It does make you wonder. Literally, I have to ask what is going through the minds of Nabisco executives. I live by the old saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It is quite possible that the Nabisco marketing team is too young to have heard that saying, what a shame. However, this begs the question: Why do corporate giants feel the need to change a good thing and throw horrendously nauseating flavors upon us, innocent consumers?

A bore at the store

Strolling the aisle at my local grocer, I quickly glean over the overwhelming number of different brands, sizes, flavors, and colors of our food these days.

Do we as shoppers appear bored out of our minds while pushing loaded carts up and down the lined rows as if we are cattle in pens? Last time I went grocery shopping I do not recall seeing a fellow shopper hanging around any section passing time twiddling their thumbs. Obviously, Nabisco views us as bored beyond belief, thus, they feel the need to “liven” up our grocery shopping experience by inserting another food combination for us to ponder.

And the flavors are…

Nabisco announced three new flavors this week that will be on store shelves next May. They are the result of the company’s #MyOreoCreation contest. Now, I am all about listening to your customer and taking on ideas, but why, oh why, would anyone think a Pina Colada Oreo sounds good?

In addition to the Pina Colada flavor, they have chosen Kettle Corn and Cherry Cola as the remaining two flavors for the contest. Once all three hit the shelves the winner of the contest will be chosen by Oreo fans and claim the $500,000 prize.

Not the only kid on the block

Of course, we all know Frito-Lay’s "Do Us a Flavor" promotion for their Lays potato chips.

The moment Frito-Lay announces the yearly $1,000,000 contest, I envision chip radicals everywhere scrambling for their chemistry books seeking out the oddest flavor combinations that they hope someone outside their household can stomach. With the success of Frito-Lay’s promotion, it only makes sense that other food manufacturers jump into the fray for their piece of the contest pie.

It is apparently a gigantic pie.

Size does matter

Here is a bit of advice to Nabisco and its cookie promoters. When these new funky flavors are released the least you could do is offer them in sample sized bags or bite-sized cookies. There is nothing worse than biting into a cookie to find you detest the flavor and just wasted several dollars out of curiosity. I admit I tried one of the latest concoctions, Fruity Pebbles Oreos. Wow, needless to say, that sucker barely hit my mouth before it hit the garbage can. Lesson learned.

And the winner is…

All those who steer clear of these marketing schemes and save their palettes for food that is truly deserving, save your taste buds and your money for your edible favorites that do not need constant reinvention to appease the masses.
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