Who doesn’t like Oreos? The chocolate cookie with that amazing cream filling. And who hasn’t been super happy when they finally succeed in peeling apart the two cookies so cleanly that the filling only stays on one side of the cookie? These American classics have managed to completely take over the world, with the cookie being seen everywhere from Israel and China to South Africa and Chile.
When American brands extend their tendrils abroad they usually have to adapt to the local flavors and customs, with Oreos being no exception. Here are five of the weirdest Oreo flavors adapted to world tastes.
Macadamia nuts flavor: Japan
These nuts are indigenous to Australia but have since been exported all over the world. They are grown in warmer subtropical as well as tropical regions such as South Africa and Hawaii, where they are a staple of the island state. The nuts are extremely popular in Japan, so much so that the country has pushed producers to incorporate the nuts into food items most Americans would consider strange.
One of these food items are Oreos, whose oblong shape and cookie and cream filling look alien to most American consumers. The Japanese branch of Nabisco, which owns the Oreo brand, sells these strange looking but uniquely east Asian oreos with a filling of Macadamia nut spread. While the texture the spread ads has been described to give this “cookie” a nice richness and crunch, the macadamia taste itself is hardly perceptible.
Prime Berry Oreo, Philippines
To help promote the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2013, director Michael Bay and Nabisco teamed up to help jointly promote both of these world famous brands. One of the ways they did this was through a TV commercial which sees the Transformers taking a break from fighting evil to eat some Oreos. The commercial itself was directed by Michael Bay and was released in 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Additionally, Nabisco chose this campaign to roll out a flavor they called Prime Berry Oreo which was set to dovetail with the film when it released. The cookie consisted of two regular Oreo cookies with a blueberry ice cream filling, creating a flavor akin to a blueberry chocolate ice cream cone.
Dulce de Leche, Argentina and Chile
One of the most popular sweets in Latin America is Dulce de Leche, a sweet treat and topping created by boiling milk and sugar for several hours, creating a brown, sweet, delectable syrup. In other words, Dulce de Leche is essentially caramelized milk which is then poured on top of things such as cakes, ice cream, churros, and other desserts.
In order to acquiesce to this flavor, Oreo has created a delicious filling specifically for the Latin American market which combines their cream filling with Dulce de Leche. A hit in South America, these cookies were briefly sold in the United States but were retired soon after.
Green Tea Oreo, Japan and China
Green tea is a popular drink extending to all cultures in Northeast Asia, and food manufacturers have been quick to capitalize on these countries’ green tea drinking habits. There is a venerable plethora of green tea flavored products, including green tea flavored and infused ice cream, Kit Kat bars, Pocky sticks, and many others.
Oreo has not bucked the trend and has begun selling a cookie which incorporates this flavor into its cream filling. Oreos with green tea flavored filling have quickly become a hit in these countries, with billions of packages being sold every year.
Coconut delight, Indonesia and Thailand
Southeast Asia is known for being large producers of coconut, and it is evident in the foods the people of these countries eat. Curries there are known for being coconut milk based for instance, and coconut flavored ice creams and snacks are prevalent throughout the region.
Oreo is no exception to this trend, selling a cookie which contains a coconut cream filling within. The cookie has quickly become a hit with Southeast Asian consumers, with a good portion of Oreo’s $2.9 billion revenue stream being derived from sales to that region.
