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Kellogg’s is bringing back the original Hydrox cookie to celebrate their 100th anniversary this year; a felicitous event indeed for the cult of Hydrox fans who have been craving the crème filled confection since their disappearance from shelves in 2003.
Although some people may remember Hydrox cookies as ‘imitation Oreos’, they were actually the first to market, debuting in 1908 by what would later become Sunshine Biscuits. It wasn’t until 1912 when the National Biscuit Co. (later called Nabisco) entered the crème-filled cookie market with Oreos, and the battle began.
The two brands competed head to head for many years, and much like the choice between a pc or a mac, sneakers or sandals, regular or light beer, your cookie preference was not just about taste, it was about who you were.
But the rivalry could not last forever, and the Hydrox brand dwindled in the 1990s. Perhaps Nabisco’s larger marketing budget was simply too powerful. The Hydrox name, designed to evoke purity through its combination of the elements hydrogen and oxygen, also sounded more like a pharmaceutical than a cookie. And in 1991 the Sunshine brainchild, a puffy vanilla crème mascot named Drox, drew a lawsuit where Pillsbury successfully argued that Drox resembled their dough boy.
No matter what the reason was for the brand’s downfall, you’ll be hard pressed to find a Hydrox fan that isn’t ecstatic over the brand’s return, however short-lived. For many, biting into the crisp chocolate cookie and the tart vanilla crème once again will be a chance to return to a place, and a time, and a taste that may have been long ago, but that was never quite forgotten.
Contributed by: Maghan Cook