Event foods and drinks almost always come with premium pricing. A bottle of water might cost you $2 at a 7-Eleven. But the same one suddenly costs $6 at a carnival kiosk or $10 at a concert. And you’d figure that with such high prices, the folks preparing your treats would at least opt for non-bottom barrel ingredients.
But that turned out not to be the case for this California carnival attendee named Helin (@helin_rxo). While perusing the wares at a deep-fried Oreo stand, she peeped the packaging of the cookies being used.
It turns out they technically weren’t Oreos at all.
Instead, they were Walmart’s Great Value variant sandwich cremes, sold under the Twist & Shout moniker. “When you think you’re getting Oreos but it’s Great Value,” the text overlay read.
In a caption for her short post, she accused the kiosk owners of engaging in “fake advertisement” practices. And technically, she isn’t wrong.
Oreo Is A Registered Trademark
The beloved chocolate and creme biscuit cookies were first introduced to the market in 1912. Nabisco crafted the snack in response to Hydrox cookies, which were the first chocolate sandwich cremes released in America.
Many argue that Nabisco completely bit off of Hydrox’s entire vibe, and it’s difficult to argue they aren’t. The baroque little designs and elegant imprints on the cookies are almost entirely identical to Hydrox’s own aesthetic. But Nabisco’s play to copyright the Oreo name helped the cookies to gain more brand recognition. Something that Hydrox failed to do, as there were a slew of other products on the market with identical names.
In the 1950s, Nabisco jacked up the prices of their own cookies. Leaving folks to believe that Hydrox was somehow an inferior alternative. And from then on out, any chocolate sandwich creme cookie was referred to as an Oreo.
Or in the case of Great Value’s Twist & Shout: Bootleg Oreos.
Is There A Difference Between Oreos And Other Chocolate Sandwich Cremes?
Because the name is copyrighted, other food manufacturers aren’t allowed to call their products by the Oreo name. No matter how much they look like them and are clearly being marketed to fans of the brand.
So technically, if a food service provider is advertising deep-fried Oreos, they’re not really selling you an Oreo. But is there really any difference between the cookies?
Indeed, the best way to tell is to take a gander at their respective ingredient lists. Mondelez International (which owns Nabisco) shows that Oreos contain the following:
- Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour. Niacin. Reduced Iron. Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1]. Riboflavin [Vitamin B2]. Folic Acid]
- Sugar
- Palm Oil
- Soybean And/Or Canola Oil
- Cocoa (Processed With Alkali)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Leavening (Baking Soda And/Or Calcium Phosphate)
- Salt
- Soy Lecithin
- Chocolate
- Artificial Flavor
Whereas Walmart’s Great Value Twist & Shout cookies feature a few differences. While they remain largely the same, they aren’t identical ingredients-wise:
- Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour. Niacin. Reduced Iron. Thiamine Mononitrate. Riboflavin. Folic Acid.)
- Sugar
- Palm and Soybean Oil
- Cocoa (Processed with Alkali)
- Dextrose
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Sodium Bicarbonate (Leavening)
- Artificial Flavors
- Chocolate
- Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier)
Taste Test
Additionally, several food reviewers have taken it upon themselves to pit Oreos vs Twist & Shout. The Takeout published a cookie battle as part of its “Dupe Detective” series.
According to the author, Walmart’s copycat offering is “pretty close to what you expect an Oreo to taste like.” However, they did note differences in its overall consistency. And after pulling apart the cookie, the reviewer noticed disparities between Oreo’s creme and Great Value’s. Namely, Twist & Shout’s “filling [was] a little fluffier and milder” than Mondelez’s namesake.
In terms of which is better, The Takeout said Oreos excelled in every category. The outlet found both the cookies and creme to be “more substantial.” However, the piece does say that Oreos did cost significantly more. Walmart’s Twist & Shout cost a little more than half of what they paid for their box of Oreos.
Taste of Home also provided their own assessment of Twist & Shout’s. The website recommended them as a great, “affordable” alternative. “I found the cookies to be just the slightest bit crunchier and more crumbly than Oreos,” the write-up stated.
Texture, however, was an issue, as others mentioned. And Taste of Home speculated that this had to do with Twist & Shout’s inclusion of cornstarch.
@helinnn_29 talk about fake advertisment smh 💔 #modesto #turlock #stanislauscountyfair #fyp #oreos ♬ original sound – Shan Da baddest
If It’s Deep Fried, Does It Matter?
One may argue that if you’re throwing your cookies into frying oil, flavor reviews go out the window. It’s difficult to imagine that an Oreo or Twist & Shout’s edible integrity isn’t going to be compromised with such a preparation method.
But if a business is advertising that it’s selling Oreos, and it isn’t, then that might grind your gears. Especially if you’re a devotee of the brand.
Subplot has reached out to Mondelez International and Walmart via email, and Helin via TikTok direct message for further comment.
