Was cereal dropped like it's cold? Snoop Dogg and Master P sue Walmart and Post over sales
These days, Snoop Dogg has his mind on his cereal money.
The hip-hop star, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and fellow rapper and label head Master P, whose real name is Percy Miller, are suing the cereal conglomerate Post Consumer Brands, alleging it ruined their chances of diversifying the cereal scene and denied their company profits.
In 2022, the artists established Broadus Foods with a vision of creating a family-owned company that would help diversify the food industry and set "an example to minority entrepreneurs and business owners that they too could create and sell a good product," a news release stated.
Part of the Broadus Foods mission, according to the pair, is to donate a portion of its proceeds to several charities aimed at ending hunger and homelessness within their communities.
To that end, Broadus Foods struck a deal with Post, known for such products as Honey Bunches of Oats, to get Snoop Cereal products — Fruity Hoopz with Marshmallows, Frosted Drizzlers and Cinnamon Toasteez — on retail shelves, according to a complaint filed Tuesday.
Post initially wanted to buy the rights to the cereals, the complaint says, but the artists declined, saying: "Selling the brand would destroy the whole purpose of leaving the company to their families as a legacy."
Instead, the two companies entered into a partnership and promotion agreement that called for Post to split the cereals' profits with Broadus Foods, the lawsuit says, and to treat Snoop Cereal as one of its own brands, manufacturing and distributing its products to major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Kroger and Amazon.
But the rappers allege that Post had no intention of fulfilling its end of the bargain. Instead, the complaint says, Post "ensured that Snoop Cereal would not be available to consumers or that it would incur exorbitant costs that would eliminate any profit to Broadus Foods."
The complaint also alleges that Walmart, the largest seller of Post products, stopped putting the Snoop Cereal products on store shelves after the products successfully launched in Walmart stores across the country in July. According to the lawsuit, Walmart customers could not find the cereals in the stores within a few months.
Among other things, the lawsuit accuses Walmart of hiding the cereals in a stockroom, placing them in the baby or clearance sections, and raising their prices to more than $10 a box. Post and Walmart have also tried to hold Broadus Foods responsible for vague expenses incurred because the products did not sell, the complaint asserts.
“The actions by Post Foods and Walmart demonstrate cynical disregard and exploitation of minority entrepreneurs in the business world," said Ben Crump, Broadus Foods' attorney. "If this is how celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Master P are treated by corporate America, just imagine how lesser-known Black entrepreneurs and small-business owners are treated by powerful corporations.”
A Walmart spokesperson told The Times that the company values its relationships with suppliers and has a "strong history of supporting entrepreneurs."
"Many factors affect the sales of any given product, including consumer demand, seasonality and price to name a few," the spokesperson said in an email. "We will respond as appropriate with the court once we are served with the complaint."
In an email, Post said it was excited to partner with Broadus Foods and "made substantial investments in the business."
"We were equally disappointed that consumer demand did not meet expectations," the company said.
Snoop Cereals remain available from a number of retailers, including Amazon and Kroger.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
