The Untold Truth Of Dunkaroos
Dunkaroos are officially back, much to the delight of '90s kids everywhere. This blast from the past — cookies that are dipped into an accompanying mini-tub of frosting — is now available at 7-Eleven. A tray, which is 1.5 ounces, costs $2, while a pack of two is priced at $3. The snack can also be delivered straight to your door via 7-Eleven's app, 7NOW (via PopSugar).
According to General Mills, its Betty Crocker brand launched Dunkaroos in 1992 with a mascot, Sydney the Kangaroo, who was voiced by actor, director, and writer John Cameron Mitchell (he acknowledged this during an interview with NPR). The cookies, named after the dunking you do with them and the kangaroo on the packaging, quickly became a hit. Dunkaroos originally came in five different shapes with either chocolate or vanilla frosting. Betty Crocker introduced four additional new flavors by 1993: Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon, Peanut Butter, and Rainbow Sprinkles, the latter of which proved to be the most popular.
But sales of the snack slowly declined over the years and Dunkaroos were eventually taken off the shelves in 2012, much to the dismay of loyal fans. The cookies were still available in Canada until 2017 (via The New York Times), leading many Americans to cross the border just to get them. General Mills, who caught on about the snack-oriented travelers, launched a Smugglaroos campaign to encourage people to do the same (via Newsweek).
Why were Dunkaroos discontinued?
There were a few different factors behind why the beloved snack was discontinued, including a drop in its popularity and objections to the brand's advertising of sugary, unhealthy foods to children. Brad Hiranaga, the chief brand officer for General Mills in North America, touched upon the topic in an interview with The New York Times. Back in 2012, the company was focusing on healthier and more nutritious snacks like Lärabar and Nature Valley. A high-sugar, high-fat treat like Dunkaroos was just not the right kind of snack for the company at the time.
But just because the cookies were gone, though, didn't mean people forgot about them. Hiranaga said General Mills has gotten thousands of requests for the product from customers. The fervor for the snack encouraged the company to make plans to bring them back eventually. This February, Dunkaroos brand caught the attention of many when it began to retweet posts from celebrities, such as Chrissy Teigen, Tyler, The Creator, Elizabeth Gillies, Lilly Singh, Josh Peck, Frankie Muniz, and Kim Kardashian West, all of who have tweeted about the snack over the years.
In 2012, Tyler, The Creator tweeted: "Dunkaroos I need To Find These." During February of this year, the brand retweeted the musician, saying: "Find them this summer." On the same day, it also retweeted "As you wish" to a 2018 tweet from Kim Kardashian West, in which she wrote, "Obsessed with Dunkaroos. Please come back!"
Are the new Dunkaroos the same as before?
Soon after making fans wonder whether or not Dunkaroos were really coming back, the brand confirmed its return with a video on social media, celebrating itself as one of the trends from the '90s that will definitely be coming back. Now that the snack has made a glorious comeback, you might be wondering: Does it taste the same?
Based on the Dunkaroos website, it appears that the new Dunkaroos don't come in a variety of shapes like it did before. The cookies are the rimmed circular shapes with a "D" in the center. There is also just one flavor of frosting. General Mills opted to bring the snack back in its most popular flavor: vanilla cookies and vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles.
The cookies and frosting are the exact same as before, according to Hiranaga. And no need to rush to 7-Eleven to panic buy Dunkaroos out of fear they will be discontinued again. The chief brand officer assured The New York Times that General Mills is dedicated to the snack's return so "you don't have to worry at this point about stocking them up and putting them in your zombie apocalypse locker."