^[41]

In 2015, Mondelez announced its decision to close some of its American factories andmove production toMexico, prompting theOreo boycott.^[46] In 2016, after production had started in Mexico, theAFL–CIO encouraged the boycott and published consumer guidance to help identify which Mondelez products were made in Mexico.^[47]

The ingredients of Oreo cookies have remained largely unchanged from the original, although numerous alternative varieties and flavors have emerged over time. Oreo cookies were made with lard until the mid-1990s, when Nabisco swapped the animal fat with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Then in the mid-2000s Nabisco eliminated the partially hydrogenated oil from the ingredients, due to growing health concerns.^[48] The classic Oreo cookie is made using eleven main ingredients:^[49]

1. Sugar
2. Unbleachedenriched flour (wheat flour,niacin,iron,thiamine mono-nitrate (vitamin B₁),riboflavin (vitamin B₂),folic acid)
3. High oleiccanola oil orpalm oil
4. Cocoa (treated with alkali)
5. High-fructose corn syrup
6. Leavening agent (baking soda ormonocalcium phosphate)
7. Corn starch
8. Salt
9. Soylecithin
10. Vanillin
11. Chocolate

In addition to their traditional design of two chocolate wafers separated by a crème filling, Oreo cookies have been produced in a multitude of different varieties since they were first introduced. This list is only a guide to some of the more notable and popular types; not all are available in every country. The main varieties in the United States are:

• Double Stuf Oreo – Introduced in 1974,^[50] this variety has about double the normal amount of crème filling as the original. Available with various flavors of crème filling: original, chocolate, peanut butter, cool mint, and birthday cake. In the UK these are calledDouble Creme Oreos and are only available in original flavor. TheGolden Double Stuf Oreo, featuring golden Oreo wafers with a double portion of original vanilla-flavored crème, was introduced in 2009.
• Football Oreo –Gridiron football-shaped Oreo cookies, introduced in 1976.^[51]
• Big Stuf Oreo – A short-lived variety of the Oreo cookie, introduced in 1987^[50] but discontinued in 1991, these were several times the size of a normal Oreo. Sold individually, eachBig Stuf contained 250 calories (1,000 kJ)^[52] and 13 grams of fat.
• Golden Oreo – Introduced in 2004,^[2] this has "golden" vanilla-flavored wafers on the outside of the cookie, as an alternative to the original chocolate-flavored wafers. Available with various flavors of crème filling including original, chocolate, lemon and birthday cake. The chocolate crème variety, being the reverse of the original cookie, was known as theUh-Oh Oreo until 2007.^[53]
• Oreo Mini – Introduced in 1991,^[54] these are miniature bite-sized versions of the original Oreo cookie. After being discontinued in the late 1990s, they were re-released in 2000 along with the redesigned 2001Dodge Caravan minivan as part of a promotional tie-in withDaimler AG.^[55] Their packaging in the 1990s consisted of a "miniaturized" version of the full-sized cardboard tray and box used in Oreo packaging at the time. Their revised packaging consists of an aluminum foil bag.^{[citation needed]}Oreo Minis are available with various flavors of crème filling including original, chocolate, strawberry, and the new mint flavor which debuted in 2015. As well as the bagged version, they are also sold in Nabisco To-Go Cups, lidded plastic cups which fit into car cup-holders.
• Oreo Cakesters – Introduced in 2007, Oreo Cakesters are Oreo's version of awhoopie pie, soft chocolate snack cakes with vanilla, chocolate or peanut butter creme in the middle. They were discontinued in 2012. They returned in 2022 after a petition was started to have them brought back. The same year, Nabisco announced that Cakesters would be making a return in 2022, including Oreo andNutter Butter varieties.
• Mega Stuf Oreo – Released in February 2013, theMega Stuf variety is similar toDouble Stuf, but with even more white crème filling. They come in both chocolate and golden wafer varieties.
• Oreo Thins – Introduced in July 2015, this is a thin version of the original Oreo cookie.Thins come in both chocolate and golden wafer varieties, with various crème flavors including chocolate, mint, lemon and tiramisu. Each cookie contains only 40 calories; they are 66% thinner than the original version.
• Chocolate Oreo – An Oreo cookie with chocolate crème filling.
• Mint Oreo – A variety of Oreo with two chocolate wafers separated by a mint-flavored crème filling.
• The Most Stuf – Introduced in January 2019, an initially limited edition Oreo with approximately four times the amount of crème filling of a standard Oreo. After two limited runs, it was quietly brought back as a permanent product in late 2020. While they were first offered in traditional Oreo packages and widely available when they were limited edition, the permanent version is only found in individual four-packs as well as 12 four-pack collections within convenience store settings.
• Gluten Free – Introduced in January 2021, available in both traditional and Double Stuf varieties^[56]

Special editionDouble Stuf Oreo cookies are produced during springtime, and aroundHalloween andChristmas. These have colored frosting reflecting the current holiday: blue or yellow for springtime; orange for Halloween; and red or green for the Christmas holiday. One side of each seasonal cookie is stamped with an appropriate design; the spring cookies feature flowers, butterflies, etc., while the Halloween editions feature a jack o'lantern, ghost, cat, flock of bats, or broom-riding witch. The 2017Halloween Oreo broke with this tradition, having orange-colored crème filling (albeit with classic vanilla flavor) but carrying no seasonal designs.

