Hydrox

Hydrox was first. Sunshine Biscuits introduced the Hydrox cookie in 1908, four years before Nabisco launched the Oreo in 1912. The Oreo was a direct copy of the Hydrox: two chocolate wafers with a creme filling. But Nabisco had deeper pockets, better distribution, and a name that didn't sound like a cleaning product.

Oreo became the best-selling cookie in America. Hydrox became the thing people thought was the knockoff. The cruelest irony in brand history: the original was remembered as the imitation of its imitator.

Keebler acquired Sunshine Biscuits in 1996 and quietly rebranded Hydrox as 'Droxies' in 1998, then discontinued it entirely in 2003. The brand was effectively murdered by neglect from an owner that had no interest in competing with Oreo.

In 2015, Ellia Kassoff bought the Hydrox trademark through his company Leaf Brands and relaunched the cookie. It exists, technically, but it's a niche product sold online and in scattered stores. Kassoff has accused retailers of Oreo-related sabotage (hiding Hydrox stock, letting it expire). Whether that's true or paranoia, the result is the same: Hydrox is alive, barely, sustained entirely by the stubbornness of one man and the loyalty of people who insist the original tastes better.