Nabisco Unveils Miniature Version of the Oreo

E A S T  H A N O V E R, N.J., Aug. 10 -- They may not contain as many calories as the original Oreo, but chances are you will eat enough of the miniature version to make it up in volume.

Nabisco Biscuit Co. launches the Mini Oreo today at itscorporate headquarters during a promotional blitz that includes adump truck filling a minivan with the chocolate sandwich cookies.(The person who correctly guesses how many cookies fit in the DodgeCaravan gets to keep it, plus a year’s supply of the new cookies.)

The quarter-sized cookies should hit stores shelves Monday, thecompany said. An 8-ounce resealable bag will sell for $2.39. Single-serve pouches and vendor packs will also be available.

“We’re really trying to capture the hand-to-mouth, on-the-gosnacking market,” said Archie Mack, business director for the Oreobrand.

Mack said the company plans to make 25 million pounds of thetiny treats and that the Mini Oreo is the largest product launch inthe history of the brand.

First Permanent Cookie in Years

Mini Oreo is the first permanent cookie under the Oreo bannersince the Reduced Fat line was introduced six years ago.

In April, Nabisco offered a limited edition Oreo that createdswirls of blue when dunked in milk. It was available for about sixweeks before they ran out. The company made 9 million pounds of theMagic Dunkers.

Double Stuf Oreo, which contains a double dollop of vanillacreme, hit the market in 1975. The original Oreo was launched in1912, and quickly became the world’s top-selling cookie.

The mini version contains 15.6 calories per cookie, while theoriginal recipe has 53.3 calories.

Nabisco also makes mini Chips Ahoy and Nutter Butter Bites andRitz Bits sandwich snacks.

Nabisco Biscuit, the U.S. cookie and cracker business of NabiscoHoldings Corp., posted $3.64 billion in 1999 sales. The Oreo brandaccounted for about $550 million of those sales.