In some countries, Oreos come in a variety of flavors that are not familiar to the U.S. market. For example,Green Tea Oreos are only available in China and Japan, whileLemon Ice Oreos were only ever introduced in Japan orBlueberry Ice Cream available in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Additionally, there arealfajor Oreo cookies available in Argentina, composed of three Oreo cookies with vanilla filling between each, and covered in chocolate.

Beginning in the early 2010s, Nabisco began releasinglimited edition runs of cookies with more exotic flavors. These typically appear in stores for a short period only, before being discontinued, although some varieties have since resurfaced, for example: Reese's Oreos returned for a second limited run after they were first introduced for a limited period in 2014; and Birthday Cake Oreos, originally introduced in 2012, have since become permanently available.^[57] Some limited editions are only made available at certain retailers.^[58]

Limited-edition runs usually feature a crème filling that has been flavored to replicate the taste of a specific fruit or dessert, from familiar flavors such aslemon ormint, to the more specific and unusual flavors ofblueberry pie orred velvet cake. They may also incorporate different varieties of cookie wafer, for example Cinnamon-Bun Oreos featuredcinnamon-flavored wafers and "frosting-flavored crème". In recent years, some limited editions have paired Oreos with other recognizableconfectionery brands, includingReese's,Swedish Fish, andPeeps.

Oreo's six-person team in charge of special flavors is extremely secretive; the company will not disclose even the group's name. The limited-edition flavors largely serve as advertising for Oreo's regular varieties.^[59]

When the lights went out duringSuper Bowl XLVII in 2013, Oreo immediately parodied the event on social media with a "You Can Still Dunk in the Dark" post. The post earned 15,000 retweets and 20,000 Facebook likes in an hour.^[76]

Oreo Daily was a social media campaign celebrating Oreo's 100th birthday. Every day, from June 25 to October 2, Oreo posted ads of their cookies transformed into something new to celebrate national holidays, pop culture milestone, and key moments in American history. Using reinvented Oreo cookies, ads in the campaign honored theMars rover landing,Elvis week, the invention ofPac-Man, and the release ofThe Dark Knight in theaters.^[77]

In 2017, NBA playerShaquille O'Neal starred in an Oreo commercial to promote their #OreoDunkSweepstakes. In the ad, O'Neal can be seen performing an acrobatic slam dunk of an Oreo cookie into a glass of milk. Fans could show off their own dunking abilities for the chance to win prizes.^[78]

In October 2020,Nabisco announced on social media that it had created a small concrete bunker inSvalbard, Norway to preserve the Oreo recipe in the event that the2018 VP1 asteroid impacted the Earth on November 2 or 3, 2020.^[79][80][81]

Oreo cookies, due to their almost-black cookies and white filling, have often been used in popular culture as a metaphor for relations betweenAfrican Americans andWhite Americans.

The term "Oreo" has occasionally been used as aracial slur aimed at a person of mixed-race orAfrican-American heritage who is accused of trying toact white.^{[82][83][84][85]} The insult may be levied as an accusation that the person perpetuates the "un-level playing field for blacks", and is based on the implication that the person is like the cookie, "black on the outside and white on the inside".^[86] For example, the protagonist of the 1974 novel,Oreo, was nicknamed Oreo because of a mixedJewish-American and African-American heritage.^[87] Former American presidentBarack Obama, due to his biracial heritage, has been compared to an Oreo by political pundits and television personalities such asJohn McLaughlin andRush Limbaugh.^[88][89]

In 2021, the chair of theLamar CountyDemocrats, Gary O'Connor, compared South Carolina SenatorTim Scott, the only African-AmericanRepublican in theUnited States Senate, to an Oreo after Scott gave the Republican response toJoe Biden's joint address to Congress. Amid fierce criticism, O'Connor apologized for his remarks and offered his resignation,^[90] but the Lamar County Democrats chose not to accept his resignation and O'Connor wrote a public letter of apology for his remarks.^[91]

In the 1976 movie,A Star Is Born,Barbra Streisand's character Esther Hoffman is the white central member of The Oreos, a three-girl singing group, between black actressesVenetta Fields andClydie King.^[92]

• Cookies and cream
• Hydrox
• Domino (cookie)
• Mayoreo, a fake product based on the Heinz Saucy Sauces product line^[93]

• Official website
• Additional history notes on Oreo cookies